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Happy 4th of July, Jenny Sweeney
by Leslie Kimmelman
Book Description:
It's the 4th of July and all over town, people are getting ready. Jenny Sweeney gives her dog, Rags, a bath, Mike the fireman polishes the fire truck, and Mayor Swanson works on her speech. All the preparations lead up to the big parade and a night of bright fireworks. It's a great day. "Happy Birthday, USA!"
Author Biography:
Leslie Kimmelman was first inspired to be a writer, though she didn’t know it yet, by her fourth-grade teacher. She wrote her a note at year’s end: Roses are red, violets are blue/ I wish I could write half as wellas you. It must have meant something to Leslie at the time, as she found it years later, tucked into a book of poetry for safekeeping.
Meanwhile Leslie Kimmelman continued to write and to read voraciously
all through her childhood. She penned plays, labored over poetry,
reported for the school paper, and read every children’s book she could get her hands on. Still it never occurred to her that writing could be a profession for ordinary people. Then in her senior year at college, she attended one of those roundtable presentations in which alumni come to speak about their careers. One of the speakers that day was a young woman in a smart, black dress accessorized with a strand of pearls. She talked about her career as an editor, where she got to sit at her desk and read books all day long. That’s for me! Kimmelman thought. So she moved to New York and became an editor. Specifically she became a children’s book editor. What could be more rewarding than introducing kids to the amazing magic of books? She loved editing, and after several years of reading other people’s manuscripts, she realized that maybe she could be a children’s author, too.
A dozen or so books later, she now works as a part-time editor for Sesame Street Magazine. She writes all day about Big Bird and Elmo and their friends, and then she comes home and writes about whatever she pleases. It’s a lot of fun. Her two children and their friends are a constant source of ideas and funny turns of speech (though they would doubtless argue that the things she says are—unintentionally—much funnier). And when she needs to, she can turn to her large, and also hilarious, extended family for inspiration. She lives just outside of New York City with her husband, children, and neurotic dog. "Life is good, but crowded; spare time is a rare commodity. Luckily, as the lady in black promised, I can still read—and write—on the job," says Kimmelman
Other recent titles by Leslie Kimmelman:
- Round the Turkey: A Grateful Thanksgiving illustrated by Nancy Cote
- The Runaway Latkes illustrated by Paul Yalowitz
- How Do I Love You? Illustrated by Lisa McCue
- In the Doghouse illustrated by True Kelley
Additional Information:
For special recording request please call the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic at (312) 236-8715 or visit www.rfbd.org
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“As a parent, I know that reading with your child is an important part of their mental and emotional development,” said Mrs. Blagojevich. “I started this program to encourage parents to read with their children, and I hope our recommended reading list helps parents find books that the whole family can enjoy.”
