Author Michelle Falli was inspired by all of the children who asked the notorious question of "What is a Belly Button?" She decided to talk with her middle-aged daughter Allie, at the age of 8 years old, to create children's book. This book assists with how to answer a young child's curious question. Yet, they'll continue to ask questions about EVERYTHING.
How proud are these characters of their "Belly Buttons"? The young boy and girl are proud enough to show their "Belly Buttons" throughout the entire book for all to see. Be sure to get a glimpse of the fun loving cartoon characters of her son, Brandon, daughter, Meghan Allison, dogs, and cats illustrated by Dawn Phillips in the following "Book Trailer Video”.
"The Belly Button Book" (Published in 2009) Available for Purchase.
What if you're faced with the struggle of a day job? Author Michelle, who teaches 6-12 grade English, has been an interim part-time substitute for the past three years. She hopes to find a full-time position as an English Teacher, and has been interviewing. Unfortunately, budget cuts have hurt teachers.
Prior to becoming a teacher, Author Michelle Falli was a RN Nurse for kids? Who would of thought, a nurse and teacher could share some similarities.
Michelle Falli received her Nursing Degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ. Then it was watch out kids here comes RN Nurse Michelle. Can you guess what the kids would ask? You got it! What is a Belly Button? She would tell them a story as to why they have a belly button.
As a kid at heart and in spirit, she's been able to blend her enthusiasm towards education to teach high school aged kids about Family Life Skills (Sex Education) Health, and Nursing.
You might be surprised by how an RN Nurse and Teacher can go several directions at the same time. Next year, as a Global Volunteer, she plans visit an Orphanage in Romania to experience the joys of playing and teaching the children and provide them with medical care. She enjoyed the experience as a Volunteer of the Montana Indian Reservation with her eldest daughter.
Her nursing skills go beyond working with kids but as a spokesperson for Depression Bipolar Support Alliance and NAMI for Mental Health Advocacy. Her emphasis is towards teen depression and mental health, and she feels it's been under funded, misunderstood, and frankly there's no resources. You become more aware of such issues, if one's own family has personal experiences. For instances, the entire woman in her family has dealt with depression at some point, and her own personal experience of having a brain tumor, in 1998, which sent her into a depression.
When Michelle arrived to Virginia, in 2000, she saw the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program on Oprah, which inspired her to order a whole bunch of yellow ribbon cards. She became dedicated to the cause, and driven to make the community aware of suicide and preventions. Her mission was achieved by walking door to door with her three children (ages 1,3 and 5) handing out information. Not to mention, the time she invested by speaking with forty schools, staff development, and Superintendents. In 2001, a Suicide Prevention Program was implemented in the schools as a resource for youth.
She observed nurses like she over worked, underpaid, and under appreciated. Now, it's bled into education. Today teachers face budget cuts galore. It affects their resources for teaching and morale in the classrooms. Some teachers have lost the desire to teach. She feels it's important to step back a bit to old school, and get teachers out of burnout mode.
It was good-bye, Nurse Michelle and hello, English Teacher Mrs. Falli.
In 2007, she received her Master's Degree in Education from Shenandoah University, VA, and attended Seton Hall University, NJ, majored in English.
Mrs. Falli won't let those teachers who lack enjoyment and enthusiasm to teach bring her down. She's way too old and too enthusiastic towards teaching. Therefore, the kids benefit from all of the joy brought to the classroom. If kids see a teacher who wants to be there to teach thus they want to be there to learn.
If you expect kids to read, then you need to determine their interests because they read only what they like as too adults. She's found that teen boys read the graphic novels and teen girls who love fashion magazines let them read about fashion. What truly matters is they're engaged in a book.
Today, student's writing has become more about testing and accuracy. Instead, She believes students need to feel free to be creative. This way they're welling to step outside their box to express themselves in writing, journals, songs, poetry, and they feel less judged therefore they flourish. As a teacher, she's determined by requesting the students to write a grammatically perfect paper and creative paper, in the end they'll have a nice mixture to chose from for their final exam critiques.
You'd have to admit; if you're an English Teacher it's a natural progression to write.
Mrs. Falli has always had a passion to write. Creative writing was her favorite course in college. Her creative tendencies love to sprout new ideas to write. As she writes her new ideas down it frees and relaxes her mind. She is not limited to writing stories. She writes articles, sermons, songs, and special memories of her kids for them to later recall.
Wow, you'd have to say her creative juices are stuck in overdrive 24/7. What amazing ideas flow from her mind as she hikes, quite solitude, and personal experiences. She has too many ideas but not enough time to write. But, she shares her ideas with other authors. What about a fabulous Novel idea? Oh yes, she has it kept under wraps from some of us.
It's understandable as to why you've limited to time to write. Yet, it's wonderful to share with your readers you've two children's books published.
Author Michelle Falli has published a children's book, "Shhhh Don't Tell Mommy", it's everything her mother didn't tell her about having kids of her own, birth to age 10. Currently, working on the sequel "Shhhh Don't Tell Daddy either" the teen years, but it's a lot bigger with lots of resources, and expect to be completed in a few more years once eldest is in college. She mentioned working on "Shades of Blue" which is her life and her experiences with depression.
Here are some interesting tid-bits about Author Michelle Falli.
Author Michelle Falli resides in Round Hill, VA, with husband Peter of 19 years and three teenagers with a home in Jupiter, FL. She was born and raised in NJ, and loves anything outside such as; beach pool, hiking, biking, and reading.
She has quite a lengthy bookshelf of read books.
She loves a good book, if it teaches a lesson. She enjoys learning about their ethnical cultures ways of life, their religions, and the Middle Eastern. Here's too name a few of her collection; Author Phillipa Gregory, she writes historical fiction on monarchy royal courts, "The Other Bolyn Girl", "The White Queen", "Bolyn Girl", "Wildeacre", and "Constant Princess". She's also obsessed with the Appalachian Trail, "Blind Courage" and "Half the Sky".
Author Michelle Falli has brought forth a life of substance to her writing as a Kid's Nurse, English Teacher, Volunteer, Book Reader, and so much more. Her books were written for her children so they would have a story to pass down to the next generations. As her grandma "MA", left with her stories, business newsletters, and memories of the BEST stories told. She died at the age of 99, bless her soul. With a family of writers and storytellers the gene will continue as too the memories. Author Michelle Falli's two favorite quotes, "be the change you wish to see in the world", Mahatma Ghandi, and this quote represents herself, "growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional". What a wonderful outlook on life she shares.
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