-2014 Storyjumper Book of the Week-

ABOUT ME
Leah lives in Northern Calif ornia with her husband, Shane Hare, and her three beautif ul children. Leah holds a bachelors degree in computer science and a master's degree in technology education. Leah is a Master Technical Trainer who teaches developers how to code and volunteers with local non profits to make technology more accessible to youth, girls and communities of color. Charlie the Hotdog is Leah's first published book.
How Charlie the Hotdog came to be:
My daughter is a creator. From the minute she wakes up, she is creating something I remember having similar passion as a child, but somewhere in this lif e journey, I became more of a consumer and less of a creator. My sense of what was possible and attainable had become relegated to what someone else had created and put up for sale. My inner creator resurfaced in October 2014, when my youngest son wanted to be a hotdog for Halloween. That year the school indicated that costumes had to represent characters from a book; any child's book. I understood the desire to provide a positive experience for children participating in Halloween festivities at school , as well as the desire to promote reading among young children. So I had a challenge, find a book about a hotdog. The consumer in me looked all over the internet trying to find a child's book about a hotdog that was positive and uplifting. Then, my inner creator surfaced and said "If it does not exist, create it!" Young readers and I have my son, Quincy, to thank for this book.