Read Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles over Spring Break

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Unleashed!The upcoming Spring Break is a terrific time to relax and read leisure read a pleasant book.  I suggest my most recent book, Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles, which is now available in both paperback and ebook versions from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. This is my first novel for young people. But the volume has also garnered praise from adults who have read it and loved it!

In the book, I have created a charming cast of animal characters and their human companions who live in or visit the local dog park. Each event which takes place holds an essential message about kindness, community, inclusion, or personal responsibility. There are also messages of anti-bullying and anti-prejudice.

In addition, the narrative includes commentary about how young people can appreciate nature, even if they live in a suburban environment. I explore themes related to the migratory patterns of Canada geese, the natural instincts of the animal characters, and the progression of the seasons.

The dog park described in the novel, Vila Borba, really exists! It is located not far from my home in Chino Hills, California. And depicted on the cover of the book are two of my very own pets! The little white terrier mix on the front cover is Kurby, whose rescue story is described in Chapter 4. (In the book the Kurby character is named Bowser.) The elegant black and white tuxedo pictured on the back cover is my own ladycat, Licorice.

This 156-page book would make a terrific book for your children or their teacher to read. If you have already purchased the book, thank you so much! I hope you would consider writing a review of the story on amazon.

Victoria Soto: A Chalkboard Hero of Sandy Hook Elementary

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First grade teacher Victoria Soto lost her life while protecting her students from during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Photo credit: My Hero Project

It is a sad fact that a number of American educators have been put in the unenviable position of protecting their students from active shooters. They are sometimes injured or killed while sheilding their students. One of these teachers was Victoria Soto, a first grade teacher who was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting on Dec. 14, 2012.

Victoria Soto was born on November 4, 1985, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  In 2003, she graduated from Stratford High School located in Stratford, Connecticut. Following her graduation, she enrolled in Eastern Connecticut State University. There she earned a dual Bachelor’s degree in History and Education, with honors. She also took courses towards her Master’s degree at Southern Connecticut State University.

Once she earned her teaching credentials, Victoria accepted a position as an elementary teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. On December 14, 2013, Victoria was engaged in teaching her first grade class when gunman Adam Lanza burst into the school wielding several weapons and looking for victims. He started shooting. Staff and students heard Lanza discharging his weapons over the school public address system. By the time the gunman made his way to her classroom, Victoria had been able to hide her children in a closet. When confronted by Lanza, Victoria told him the students had been sent to the school gym. But some of the children were too afraid to stay hidden. When they ran from their hiding place, the shooter began to fire at them. In a supreme act of heroism, Victoria threw herself between Lanza and the children. In so doing, she sustained a fatal gunshot wound.

Victoria was only 27 years old when she was killed. Her career spanned five years. The Chalkboard Champion was laid to rest in Union Cemetery Stratford in Fairfield County, Connecticutt.

In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Victoria a Presidential Citizens Medal posthumously. The medal honors Americans who have performed “exemplary deeds of service” for their country or fellow citizens. The medal is is the government’s second-highest civilian award.

Read more about this amazing educator in this online article entitled “The Teacher as Hero.”

Middle school educator Becky Haenfler named SD’s 2026 State Teacher of the Year

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Becky Haenfler, a middle school English Language Arts teacher, has been named South Dakota’s 2026 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight

Many outstanding teachers work with our nation’s young people in pubic schools. All of them are dedicated and hardworking, and occasionally some of them are singled out for special recognition. One of these is Becky Haenfler, a middle school teacher from South Dakota. She has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.

Becky’s career as an educator spans 19 years. Currently, she teaches Language Arts to students in fifth through seventh grades at Avon Middle School in rural Avon, South Dakota. In fact, she works in the very same classroom she attended as a child. Her lessons are known to be engaging and meaningful, which helps her students make real-world connections. She also coaches basketball, volleyball, and track on her campus.

The honored educator is well-respected in her school district, and beyond. “Becky Haenfler has a wonderful reputation at Avon School District as being an engaging educator whose teaching style gets kids excited about reading,” declares South Dakota Secretary of Education Joseph Graves. “She is committed to making sure all of her students have the supports they need to read novels that challenge and inspire them, and that experience turns them into lifelong readers,” he continues.

Ever since she was a child, Becky has dreamed of becoming a teacher, she recently revealed. “I don’t remember wanting to do anything else,” she confesses. “Initially, it was having a good experience going to school in Avon. Having a great experience as a student made me want to come back to school to keep doing this,” she continued.

Becky earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s degree as a Reading Literacy Specialist in 2024, both from the University of South Dakota.

To learn more about Becky Haenfler, click on this link to an interview with her published by the South Dakota State Department of Education.