Language During Mealtime

Interview with Michele McAvoy, author of Cookie & Milk

Today I will be interviewing Michele McAvoy. Michele McAvoy is an inspirational speaker & award-winning children’s book author from New Jersey. She loves bringing joy to children through her own stories. Michele’s books are uplifting and colorful and are meant to help children navigate through the natural bumps and curves of life. She has written three children’s books which include My Superhero Grandpa and The Gorilla Picked me.

 

Her next picture book, Cookie & Milk with Cardinal Rule Press, releases October 1. Cookie & Milk was selected as a Top Shelf Title with IPG.

 

Check out her website at michelemcavoy.com. Don’t miss her podcast and educational activities free for download that accompany her children’s books.

 

To read my review, learn more about Michele and Cardinal Rule Press, check out my website here.

Interview with L.A. Kefalos , children's book author and engineer

Today I will be interviewing L.A. Kefalos. L.A. was born and raised in Barberton, OH. After high school, she went on to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Akron. She has worked for a number of companies specializing in automation controls, including Goodyear Tire where she specialized in machine control engineering. This job allowed her to travel the world! Today she works as Lead Automation Engineer for a company in the entertainment industry.

In addition to her engineering background, she also has experience in communications,  writing for multiple Fortune 500 Companies. L.A. is also an alumnus of The Edit Center in Manhattan and served as assistant editor of Red Doors, which won Best Narrative Feature Award in NY Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, 2005. L.A. has edited several trailers and has used her editing skills to do sound effects in her own animations.

L.A. Kefalos is no stranger to writing stories to entertain little folks. A. Blob on a Bus is her second picture book in The Blob Series, which chronicles school life with a bully. It is the continuation of This is A. Blob, which follows a bully named A. Blob as it makes it away around the playground.  In addition to her picture books, she has also created several animated shorts, including Who's That Knocking; Chug; and Crocs, Pots, and Wildebeests, which screened at the 2010 Los Angeles Women's International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Independent Short Short in the ages 5-8 category at the 2009 Kid's First Film Festival.

Publisher: https://www.laughingleopardpress.com/

L.A.'s website: https://www.atlastinteractive.com/

To read my review of this book and learn more about L.A. Kefalos, visit my website here.

Interview with Jonathan Masiulionis, President of Empowered Publicity

Today I will be interviewing Jonathan Masiulionis. I wanted to interview a publicist to help other authors listening today get a head start in how to promote their book. I connected with Jonathan via social media and have enjoyed listening to his podcasts and appreciating his passion for children’s literature.  

For nearly two decades, Jonathan Masiulionis has been helping authors, speakers, coaches, entertainers, and entrepreneurs from across the country promote their talents and expand their audiences.

His ability to highlight the best of what an artist brings to the table is uniquely exceptional. With the power of enthusiasm and determination, Jonathan is a seasoned professional at taking ideas and turning them into realities.

As a publicist for inspirational and children’s authors at Empowered Publicity, Jonathan understands the challenges that aspiring and rising artists face, as they step out in faith and follow their own paths of service.

He uses his networking savvy, well-developed organizational skills, and heartfelt, positive energy to promote and establish name recognition for all of his clients.

A true partner in promotion, Jonathan empowers his clients with the personal attention and dedicated support they need to fulfill their dreams and expand the reach of their work.

Official Website: https://empoweredpublicity.com/

To learn more about Jonathan, Empowered Publicity and to watch my interview with Jonathan, click here! 

Interview with Illustrator, Andrew Kolb

Illustrator Andrew Kolb first gained attention with his illustrated version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. Since then, he has created illustrations for clients including chickaDEE Magazine, the Toronto Zoo, and Pixar. He is also the author of Edmund Unravels and the illustrator of All Aboard!: Let’s Ride a Train and All Aboard!: The Christmas Train. Listen to this podcast to learn all about his new book, All Aboard! The Airport Train.

 Visit Andrew’s website at https://www.kolbisneat.com/

Check out my review of Andrew's book All Aboard! The Airport train with tips for language and learning, here.

Interview with Stephanie Sorkin, children's book author and allergy advocate

Stephanie Sorkin is the award-winning author of Nutley, the Nut-free Squirrel, Chocolate Shoes with Licorice Laces and Frenemy Jane, the Sometimes Friend. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Stephanie Sorkin donates a portion of her books proceeds to various charities supporting children.

