Unpublished Manuscripts


NONFICTION
(fiction titles follow)


YES, I CAN! Stories of Unstoppable People with Disabilities is a biography collection for ages  8-10.
Attitude is everything. When our inner voice tells us, “you will fail,” you will. When it says, “that’s beyond your abilities,” it is. But anything is possible if our inner voice says, “Yes, you can!”   YES, I CAN! Stories of Unstoppable People with Disabilities is a picture book biography compilation of people whose inner voices told them they could do anything they put their minds to, in defiance of their handicaps: A blind artist. A deaf singer/songwriter. A legless gymnast. A famous children’s author with severe dyslexia…and many more extraordinary people with disabilities.  Despite the current enthusiasm for “diverse voices,” the disabled are a minority largely ignored in children’s literature (See SLJ article). This book demonstrates that people with physical or neurological challenges are more than their disabilities, which can inspire all children to reach their full potential. 

SHABBAT IN SPACE: Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman's Cosmic Mitzvah is an 830-word nonfiction picture book for ages 7-9.  In 1996, the second-ever American Jewish astronaut in space took a miniature Torah into orbit and read from the Book of Genesis. Word count excludes author's note, timeline, glossary, and "Interesting facts about Jews in Space" section.  (This book will be followed by other "Extreme Celebrations" stories: Hanukkah in Space, and Passover on Mt. Everest)

JEWISH WOMEN OF WONDER (working title) is a picture book collection of mini-bios for ages 6-8. This compilation of 18 Jewish women include scientists, writers, artists, activists, politicians, adventurers, athletes and more, and include different nationalities and women of color. Each bio includes a rhyming verse, short paragraph of prose, and a related "thought question" for the reader. 

ROAD TRIP! Extreme Roads Around the World  is a 1200 word nonfiction (with humor) picture book for ages 7-9.Library shelves are filled with wonderful children's books about cars and trucks—but virtually nothing about the roads they travel. So, I put the pedal to the metal for ROAD TRIP! Extreme Roads Around the World. This nonfiction picture book for ages 7-9 is narrated by - who else - the Chicken Who Crossed the Road.  Chicken will take you on the high road and the low road, the long and winding road, and many roads less traveled. For extra laughs, each page will have a "cross the road" riddle and funny comments by Chicken and other characters. Funny art/speech bubbles will overlay photos of the actual roads (Knuffle Bunny style). 
SAMPLE ILLUSTRATIONS at BOTTOM OF PAGE.

FICTION Stories


LITTLE BIG MOUSE is a 440-word humor picture book for ages 3-6. 
Fatima, a tiny mouse, has never let her small size stop her from doing big things. When signs at an amusement park tell her that she has to be “THIS BIG” for the rides, she is suddenly aware of just how small she is. With her confidence lost, she plans to go home until she does a “big” thing that proves size is mostly a state of mind.

BE A TWIG is a 425-word picture book for ages 4-7.
Twiggy the stick bug has a mantra: Be a twig. Be a twig. Posing as a stick is the perfect defense against predators, but oh, how it stifles Twiggy’s desire for self-expression! So she applies her skill for style to interior decorating instead. The day her stick act works against her, only an unlikely friendship with a bird gets Twiggy out of a very “sticky” situation. 

DRAGON CLOUD a 330-word, 14-stanza rhyming picture book for ages 5-7. 
Where the Wild Things Are meets the sky in Dragon Cloud, A child gazes up at the sky and sees animal shapes in the drifting clouds. There’s a kangaroo! Over there—a unicorn! Then picnickers flee as a dark and ominous Dragon Cloud prowls above the park. Our hero is determined to defeat the billowy beast, but in the sky This King of Clouds reigns…and rains.

A DOG, TWO CATS, A BEAR AND ME is a 275-word, 11-stanza rhyming picture book for ages 3-5.
How many excuses can a child come up with to delay settling down and going to sleep? In A Dog, Two Cats, a Bear and Me, a child’s menagerie of stuffed animals are her accomplices in endless bedtime dawdling. In “Calvin and Hobbs” style, the stuffed animals come to life in the child’s imagination each time her parents leave the room. 

MATZAH BALL CHASE  When a matzah ball fall from a soup spoon in Grandma's  apartment in Israel, it rolls through sites from the Old City in Jerusalem down to Eilat before it gets captured—though not by the kid who's chasing it. A funny story told in impeccable rhyme.

A PLACE TO POOP is a 55-word picture book for toddlers.
Pipp is clearly ready to abandon the diaper. But who should Pipp look to as a potty training role model? The family dog who poops in the yard? The cat who buries its poop in the litter box? The bird that poops down from a branch? This potty training book celebrates a new, cleaner phase in life. With a single repeated refrain, it is told primarily through hilarious illustrations. Potty not included.







Oldest Road - England (Illustration by Paula Cohen)

Fastest Road - Autobahn (illustration by Paula Cohen)