A few years ago, I received a phone call from a Jewish survivor named Inge Auerbacher from New York. She read about my book project and wanted her story written by a young author. During the war, she had gone into a concentration camp with a doll she named Marlene and, against all odds, came out of the camp with the doll under her arm. Inge felt her story would appeal to young readers. I agreed. Just a few weeks later, I was volunteering in Washington DC with foreign exchange

Thirteen years ago I had an idea of having teens interview the World War II generation and then having the student write / illustrate a children's book about their life. At first, I was unsure of what kind of results I would get but over the years, I've seen amazing biographies produced by young people. I'm so proud of my kiddos. My pride went off the chart last week when I saw an interview between Jewish survivor Frieda Roos and her young author Daniel Gittleman (both of Cha

The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines has commissioned two books to be written about two local Jewish survivors. Fred Lorber and David Wolnerman have been honored at events, complete with a meal and a program, open to the entire community. What an honor it was for me to attend both events and stand alongside these two amazing men. Young authors and illustrators from their Jewish community worked hard to capture their stories and writing coach Sheila Hudson (a teacher fr

As students head back to school, we announce a new book release entitled The Inspiring Life of Ida Kramer. This story was written by Rachael Cupp and illustrated by Jasmine Mendez. Both girls did a beautiful job and our community is very pleased. This story is very special to me since Ida was my Holocaust education mentor. She was one of the first in our local Jewish community to hear about my vision for A BOOK by ME. Ida encouraged me along the way. We "schlepped" all over l

A BOOK by ME is featured in the publication called Federation News by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities! Read our page below.

A BOOK by ME is featured in the publication called Federation News by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities! Read our page below.