Welcome
If you are a reader, parent, teacher, librarian, or friend, I hope you enjoy your visit with me here. I have written more than 200 books for children from preschool to middle school, including fiction, nonfiction, early readers, and biographies. Look around to find out more about me, my books, and my author visits. And treat each day as an opportunity to explore, learn, create, play, and discover. 
News!  
In April 2011, I was awarded an Artist Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. This grant will support my continued development as a fiction writer and expand my creative opportunities. To read more about the Commission, visit CT Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Recent Releases 
   
 beach cover  

SCIENCE EXPLORER JUNIOR SERIES, 2012
Cherry Lake Publishing
32 pages,
Grades 2-4
These conversational experiment books introduce the scientific method with simple experiments you can do outside of the classroom. Meet the scientists behind each principle discussed, and learn how to observe, test, and draw conclusions from the world around us.
Titles:
Think Like a Scientist at the Beach
Think Like a Scientist on the Playground

Read about this series and other Nonfiction for Younger Children.

   
   
 freaking out cover

EVERYDAY SCIENCE SERIES
Compass Point Books
64 pages,
Grades 5-9
Freaking Out: The Science of the Teenage Brain, 2012
Ever wonder how your brain works? Why do you remember (or not remember) your locker combination? Why do you get moody or have dreams? Read this book so you'll have an answer the next time an adult asks you, "What were you thinking?"

Read about this series and other Nonfiction for Older Children.

   
   
 Flip Flop cover  

FLIP FLOP!, 2011
Step Into Reading, Random House Books for Young Readers
24 pages,
Ages 4-6
Illustrated by Jana Christy
Sometimes it's hard to make choices. Go to the fair or the zoo? Swim in the pool or chase the tide? This rhyming summer story follows two friends as they flip flop through a variety of choices...including which shoes to wear!

Read about this series and other Early Readers.

   
 cookbook cover TEEN COOKBOOK SERIES, 2011
Compass Point Books
64 pages,
Grades 5-9
Geared toward the busy teen's lifestyle, these cookbooks are full of healthy, fun, and quick meals and snacks that get teens in the kitchen, cooking together, and enjoying good food.
Titles:
A Teen Guide to Breakfast on the Go
A Teen Guide to Fast, Delicious Lunches
A Teen Guide to Creative, Delightful Dinners
A Teen Guide to Quick, Healthy Snacks
 
 
   

Read about this series and other Nonfiction for Older Children.

   
   
 save walton cover

SAVE WALTON POND, 2010
and WE HAVE TO MOVE, 2011
Winding Trails, Inc.
32 pages

I wrote these children's books in conjunction with Winding Trails Recreation Association, a beautiful oasis of nature, fun, and education in Farmington, Connecticut. Winding Trails is in the process of preserving the health of a pond on their property by rebuilding the dams and cleaning out the mud. Volunteers are helping relocate the wildlife, including turtles, frogs, and mussels.

To find out more about the effort to save Walton Pond, click here to visit the Winding Trails site.

   
   
vietnam cover

SOCIAL STUDIES EXPLORER SERIES
Cherry Lake Publishing
48 pages,
Grades 4-8
Vietnam, 2011 
Take a tour of the land, people, celebrations, and foods of this fascinating country.
 

Read about this series and other Nonfiction for Older Children.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


 

Keep an eye out for...  

Use It! Reuse It, Marshall Cavendish Bookworms, 2011     

Simple Machines, A True Book, Scholastic/Children's Press, 2012

  

How to pronounce my name
Teaching Books.net 
 
Visit site 

My books in the news...

Author Teaches Students about Ideas and the Creative Process
Newington Town Crier, June 3, 1010 

Read the full article 

Award-Winning Author-in-Residence Visits J.F.K. Elementary School
Windsor Journal, April 2, 1010 

Read the full article 

Encouraging Beginning Readers with Nonfiction
by Alicia Eames, Curriculum Connections
School Library Journal, October 6, 2009  
Read the full article 
 

Welles Turner Library Visit, Glastonbury CT 
Glastonbury Reminder-News, July 22, 2008 

Read the full article
 

Fish Tales, Tugs and Sails segment 
Originally aired July 22, 2009 on
Better Connecticut, WFSB Channel 3  
View the segment 
 

Dana Meachen Rau: Making the Pieces Fit 
by Becky Rodia
Teaching PreK-8 Magazine, January 2001  
Read the full article  
 

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