Stephanie Sorkin has appeared in the New York Times Style Section and written numerous articles for national publications.

As a food allergy advocate, she spends her time visiting schools in the tri-state area, discussing the inspiration behind her books and the importance of creativity.  For more information or to inquire about a school visit, please visit www.stephaniesorkin.com 

You can find her on social media @stephsorkin

To learn more about Stephanie, read reviews of her books and learn tips for reading aloud with your child, visit my website here.

Interview with SLP-Author Kari Radovich

Kari Radovich is an SLP-author who creates resources for preschool SLPs who crave creativity, but struggle with finding the time to plan and prep materials for group therapy.  She has been an SLP since 2011, blogging since 2013, and has been featured in the ASHA Leader.  Through Instagram and her website, rockchalkspeechtalk.com, Kari regularly serves nearly 5,000 SLPs with easy and practical therapy ideas utilizing books, toys, and low/no prep printable materials.

Check out my post here to learn more about Kari and enter the giveaway!

Interview with Ronda M. Wojcicki, author of Speech Class Rules

Today I will be interviewing Ronda Wojcicki, speech language pathologist and children’s book author of Speech Class Rules.

 

Speech Class Rules was created with the vision of educating everyone about speech therapy. This book can be used to introduce the concept of therapy to children recently diagnosed, and provide a story and characters that children already in speech can relate to. It can also help parents, educators, and children understand what speech and language disorders are all about.

 

This story lends insight into the semantic, syntactic, phonological, pragmatic, fluency and voice disorders that affect approximately 10% of all children in the United States.

 

Check out my review with language and learning tips for your child here! 

 

Interview with Lori Orlinsky, author of being small (Isn't So Bad After All)

Today I will be interviewing Lori Orlinsky, author of the book Being Small (Isn’t So Bad at All). She is a writer, member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, marketing director, and mom who lives in Chicago. She was inspired to tell this story after her own real life experiences raising two little ladies.

Being Small is a picture book about a little girl who is scared to go to school because she's the shortest kid in the class. She talks about all of the reasons that being short is a challenge, but her mother presents to her funny and unique advantages that only she has because of her height, instilling self-confidence in her. 

Don't miss my review of Being Small with tips for parents here! 

Interview with Jennifer Beland, Author of Buster the Delicate Poodle

Author and educator, Jennifer Beland has 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator of children with disabilities and within the mental health field. She holds a Masters of Education from Cambridge College and a B.S. in Psychology from Bridgewater State College. She has worked in both a school setting with students with disabilities, as well as within a private hospital setting.  She has also served as Fellow to the College of Education Teacher Preparation Advisory Board at University of Massachusetts, Lowell. 

Buster, the Delicate Doodle is the first of a picture book series to be used by counselors, parents, and teachers within a whole-classroom setting grades 2-5. Additional lessons are designed to integrate social emotional learning with Common Core ELA reading and writing standards.

On her website, Jennifer has links to articles and also tips on self-awareness, recognizing strengths and identifying emotions.

Visit her website at selwithbuster.com/

To read my review of Buster the Delicate Poodle and learn about social emotional learning, visit my website here.

Interview with Susan Love, Author of Ms. Love's Mystical Island Adventure

Today I will be interviewing Susan Love, Philadelphia teacher, and children's book author. When Susan Love was new to teaching, she was a little depressed by her classroom. The kids were uninspired, and the parents seemed uninterested. She was sure the year would be a failure. When she took a trip to the Caribbean it helped guide her to feel refreshed and helped her decide to turn the classroom into an "Island of Learning". This encouraged her students, many of whom had island backgrounds, to write stories.

To her surprise, the children wrote island stories about her and suddenly she decided to create her own Ms. Love island story incorporating the kid’s creative ideas and wanted to share it with the rest of the world.In her book, Ms. Love's Mystical Island Adventure; Sabrina, Arthur, and Lucy find themselves on a secluded island, where the solve mysteries to save a magical orchid that shields the Earth, repairing its ozone layer. As a hurricane approaches, it threatens to destroy the bloom. The children and Ms. Love race against time to discover clues to find and fix a sacred crystal, the islands power source.

To learn more about Susan Love with links to her books and resources, visit my website here.