Author Interviews 2020 had the pleasure of interviewing the author, Dr. Dawn Menge.
About the Author:
Dr. Dawn Menge has won forty-one national awards as a self-published author of the Queen Vernita's Educational Series.
Her published works also include: The Six Federal Individual Education Plan Goals and Effectiveness of Their Implementation in Preparing for transition Dr. Dawn Menge has a PHD in Education.
She specialized in Curriculum and Instruction. A Master's and a Clear Credential in moderate/severe disabilities and a Bachelor's in Human Development. Dr. Dawn Menge has been teaching severely handicapped students for sixteen years. Dr. Dawn Menge is the mother of three and the grandmother of five beautiful grandchildren.
Author Interview
My name is Dr. Dawn Menge, I am the author of the Queen Vernita’s Visitors educational adventure series. This series is titled after my grandmother who was an astute businesswoman and world traveler. She instilled in our family a love of hard work and exploration.
Queen Vernita has a beautiful castle covered in ivy and red roses. She invites a new friend for each month of the year. During each month they have seven different activities. The Queen begins to travel throughout her kingdom and explore the various flora, fauna and cultures of each area. She learns about glaciers in the Blue Ice Mountains, gators and the bayou in Gator Country, she kayaks to the La Bufadora in Baja Quails, plays in a tide pool as she travels up the Oceaneers coastline, learns all about Astronomy from Sir HeathyBean, travels to a land of volcanoes as she conquers the Volcanic Islands, has a baby seahorse wrap its tail around her finger in the Islands of Enchantment and rides up the river in an Old-Fashioned Paddleboat.
I have been teaching students with severe cognitive delays for over twenty years and have included many disabilities within the books. Each Queen Vernita adventure features 12 real life friends and consists of my real-life adventure. I have a rule that I must experience each activity myself before including it in the books. My very talented illustrator Pamela Snyder takes pictures from my adventures and friends and creates a montage illustration.
Queen Vernita’s Magical Christmas Train Ride was just released. It is a preK-1 read which teaches the months of the year, days of the week and is centered around a train ride nineteen of my family members took from Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon. We also included Santa Claus from our pajama wearing Polar Express train ride. The cover photo is my grandson asleep in Santa’s lap. The children learn about western music, making hot chocolate, bandits, the flora and fauna of the area, and make toys from Santa’s workshop.
I am also working on another PreK-1st grade book based on our yearly camping trips to Jalama Beach on the coastline of California. There will be kite flying, fishing, smores making, racoons, ostrich farms and sandcastle making. I love to encourage children to be active and to explore their environments.
The Queen Vernita's series has won forty-one awards. They Include the EVVY, Mom’s Choice, Purple Dragonfly, Royal Dragonfly, Story Monster Approved, Readers Views, Readers Favorites, Indie Originals, Conquering our Disabilities with film, Scooter Award and A+ rating from the American Children’s book Society and a Best Book Award. All nine of the books in the series have won multiple awards with the original Queen Vernita's Visitors winning ten awards.
I am in the process of creating Queen Vernita sleeps by the Sandy Fireside, Queen Vernita Visits the Land of Little Rain , Queen Vernita explores the roaming Buffalos and also a very different Children’s picture book based on a brave King Teddy and a mischievous dragon titled Dragon’s Breath.
Get Inspired!
It is such an honor interviewing the author, Dr. Dawn Menge. We enjoyed reading about her talents. The author shares her works of arts, inviting readers, and fellow authors to share her creative experience!