About the Author

Author/educator/musician Mark Weakland enjoys being a slash. While pursuing his bachelor's degree in the sciences and working with adjuticated youth, he played drums and percussion with scores of Pittsburgh-based bands. Later, he obtained multiple teacher certifications and a master's degree in education, studied in Japan under the auspices of the Japanese Fulbright Memorial Fund, and pursued certification in the Wilson Language system.Mark expresses his creative side through music and writing. He has written more than fifty children's books for Capstone Press and Picture Window Books. His books have received outstanding reviews from Booklist and Library Media Connection as well as a number of awards for non-fiction writing. Mark has produced and written an award-winning audio book (The Delicious Chocolate Donut) , humorous essays for The Funny Times, essays on literacy for Reading Today, and books for teachers, including Super Core! Turbocharging Your Basal Reading Program with More Reading, Writing, and Word Work (published by the International Reading Association) . He is currently working on Super Spellers! (Stenhouse Publishing) , which is slated for release in the fall of 2017.As a musician and songwriter, Mark has written and recorded both grown up music and music for children. His children's songs have won Parents' Choice and Children's Web awards and his grown up songs have finished as finalists in The John Lennon Songwriting contest. Performing on drums and percussion, guitar, and vocals, Mark still records and plays with numerous artists and bands. Mark lives with his wife in the Laurel mountains of Western Pennsylvania. In his off hours he can be found communing with the critters and watching the grass grow (and the snow blow) at his home, Springwater Farm.

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