Language During Mealtime

Interview with Author and Autism Advocate, Jen Malia

Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism written by author and autism advocate, Jen Malia and illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff is a wonderful book about a young autistic girl who struggles with sensory issues and overcomes her fears. An excellent book for both neurodiverse and neurotypical children to help build awareness and provide a peek into the struggles of everyday sensory issues and anxiety.

Jen Malia, Autistic Author and Advocate

Her debut children’s picture book, Too Sticky!: Sensory Issues with Autism (Albert Whitman, April 2020), is about a girl who has to overcome her fear of sticky hands to participate in a slime experiment.  The main character is based on her own and her daughter’s experiences living with autism and sensory issues.

 

To read the full review of the book and learn more about Jen, visit my website here.

 

Interview with Author and Illustrator, Brigitte and Alyssa Brulz

Mother Daughter Team, Brigitte and Alyssa Brulz

Would you like to write and illustrate a book with your child? Check out this amazing mother-daughter team, Brigitte and Alyssa Brulz.

 

Brigitte Brulz is a homeschooling mom, author, journal creator, freelance writer, and SCBWI regional social chair. Aah! Blown Away, Crash! An Alphabet Misadventure, which she had the pleasure of creating with her daughter, is her third published picture book. All three of her picture books have received a Readers' Favorite Five Stars review, and her book Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles was chosen for the 2019 Read Across Connecticut program. Other writings of hers have been published in various places in print and online. She offers free coloring pages, teacher's guides, activity ideas, and more information on her website at www.brigittebrulz.com.

 

Brigitte's writings have been published in The Practical Homeschooling magazine, in The Old Schoolhouse magazine, on Money Saving Mom, on A Fine Parent, on AMA Feed, and on Hands On As We Grow, where I am currently a monthly contributor. I have also been mentioned or quoted on Moneyish, Inc., Hello Giggles, The Epoch Times, and U.S. News. I have also created courses as a lesson designer for SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

 

Alyssa Brulz is a 12-year-old homeschooled student who knows the alphabet in English and French. She used a computer program to create all of the illustrations for Aah! Blown Away, Crash! An Alphabet Misadventure, which is her first published picture book.

 

Would you like to learn more about the book and get language and literacy tips? Click here to visit my website!

Interview with Author, SLP and Stuttering Expert, Lori Melnitsky

Lori Melnitsky, MA CCC-SLP, has been an ASHA certified and NYS/NJ licensed speech/language pathologist for over 25 years and has helped hundreds of children, teens and adults in her diverse professional lifetime. She has witnessed preschoolers eliminate stuttering as well as older students and adults transform from stuttering to fluent and confident speakers. Lori is one of the only speech pathologists dually certified in stuttering, cluttering, and Prompt Therapy. She is also a published author in fluency journals.

To learn more about Lori, Jason's Secret and access other stuttering resources, click here.

Interview with Claire Annette Noland, Author of Evie's Field Day

Claire Noland is the author of easy readers, board books, and picture books for young children. She knows that everyone who reads is a winner and as a children’s librarian, reading specialist, and author, her life’s goal is to excite kids about books and reading.

Claire Annette Noland is a children’s writer born and raised in California. When she was a girl her father handed her his old binoculars (which she still uses) and her mother gave her a journal. It was only natural that she became an explorer and writer.

Claire’s second home was the library where her mother took the five siblings to weekly story hour. She still remembers the librarian reading “if you were a bee and a bull sat on you, what would you do?” from her favorite book, The Story of Ferdinand.

Claire attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she studied geography and comparative literature combining her love of travel with the stories of the places and people she visited.

Claire went on to earn her master’s degree in library and information science and became a children’s librarian. She earned her classroom and reading specialist credentials and taught for many years while she and her husband Michael raised their four children. Now that the kids are grown and off on their own adventures, Claire promotes literacy by making sure that children have access to books and information through her work with REFORMA as well as developing library collections for children in Nicaragua and in a local women’s shelter.

When not writing, you can find Claire stocking her Little Free Library and taking field trips using kidlit as her travel guide.

Check out her website here!

To read the full review of the book and watch a video of Claire reading the book, click here.

 

Interview with Author and Founder of M.O.C.h.A. Tribe Diaries, Dr. Lisa Peña

Dr. Lisa Peña is the author of Waiting for the Light Bulb The Ramblings of a Crazy, Gritty Mom. Dr. Lisa Peña is a proud wife, a clinical pharmacist, passionate public speaker and busy mom of three children, one of which has a unique subset of autism and pathological demand avoidance.

She is the founder and president of the non-profit organization MoCHA (moms of children who have Autism).

Lisa doesn't just share her story. She shares other families stories as well. To learn more about The Diaries, click here.

Lisa also records audio clips as well. Through these audio clips, Lisa continues to share her story and journey. Check these audio clips out here.

