Tiny Tot Tiger Says Happy Birthday, America! follows a young tiger and his friends as they prepare for a Fourth of July parade while learning about patriotism, military service, freedom, and the meaning behind America’s symbols. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

My father was a Marine, and I was always incredibly proud of his service. That gave me a deep appreciation from an early age for the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country—and by their families as well.

I wanted Tiny Tot Tiger Says Happy Birthday, America! to introduce children to patriotism in a joyful and age-appropriate way. The Fourth of July parade gave me the perfect setting to do that. Through Tiny Tot and his friends, children can learn about our flag, our military, our freedoms, and some of the symbols and traditions that are part of America’s story while still enjoying an adventure with characters they know and love.

More than anything, I want children to understand that freedom is precious. I believe our rights are God-given, and I want young readers to grow up with gratitude for those who have sacrificed to protect those freedoms. I also want them to know that it is okay to love their country, to promote unity, and to be grateful for the freedoms we share.

How did you balance the educational aspects of the book with keeping the story fun and engaging for young readers?

Literacy is a tremendous concern for me, and my background as an educator has shown me how important it is to prepare children early—not only with skills, but with confidence and a desire to learn.

Children don’t fall in love with reading because we tell them it is educational. They do it because we give them stories they want to hear and characters they want to spend time with.

That is one of the reasons I created the Dirt Dog and Friends series. If children can laugh with these characters, care about them, and wonder what they are going to do next, they are much more likely to want to turn the page. Then learning can happen naturally along the way.

Ultimately, that is what I want to do: help children want to read and eventually love to read. Reading is a pathway to knowledge, and knowledge gives children the ability to think, question, discover, and make informed decisions for themselves rather than simply relying on someone else to tell them what to think.

How did you work with illustrator Lissette Blanco to bring the colorful parade, military references, and patriotic celebrations to life?

When I write a story, I naturally see the scenes in my mind because I’m a very visual person. As I write, I include detailed illustration notes in the manuscript describing what I envision for each page—the characters, their expressions, the setting, and sometimes even small details that are important to the story.

Then Lissette adds her magic.

She has a phenomenal ability to take what I have imagined and bring it to life, often adding details that make the scene even better. More often than not, we get remarkably close to the desired result on the first try. With Tiny Tot Tiger Says Happy Birthday, America!, the parade scenes, patriotic colors, military references, and expressions on the characters’ faces were especially important because I wanted children to feel the excitement and celebration on every page.

It has been a wonderful collaboration because I bring a very specific vision to the manuscript, but I also respect the creativity and extraordinary talent she brings to the illustrations.

The book includes discussion questions and a Pledge of Allegiance activity. What conversations do you hope parents and teachers will have with children after reading it?

I include activities because I don’t want the learning to end when the story ends. Discussion helps deepen understanding, and it also gives adults an opportunity to help children connect what they have read to their own lives.

I hope parents, grandparents, and teachers will talk with children about questions such as: What does freedom mean? Why do we show respect for the American flag? Why should we be grateful to the people who serve our country? What does the Pledge of Allegiance mean when we say it? And this very important question: what does it mean to be united even when we are different from one another?

Those conversations don’t have to be complicated. Sometimes a simple question can cause a child to think about something in a new way.

That’s the purpose behind the discussion questions and activities throughout the Dirt Dog and Friends books. I want children to enjoy a good story, but I also want that story to open the door to meaningful conversations about character, kindness, gratitude, responsibility, and, in this case, freedom and unity.

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