It Doesn't Grow on Trees

About the Book

Jonathan James hasn’t sung a solo since his first-grade disaster. Now he considers auditioning for the fifth-grade musical.

From before and after Do-or-Die Day, Jon endures daily taunts of Big Bad B and his buddies. But how could this be worse than bearing the brunt of one of Ms. Fa-La-La’s big-time explosions?

Maybe this will be the year Jon finds his motivation and surprises himself most of all.

About the Author

M.D. Pineno holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Education and a diploma in Writing for Children and Teenagers from the Institute of Children’s Literature. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, her work has appeared in Turtle, Once Upon a Time. . . , and poetry anthologies. Her longtime career in music education and poetry is noted in Who’s Who of American Women (Millennium Edition). In collaboration with daughter/artist Martha Pineno Hess, she has published three young reader picture books: Talented Tabby which is being read in 23 states and 11 other countries; Leonardo’s Lesson; and A Hat for Hannah. A Box of Bears is due out in 2009. A retired music educator, this author credits Joy Cowley of New Zealand as her most revered mentor and rates any school visit tops alongside traveling and writing for kids. Home is Selinsgrove, Central Pennsylvania. For fun Mariam reads, writes, and visits four grown children, three of whom teach music. A happy grandmother of five and great-grandmother of two, she never tires of world travels with her retired/volunteer music- teaching husband, Frank. Reader e-mail to writemuse@webtv.net makes her heart sing.