Meet Kelly

Kelly's been a teacher for nearly a decade, and spends her days surrounded by five-, six- and seven-year-olds. During her time with them over the years, she's discovered a real love of children’s literature. After reading literally hundreds of stories with her students, she decided to write her very own! And what a better story to write than one about a girl who not only opens up a book, but she opens herself up to a new world full of people to meet, places to go, and things to see? When I Read … is an expression of how Kelly feels about #kidlit; it can be an exploration of character education for young readers that shows us when we read a truly great story, our lives are never quite the same.

Kelly was raised in a small, rural town, Erin, Ontario but moved to Toronto following her B.A. in Social Development Studies at Waterloo for Teacher’s College. A graduate of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at OISE, she earned her M.A. in Child Study and Education, including her Ontario Elementary Teaching Certificate. She’s been teaching with the TDSB since 2008 and teaches at High Park Alternative School in a grade 1/2 classroom.

Kelly lives in the Junction, Toronto with her husband, John, their daughter, Grace and their cuddly cat, Rocky. She loves the feedback she's gotten from the community about When I Read... and yes, she is bouncing around some ideas for a new book!

Some of Kelly’s Favourite Read Aloud Books & Authors:

Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr

Ish by Peter H Reynolds

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Warning: Do Not Open This Book by Adam Lehrhaupt

The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett