Lola Koala is ready to take your child on an adventure! Little ones (ages 2-6) who love to sit in laps, “read” lift-the-flaps, and explore will be enchanted with Lola Koala, a globetrotting adventurer.
In this first book, Lola Koala’s Travel Adventures: Who, What, Where and Yes/No Questions, Lola takes little readers along on her travels, asks questions (interactive with a lift-the-flap for the answers), and shares a clue on each page to her final destination.
Lola empowers kids and their parents by teaching foundational language skills and travel skills that help children practice answering Who, What, Where and Yes/No questions all while learning about cool places around the world.
Read on for an interview with Dr. Tinita Kearney.
Q. What is your background?
A. I have had a desire to work with young children since high school and have done that for every job I’ve had since that time. I am now a pediatric speech-language pathologist and I take great joy in helping little ones improve their speech and language skills both in my private practice and in the public school system that I work with. It is this love of children and my vested interest in their progress that drove me to create the Lola Koala’s Travel Adventures book series.
Q. What inspired you to write this book?
A. School year after school year, I am met with a caseload of unique, eager-to-learn elementary-school-aged students with not-so-unique speech and language issues. And while a percentage of these students have difficulties that require intensive therapy (plus the dedicated involvement of the family and school team), a good portion requires much less involvement from me. It’s this group that I aim to help with my books — by empowering their families to build their language skills at home with consistent, fun practice and resources!
Q. Why are the skills in your book important to target at a young age?
A. The ability to ask and answer questions is a critical language skill that is needed to functionally engage in conversation, to demonstrate and gather basic knowledge and to meet the Common Core standards of kindergarten and beyond. This skill is just one of many that I work on with a large number of my young clients and it’s my mission to empower caregivers to grow their children’s fundamental language skills at home, before they get to me, so that, hopefully, some may not need me at all.
Q. Who has helped you most in your career?
A. My third-grade teacher, Kristen Potter, played a crucial role in teaching me that I could achieve anything that I could imagine. She was one of those teachers from the storybooks—patient, kind, encouraging, fun—the kind you think don’t really exist! I wish every student in the world could benefit from the amazing effects of having an awesome teacher who sows greatness into your future. I just love that lady!
Q. What was your greatest challenge in writing this book?
A. Rhyming! It was so much harder than I anticipated—coming up with rhyming words that naturally fit within the story was a huge challenge in and of itself!
Pre-order your copy of Lola Koala’s Travel Adventures here.
Discovering her passion early in life, Dr. Tinita Kearney began working with children with autism in high school. She pursued this passion, obtaining a Bachelor of Science as well as a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology.
Dr. Kearney found that she also had a passion for research and earned her Doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology with a specialization in autism. She is a member of many professional organizations and honor societies, and currently serves on both local and state professional boards. She has taught at Howard University, been awarded the Award for Continuing Education (ACE) by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for demonstrating a commitment to lifelong learning, and currently strives to advance the interests of those in the autism community as an Autism Speaks Volunteer Advocacy Ambassador for the state of Maryland.
