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Let’s Dance! (Boyds Mills & Kane) is Valerie Bolling’s debut picture book. In addition to being an author, Valerie has been an educator for over 25 years. When she taught elementary students, it was difficult to find diverse literature for them. Thus, she is passionate about creating stories in which all children can see themselves and feel valued and heard.
A graduate
of Tufts University and Columbia University, Teachers College, Valerie currently
works as an Instructional Coach with middle and high school teachers.
Besides writing picture books, Valerie writes a Monthly Memo
for teachers that she publishes on Twitter, and she has been published in The National Writing Project’s Quarterly
(“The Family Writing Project Builds a Learning Community in Connecticut”) and
NESCBWI News (“Microaggressions Don’t Feel ‘Micro’”). Recently,
she had a poem accepted for publication by Cricket Media.
Valerie is a member of NCTE, SCBWI, the NESCBWI Equity
and Inclusion Committee, the Authors Guild, the WNDB Mentorship Program,
#12X12PB, 2020 Diverse Debuts, 20/20 Vision Picture Books, and a picture book
critique group.
Valerie
and her husband live in Connecticut and enjoy traveling, hiking, reading, going
to the theater, and dancing.