Mary Renck Jalongo, Ph.D. is a writer, teacher, and editor. Articles that she has written about therapy animals and the R.E.A.D.® program have appeared recently in Our Children, published by the National PTA, and Childhood Education, published by the Association for Childhood Education International. She is the author of over twenty books, many of them focusing on ways of supporting children’s literacy and creativity, such as: Young Children and Picture Books, (National Association for the Education of Young Children , 2004); Early Childhood Language Arts (Allyn & Bacon, 2003); and Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning: Preschool through Fourth Grade (Prentice-Hall/Pearson, 2006). In addition, Mary has earned four national awards for excellence in scholarly writing and is the author for all of the World Book Encyclopedia entries on early childhood education. As a classroom teacher, Mary Jalongo taught preschool, first grade, and second grade. She is now a Professor of Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she teaches courses in literacy, research and writing to future teachers, practicing teachers, and doctoral students. For the past ten years, Mary has served as the editor-in-chief of the international publication Early Childhood Education Journal. In 2004, she co-authored and edited the book The World’s Children and Their Companion Animals: Developmental and Educational Significance of the Child-Pet Bond. She lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband and two dogs, Babe a white German shepherd/Samoyed mix shelter dog and Cuddles, a greyhound rescued from the track. Mary has been actively involved with the local chapter of R.E.A.D.® and a Family Literacy grant funded by the state of Pennsylvania to bring the program to the children and families at public libraries.  

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