She is the blogger behind the MoCha Tribe Diaries, a website/blog devoted to squashing the idea that Autism has a single story. Dr. Lisa Peña is a Today Show Parenting Team Contributor and her writing has been featured on national blogs like Scary mommy and Love What Matters, She is also director of The Ultimate MoChA session and the Labeled and Loved Retreat, both retreats for moms with special needs children.

To learn more about her book and Lisa's mission to help others, check out my website here.

Interview with Heather Lean, Author of Angel Grandma

Angel Grandma is Heather Lean’s first book. Heather and her children talk about their angel grandmas all the time. While her own children might not have many specific memories of them, Heather felt it was important to always keep the memories of these women alive by telling stories about them. Angel Grandma was written to convey the message to both children and adults that those we love are always with us even if we physically cannot see them. Angel Grandma was created to help parents talk about this sensitive topic with their children in a way that is both beautiful and comforting. 

A portion of the net proceeds of Heather’s books will be donated to Hearts to be Heard. Their mission is to give a voice to heart-felt creativity for those who otherwise would not be heard.

Learn more about Heather Lean here.

To read the full review of Heather's book and learn more, check out my website here.

Interview with Tabatha Chansard, PhD, Author of Conquer Anxiety Workbook for Teens

Today I will be interviewing Dr. Tabatha Chansard, author of the Conquer Anxiety Workbook for Teens which provides anxiety relief strategies for today’s teens.

She is a licensed psychologist who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for a variety of emotional and behavioral difficulties. She treats childhood disorders and is passionate about her work with kids, adolescents and young adults. She is also co-founder of Dallas Emotional Health located in Dallas, Texas.

To learn more about Dr. Tabatha Chansard, read my review and get links for various resources for mental health, click here.

Interview with Amanda Morin, Author of What is Empathy? A Bullying Storybook for Kids

Amanda Morin is an author, former classroom teacher, education writer, and special education advocate. She serves as an in-house adviser for Understood.org, where she teaches about using empathy as a tool to embrace inclusion. She has been an expert resource for NPREd, Education Week, Associated Press (AP), The Atlantic, Washington Post, The Hechinger Report, Education World, USA Today, and more. Amanda is also the winner of the 2017 SmartBrief Education Editor's Choice content Award.

Amanda is the author of four books. Titles include the Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education: A Complete Step by Step Guide to Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs,  The Everything Kids' Learning Activities Book: 145 Entertaining Activities and Learning Games for Kids, On-the-Go Fun for Kids!: More than 250 Activities to Keep Little Ones Busy and Happy-Anytime, Anywhere! and her most recent children's book, What is Empathy? A Bullying Storybook for Kids. 

In this podcast, Amanda will be discussing her most recent children's book, What is Empathy? and helpful tips for parents about empathy during this pandemic. 

To read the full review of this book with language and learning tips, visit my website here.

 

 

 

Interview with News Correspondent, Author and Speaker, Megan Alexander

Today I will be interviewing Megan Alexander, author of the book, One More Hug.

Megan Alexander is an Emmy nominated national news correspondent, author, speaker and actress. She can be seen every evening as a correspondent on the longest-running, top rated syndicated national news magazine television show INSIDE EDITION.

An actress and producer, her film credits include roles in the movies Space Warriors, Redeemed, Heartbeats, and in the television dramas “Nashville” on ABC and “Still the King” on CMT. She is Executive Producer of the feature film “HEARTBEATS”. Megan hosts the nationally televised Inspirational Country Music Awards each year from Nashville, TN.

Her first book, “Faith in the Spotlight – Thriving in Your Career While Staying True to Your Beliefs,” was released by Simon & Schuster on October 4, 2016. Today we will be talking about her picture book, One More Hug, which was released in November 2019.

Megan splits time between NYC and Nashville, TN. She and her husband have 3 children.

Learn more about Megan via her website at MeganAlexander.com

To read the full review of her book, learn more about Megan and listen to her song "One More", click here.

Interview with Caron Levis, Author of This Way, Charlie

Caron Levis (MFA; LMSW) is the author of the award winning children's picture book, Ida, Always (Atheneum) illustrated by Charles Santosos, which the New York Times Book Review calls, "an example of children's books at their best." Caron's other picture book titles include: This Way, Charlie (Abrams 2020), Stop That Yawn! (Atheneum); May I Have A Word? (FSG), and Mama's Work Shoes (Abrams.) She has an LMSW from Hunter College and an MFA in creative writing for children and young adults from The New School, where she now teaches and advises. She is the author of a number of picture books, including Ida, Always; Stop That Yawn! and Mama’s Work Shoes.

Visit Caron's website at https://www.caronlevis.com/

To read the full review of her book, access activities for this way, Charlie and see Caron read this book aloud, go to my website here.