About Our Reviewers

Ronna Mandel, former Associate Editor at L.A. Parent, is the mother of a middle schooler and a university Freshman. Ronna, her husband and two children moved back to the States in 2006 after living 10 years overseas in both Frankfurt and London. Now residing in the San Gabriel Valley, Ronna is a freelance writer who interviews authors, reviews children’s books and educational products and promotes reading-related events. Her site also offers contests and giveaways throughout the year. When her head’s not buried in between the pages of a book, you can find Ronna writing her own stories for children (as well as a mystery for adults). You can also find Ronna’s book reviews in print and online at L.A. Parent magazine. The Good Reads With Ronna blog, along with some of Ronna’s other blog faves, happily resides at http://www.laparent.com and can be found weekly in www.parenthood.com’s Practical Parenting newsletter. The blog is now also available on these fine sites:  Pinterest, Bay Area Parent, Our Kids San Antonio Online, The Boston Parents’ Paper Online, The Westchester Family and most recently Colorado Parent.  Contact Ronna directly at Ronna.L.Mandel@gmail.com, on Twitter @goodreadsronna and on Facebook. Wishing you happy reading!

Debbie signs a copy of her book for a first grader at a recent author visit.

Debbie Glade is a lifetime writer and the author, illustrator and voice talent of the award-winning children’s picture book The Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa Rica, published by Smart Poodle Publishing. She regularly visits South Florida elementary and middle schools with her reading, writing and geography programs. She blogs daily at smartpoodlepublishing.com.  For years, Debbie was a travel writer for luxury cruise lines. She loves reviewing children’s books and has done so for L.A. Parent  since the start of 2010. In addition, she works as a freelance writer for travel and news sites and was the Fort Lauderdale, FL Topic Writer for About.com  in 2012. She lives in Hollywood, Florida with her husband, John and gigantic poodle, Darwin. Her daughter is an undergraduate student at The University of Pennsylvania studying Geology and traveling the world. In her spare time, Debbie enjoys organic tomato gardening, crafts, cooking, and of course, reading!

Hilary Taber is a graduate of Azusa Pacific University and is currently pursuing her master’s in education. She has read over 400 children’s books. These have ranged from board books to the latest young adult titles. Hilary’s great grandmother was a first grade teacher who had inspired her mother with a love of children’s literature. Thus, this love of children’s literature has been passed down from one generation to the next and, like any fine heirloom, is treated with great respect and care. Her reviews have been published in BookSense (now IndieBound), Publisher’s Weekly Online, and her review for The Penderwicks was used by the publisher for advertising.  Hilary has formerly worked as a children’s bookseller at Vroman’s Bookstore, Pasadena, CA.  While at Vroman’s, she met Eloise illustrator, Hilary Knight, and had her own copy of the book signed! In her spare time, Hilary enjoys all things Jane Austen, and going out to tea with her best friend, Meaghan.  She dreams of taking a literary tour of England and Ireland. Hilary is very dedicated to her family which consists of her mother, father, younger brother and a small black and white poodle named Cam. Currently, Hilary and her cousin, Grace Duryée, (manager of the children’s department at her local Barnes and Noble) are starting their own children’s book blog soon. Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming blog!

 

Photo: ©Konrad Tho Fiedler