CiCi had wanted an imaginary friend for days and days and maybe even more than a week. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t meet one. Readers will join CiCi’s witty and ironic quest to “find” her imaginary friend. And if they don’t already have one, CiCi is sure to convince readers that they need an imaginary friend of their very own.

Child Psychologists have found that nearly two-thirds of children have at least one imaginary friend by the age of 7. I wonder how many of the remaining third would love to have an imaginary friend if they only knew where to meet one. Inspired by my own childhood frustration of feeling like I was the only kid without an imaginary friend.This manuscript is 575 words and targeted to 3-7 year olds.

Unable to fall asleep, a young boy lays down the law, “No Monsters Allowed!” as he evicts monsters from their hiding places throughout his house. “No creatures in the closet!” “No boo hags under the bed!” he orders while posting signs informing the critters that there is “No Vacancy” “No Camping Permitted” ” and “No Loitering.” But those sweet, forlorn monsters might just win him over in the end.

Inspired by my then five-year-old daughter’s obsession with posting signs around our house instructing monsters that they were NOT welcome. This story is 390 words and targeted to 2-7 year olds.

Amnesty is a cow with her own way of doing things. So it comes as no surprise when she escapes during a trip to the livestock market and leads Farmer Bumble, Cowboy Shorthorn and Officer Slipshod on a wild chase through the city. Filled with narrow misses, clumsy catch-ups and slapstick antics, readers will  route for Amnesty until she gets what she’s been looking for all along.

Inspired by this story at CBS News. This early chapter book is 1600 words and is targeted to 5-8 year olds.

There is only so much an octopus can do to entertain himself inside a tank in the city aquarium. One night, Harley’s boredom gets the best of him and he escapes in search of an adventure. Will he be caught, or will his surprise abilities allow him to outsmart the night watchman?

Harley’s character was inspired by a trip I took to the Seattle Aquarium where a Marine Naturalist told the true story of an octopus who escaped from his tank in a lab to dine on the animals in a nearby exhibit. I saw how these clever creatures and their unexpected ability to leave the water captivated children and adults alike. This early chapter book is 1600 words and targeted to 5-8 year olds.

Peter’s family takes him to the zoo but with everyone’s attention on his crying baby sister Peter can’t seem to get anyone to notice him or his interest in seeing the penguins. After a short scare of thinking they had lost Peter, his family decides it is time to leave. Little did anyone know that Peter had smuggled a surprise guest home with them.

Inspired by an urban legend (I mean true story that happened to my mom’s coworker’s neighbor’s sister’s friend) of a boy who smuggled a penguin out of a zoo. This manuscript is 454 words and targeted to 2-6 year olds.

This interactive alphabet book teaches kids letters and phonics by having them perform an action for each letter. By stating each letter aloud, pronouncing it phonetically twice, then reading an action word for the kids to perform, this book also serves as a memory game and a tool to teach kids to anticipate what comes next.

I wrote this manuscript at the request of a preschool teacher in search of material to teach the alphabet in a fun and active way. The manuscript is 54 words and targeted to 2-5 year olds.

Clever Hans is a horse that has the ability to count, tell time, spell and even complete complicated mathematical equations. Or does he?

Inspired by the true story of the horse who is famous for his contributions to general psychology. This manuscript is 866 words and targeted to 4-8 year olds.

Switch Witch and her dog Sweet Tooth collect candy on Halloween night when children invite them to switch their trick-or-treat candy for a gift. Will Switch Witch know when enough is enough or will her greed cause her to risk loosing her magic?

Switch Witch was inspired by an article I read about parent’s ploys to try and get their children to voluntarily give up some of their excess Halloween candy. I believe that this story could really enhance the way that some families choose to celebrate Halloween in a way that parents and children can both be excited about. This manuscript is 976 words and targeted to 4-8 year olds.