My* First Published Fiction!
New Museum of Science (Boston) Storybooks
Javier Builds a Bridge
Being a new stepbrother to little Luisa isn’t always as much fun as Javier first thought it would be. When Luisa falls off the bridge leading to Javi’s fort, his mother tells him they’ll have to take the bridge down.

Javi convinces his parents to let him keep the bridge to his fort—if he can design a safer one. Will Javier's new bridge design pass the inspection of his stepfather Joe, a real civil engineer? How can he bridge the relationship to his little sister?


Leif Catches the Wind
Leif and his cousin Dana have been best friends forever. When Dana moves, Leif misses her terribly. She, after all, has always been the one to lead them into fun adventures. In fact, Dana emails Leif to talk about weather forecasting, her favorite hobby;Leif emails Dana with news of his pet fish.

Leif is excited to learn that Dana’s new house has a fish pond outside, but Dana says that the fish seem to be sick. Inspired by the wind turbines of Denmark, Leif and Dana realize they might be able to use wind energy to help solve the problem. Tackling this challenge leads Leif into new insights about the wind and mechanical engineering, as well as about his own capabilities and the enduring nature of friendship.

*About This Storybook Project: A Team Effort
As part of my work with the Engineering is Elementary project at the Museum of Science (Boston), I was the lead author for two revised storybooks about kids who encounter problems in their daily lives, which they solve through engineering. Meanwhile, they resolve personal concerns that are nagging at them. The series, however, extends beyond these two books, and so those of us on the Engineering is Elementary team work together to ensure that specific goals are met for each book.

These books are part of a project that brings the excitement of engineering to kids, through the storybooks and through school activities. I am the Professional Development Director for the project, which means I'm busy working with teachers who want to use the materials with their students.


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