Steven Viele

Dr. Steven Viele, a retired pediatrician and father, has always been inspired by the imaginations of young children. He has always taken joy in rhyming and this lead him to make up poems, songs and stories while his children were growing up. They can still recite some of them, even when he sometimes can't. He continued to write poems, based on his experiences as a pediatrician for over 30 years, enjoying the wonderful opportunity to see how the inquisitive and imaginative minds of young children processed the world around them. He hopes both children and their parents enjoy his books and, with his latest book, A Gift You Don't Want, that they can learn a little about germs and viruses in an entertaining way as well as how to avoid getting or spreading these germs. This book was published before the covid-19 pandemic but the Flu Facts in the second half of the book are also very relevant to covid-19 and other respiratory viruses.

Dr. Viele will be soon be offering updated Facts and teaching/learning materials that take into account covid-19 information at his website: lollypopbooks.com

Illustrator Biography: Ashley McKeown is an artist, illustrator, interior designer, fitness instructor, real estate agent in training and loving mom of two active, fun kids. She loves to involve her children and their friends in the artistic process when creating her illustrations. She hopes you will all enjoy reading this book as much as she enjoyed illustrating it.