A Note from the Author

Misho’s message

“Misho of the Mountain” is about grit. About reality. It’s a book with a mission. I wrote Misho’s story for children and for their parents. But really, it’s all about the kids. Life can seem unfair and sometimes downright impossible for kids. The odyssey of Misho and Tomo lets children know that they can persevere, even when they think they failed–even when they don’t meet their own expectations or don’t fit in.

They can’t get that message too early or too often.

For parents

We all want to help our kids be ready for anything that Life throws in their path. “Misho of the Mountain” is a helpful tool–a lesson guide–for opening dialogues about tough topics and as an allegory to teach how to be a good friend, how to persevere, and the importance of looking past seemingly impossible obstacles to see the next opportunity.

For Teachers

Misho’s story is multi-layered. Through presentation and discussion of poetry, process, and story elements, students learn the importance and joy of both reading and writing. The setting and actions of the characters are a launching pad to discuss ecology, botany, science, and the environment. The peril faced by Misho and the climber are a thinly veiled object lesson for the interdependence of humankind and nature and how we must save and nurture each other.

My experience

“Misho of the Mountain” is my first children’s book. However, I am no stranger to classroom presentations.

When I was a student in veterinary college, I was the Public Relations Chairman of the veterinary fraternity at the University of Illinois. Our mission was to deliver talks and demonstrations to the public to promote respect for animals. I loved bringing opossums, snakes, turtles, dogs, cats, and birds into classrooms to give lessons on everything from basic pet care to marsupials of Australia.

While in professional practice and later when I changed my career to technology, I continued to give presentations at schools and nursing homes. I have judged science fairs, aquarium contests, and 4-H competitions and participated in the judging team at the Robotics competition at Legoland. I even set up the first computers in a K-2 gifted program. We introduced basic computer usage when the concept of computers in the classroom was novel. Although I am not a teacher, I learned to relate to teachers after a short stint teaching Biology for Non-Majors at a community college.

My dream

I was first introduced to reading aloud in 5th grade when our teacher read “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline L’engle to the class. I was mesmerized. Reading aloud has been part of my life ever since. It’s been my dream to bring Misho’s message to children through the spoken as well as the written word.

Dyslexia-friendly reading

I shared my fascination with verbal storytelling with my own children, reading to them from before birth until well after they were eager readers on their own. I am certain that, despite a reading disability, my son’s lifelong love of books grew from our family tradition of reading aloud. Once his specific obstacle was diagnosed, he jumped into reading on his own with both feet, consuming 22 middle grade and young adult books in one summer. Because I am aware of the wide range of reading abilities in grade school children, I wanted to make sure that a dyslexia-friendly version of “Misho of the Mountain” would be available to help more children have an enjoyable reading experience. My plan is to distribute a free ebook version upon request to anyone who buys “Misho of the Mountain” in paperback, hardcover, or ebook formats.

I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm for reading with your group or class in the near future.

With sparkle,

See author bio page