On Your Mark, Get Set, Teach

The weeks before the first day of school can be quite unnerving. The excitement of landing your first teaching position suddenly turns into anxiety and self-doubt. Relax. You are not alone. Authors Lisa Funari Willever and Lisa Battinelli remember those days well. Together, they have combined their urban and suburban teaching experience to share the methods, tips and techniques used by successful teachers on a daily basis.

Award-winning author, Lisa Funari- Willever uses her own experiences as the basis of many of her 16 picture and chapter books. Often referred to as the New Jersey author, she has created the Nicky Fifth chapter book series that blends humor, fact, and fiction and uses real New Jersey locations as th setting. Her books have been displayed at the White House, featured on the Rosie O'Donnell Show, and named to the NJ Battle of the Book List three times. In 2009, she won the Benjamin Franklin Award for A Glove of Their Own and was the Runner-up with There's A Kid Under My Bed. Lisa spends 60-70 days each year, visiting schools across the Unied States and abroad. She is a former teacher and lifelong New Jersey resident. She lives in Mansfield, NJ with her husband and three children. <P>Lisa Battinelli is a graduate of Trenton State College and Long Island University, where she received her Masters Degree in Reading. She is a lifelong resident of Bergen County, New Jersey and a former teacher. Lisa was named River Edge Teacher-of-the-Year in 1995-1996. Her husband, Pete, is a commodities broker and they are the proud parents of Grace Lesley and Ava Jane.