Books and More

Picture Books

My Shadow

A picture book to introduce children to concepts about shadows. It was published in April 2013 by Unibooks, a Korean publisher, for their EFL program TunTun. I love how illustrator Kim Byungnam added to the story in subtle ways. (A fox is spying on the main character and shaped bushes imitate what’s happening in the story.)

Belling the Cat

A picture book from Unibooks for their EFL program for 6 and 7 year olds. As the title implies it is based on the Aesop fable. This book came out in December 2012. Belling the Cat was illustrated by Kwak Jinyoung. One special feature of the book is fold out panels.

The Fox and the Crane

Another picture book published in December 2012 by Unibooks. Obviously it’s based on an Aesop fable as well. The Fox and the Crane was illustrated by Son Junghyun. Images show other tricks Fox did besides what he did to Crane.

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Things Little Kids Need to Know

This picture book was written for 2-6 year olds, and was illustrated by Jennifer Heyd Wharton. This book was chosen as a 2000 Read, America! Collection Selection. It’s the story of what a young boy plans to teach his new sister when she arrives from across the world. ISBN: 0-9611872-9-8)

Our Child Press, is no longer in business. Some books are available on Amazon or directly through the author.


Readers

I also did work-for-hire jobs with the Korean company Compass Media. These fiction readers are also for Korean children learning English. I’ve written a variety of leveled readers.

Often times my assignments were rewrites of books that were already written and illustrated. I may have had to cut the number of illustrations. I usually rewrote the entire text. My favorite of the rewrites was The Story of Hong Gil Dong, which is a story of the Korean Robin Hood. Other titles include The Chart Trick, and my first assignment, The Smell of Trouble. There’s a look inside that shows the first page of a few of these on Overdrive.

Later, I was hired to write four brand new readers. Each story was set in a different city across the world. Other writers worked on other cities for this series. And yet other writers worked on nonfiction for each location. Here are mine:

Across the Sydney Harbour Bridge


Jenna is excited about going across one of the largest bridges is the world. Will she and her family make it in time for the sunrise?

A Special Bear In New York






Molly hides her stuffed bear in her backpack. Today’s the day they are going on a school field trip to the NY Public Library. Who will they see there?

Lost in the Tower of London





Ajay gets lost in the Tower of London and must find his classmates.

Up, Up, Up in Paris


It’s 387 steps to the top of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Cole races ahead of his sister and father. But coming down is not so easy.



All seven of these books were published in 2013 as ebooks on Reading Oceans. A login is required to read the books.


Books Formerly Available through Subscription

Hector’s Test

A fiction leveled reader, published in 2015 by Schoolwide Inc., an educational publisher. Hector has a problem. While his teacher is out of the classroom, other students cheat on their math test. Hector doesn’t want to be a tattletale, but he also knows that kids who cheat shouldn’t get good grades. How will Hector solve this problem?

Songkran, The Traditional Thai New Year

A nonfiction leveled reader, published in 2015 by Schoolwide Inc. The Buddhist New Year is celebrated in Thailand each April. It is known as Songkran, or the Water Festival. Buddhists commemorate the new year with religious ceremonies. For many it is a fun celebration that involves parades and water throwing, which is especially popular in the city of Chiang Mai. The colorful photos and descriptions of the traditions bring the events of Songkran to life.

Magazine Pieces

I’ve sold over 160 short stories and article to magazines including: Cricket, Encounter, Highlights for Children, Ladybug, Nature Friend, and many more. My first sale was for “Halloween Isn’t Fair” which appeared in Jack and Jill in 1992.