About the Author
Thanks so much for visiting Alphabet Anatomy. I so much appreciate your stopping by. In addition to writing these books, my greatest accomplishment is being a mom to 4 amazing sons (all grown up now, much to my dismay). My husband is a retired firefighter and we’ve been married for over 35 years. We live in sunny Arizona although I was born in freezing cold (but very beautiful) upstate New York. Our fur family consists of 3 lovable, spoiled dogs (Rocco, Ronin, Trinity) and one cat (Neo) who all make life a little more fun and interesting.
I worked as a Legal Assistant for many years and have always liked writing and all things pertaining to the English language. When introducing Alphabet Anatomy, most people ask if I’m a teacher. While being a teacher is not my profession, we moms are ultimately our children’s very first teachers. We also know them better than anyone else, love them more than anyone else, and strive to meet their needs harder than anyone else — whether that’s academically or in other countless ways.
Other ways to describe me include: dreamer/idealist, treasure hunter, nature lover, poetry writer, truth seeker, bargain shopper, and admirer of all things that emit beauty, kindness, and love.
About the Illustrator
This is Branson, the youngest of my 4 sons. I wrote the capital letter rhymes to help him write the alphabet letters in his preschool years. Yes, I was his first teacher!
I first noticed his artistic talent during those same years when he drew Donald Duck’s nephews — Huey, Dewie, and Louie — on a napkin at the kitchen table. When I decided to make the rhymes into a book, I really wanted Branson to be involved in the process. So, he became my illustrator/collaborator.
We had to make sure the letters were in perfect format for the educational component, so it was a little tricky, but he was able to capture each letter’s personality with his creative drawings.
Art and music are his main passions (with skateboarding close behind). He also writes very original and thought-provoking song lyrics, plus he agreed to sing in our video: the Alphabet Anatomy Rap.
Our Story
Writing Alphabet Anatomy’s first capital letter rhymes was just me as a mom trying to help my son with his handwriting. Once Branson mastered those skills, I just tucked the rhymes away in a file cabinet…, and there they stayed for over ten years. I had no idea they would become a future book. I uncovered them again in the middle of packing and moving to another house. When I read the rhymes again after all those years, I thought they could help other kids too. This also led me to do some research into how kids best learn to read and also the very disturbing discovery that currently only about 37% of both 4th and 12th grade students can read proficiently. I believe this is a tragedy of epic proportions that kids are not being taught this fundamental skill.
After Branson illustrated the letters, I made a mock book and brought it to our local library for some feedback. The librarian said she loved it and told me she’d often had parents ask for an alphabet book on how to write the letters but she hadn’t known of any before; and she said her daughter would love it too. I walked out of the library that day super encouraged and, needless to say, very happy.
For the longest time, I’ve hoped that my writing could make a positive difference in the world somehow, even if it made just one person’s day a little brighter. I sold some of my poems in the scrapbook market many years ago and have saved all the sweet cards and messages from people who were touched by them. To help kids master the alphabet letters and thereby contribute to their early literacy foundation is a very worthy goal indeed, and one that I will gladly and humbly embrace.
My Handsome Sons
On January 22, 2014, tragedy struck my family and my life changed forever. I became a grieving mother… My incredibly gifted first-born — my Nathan — was only 28. I had always said I was never strong enough to endure such a paralyzing fate whenever I’d heard of other parents being stricken with this most horrific nightmare — the greatest fear of all for most of us. But suddenly life just throws these crippling curve balls and you realize you have no choice. So I survive, because I must…, for my other 3. My path out of the all-encompassing, relentlessly cruel desolation was the most horrendous thing ever imaginable. For a full 5 years, I had no desire to move forward with anything, including Alphabet Anatomy. I lost a lot of time in that regard but I’m here now, determined to help millions of children master alphabet knowledge, because Nathan would want me to and because there’s really no other option.
One thing I did in Nathan’s honor was to put his initials — n t j — on the front cover of Alphabet Anatomy’s Meet the Lower Case Letters. It’s my desire to someday start some sort of charitable foundation in his honor as well.
So, to all of you who have kindly managed to land here on this page, I sincerely thank you for visiting. I wish you all the best that life has to offer as you also navigate whatever journey you have chosen. I hope it’s your passion and I hope all your dreams come true.
