I didn't have a reason when I refused to let my newly licensed son drive on a 6-hour trip. We had just moved houses, so we were starting our trip to grandma's from a new part of the city. We veered away from our normal route because of road construction, and I headed north on the wrong road. An hour into our journey, my husband looked up from his phone and noticed the mistake. GPS directed us to a simple detour across country to get us back on track. We couldn't know this was going to have a high ridge with a big curve. I was nervous about the height and narrow road, so I slowed the car down quite a bit. Everybody was mad at me anyway and they made comments about my caution! A few minutes later, while we were still on the ridge, the wind blew, the moisture on the ground froze immediately, and the car spun out of control. I took my foot off the gas pedal. The car finally stopped when two wheels caught the gravel edge of the road and gained traction. Several other stranded drivers stopped too. Many of us got out of our cars. We couldn't even stand up because the road was so slick. My husband said he could see a gravel road at the bottom of the ridge, and he thought we could slide the car down to it and swing around to a safer location. As we stood there debating our options, the ice pelted harder. I was terrified, but we decided to take a chance and let the car slide down the hill like a big sled. Our son opted to get out of the car and slide down himself. It worked and we made it to the gravel road. We inched along the back roads for hours as it grew darker and the ice storm gained intensity. I don't know if it was the weather or how far away from civilization we were, but the phones stopped working. Kind people in an isolated house allowed us to use their phone and a farmer led us in his big truck back to the main road. We made it to a McDonalds packed with weary travelers looking for warmth and safety. A dumpy motel next to the restaurant had one room left! If my son or husband had been driving their usual 10 miles over the speed limit, music blaring, we would have slid off the ridge and rolled the car to the bottom. Help would not have beenavailable for days because of the storm. I think it would have been the end of us!

I loved books. No one could ever read to me enough. I was promised when I got to school, I would learn to read. I couldn’t wait to read any book I wanted, anytime I wanted!

I vividly remember sitting at my kindergarten desk as a teacher quizzed each classmate about letter sounds. When my turn came, I was asked what sound the “J” made. I was stumped. There were too many sounds to remember. I was overwhelmed and confused.

“Jelly, Jar, Jam” the teacher prodded. “What goes with that?”

“Grape?” I answered.

Everyone laughed and I was in trouble (again) for being a clown.

I desperately wanted to read but I was missing key pieces of information. I’ll never forget the exact moment the next year when a teacher said just the right words to me. By that time, I had more recall of letter sounds. She reminded me to use the letter sounds. She slid her finger across a word as I made the sounds again and again until a word formed. In one moment, it all made sense. I remember delighting in my ability to see print and figure out the words.

I didn’t give the process of reading much thought until one of my sons struggled in school. We explored tutoring, therapies, private, and home school options. I read stacks of books trying to help him. All of this experience helped me when I became a Teacher's Assistant. I've worked in both public and private schools.

“What’s That Sound?” includes the key pieces of information early learners need to grasp to become readers.

Those elements are:

*The letter/sound relationship clearly described

*Multiple opportunities to track from left to right

*A repeated visual of the concept that sounds can be in the beginning, middle, and end of

words

*The alphabet letters are not introduced in alphabetical order. Research of order of

sounds children could learn was considered, as well as artistic design to please the

viewer.

*The vowels become actual characters to playfully introduce the concept that some letters

have more than one sound, and immediately after the child’s name will be considered.

Confusion can be cleared immediately! (Years ago, I spent numerous sessions with a

young reader who absolutely could not remember the short e, a, and u vowel sounds.

One day she pointed at the name tag on her desk. Carefully moving from left to right

she sounded out all the letters in her name. Both the “e” and the “a” in her name made

the short “u” sound…in two different places! No wonder she was confused! The most important word she could easily read and write didn’t follow the sound rules she had been taught so far! By second grade she had written her name hundreds of times!)

What’s That Sound?” is designed to be an interactive book for very young readers to practice letter sounds at their own pace. A bonus is a visual schedule within the story to give structure to the morning routine. Everything a young student needs to equip them for reading success is provided in one beautiful book! When parents read they will be imitating the way the alphabet is presented during the school day.

After an entire year of online schooling, this book will help young students catch up!

The ebook is receiving stellar reviews! The hard copy will be available next month.

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Every day I write three pages in a cheap notebook with an expensive pen. My stack of notebooks is higher than my knees. I rarely read my past, but when I do, I amuse myself with my wit. My husband knows that should I expire unexpectedly, he better burn the pile, or I will haunt him forever.