Writing Songs All Year Long.

I love writing children’s songs and working with different composers to make the words "sing." When I write for Disney or Sesame Street, as I often do, it's important to remember I am writing for characters kids love and every one is different. Elmo for instance loves animals and refers to himself in the third person: "Elmo is happy," so I need to write for him in that style. Winnie the Pooh has lots of friends in the Hundred Acre Wood and The I Believe Bunny lives in the beautiful, flower-filled glen. For all of these characters, the creative challenge is to write songs that reflect their worlds and capture the joy and fun which is what kids love about them. Throw in some educational content, a catchy beat and a sing-along melody, and you have a hit!

From Then 'Til Now: Reaching the 90th Book

Today I turned in the manuscript for my 90th children's book and I'm really looking forward to hitting the 100 mark! Last month I was in Tennessee talking to a group of kids in my power point presentation I show a picture of me in high school (yes that's me!) and tell the kids that when I got out of high school I had no idea I would become a children's book author- I actually wanted to become a singer. I went to college in the 70's and back then people didn't seem to worry too much about how anyone was going to get a job when they got out. My parents never really seemed concerned about how my degree in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College School of Music would exactly lead to a position with a salary and benefits. But somehow things did work out, and recently I've started singing to the kids and teachers who seem to get a kick out of it. I also recently discovered that Sesame Street has put a lot of their segments on YouTube so I typed in "Swamp Mushy Muddy" and there I was performing as the singing voice for a back-up muppet in a song by Oscar the Grouch. Not exactly the way I thought I'd break into show business when I got out of college, but you've got to start somewhere. Check it out below!