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Terri Kelley, M.Ed, is the author of the series of Writing Is a Process books, many other children’s picture books, as well as of the chapter book series, Gingerly. Her passion for writing and reading began when she was a very young girl. She was raised in Copperas Cove, Texas where she grew up in the country with horses and lots of freedom to explore her environment. It was an idyllic childhood that allowed her to use her imagination daily.
Terri is the mother of three. Terri raised her kids in Granbury, TX and Tomball, TX. Both of these communities offered excellent schools and a country atmosphere that Terri enjoys. Terri still has ties to both towns as well as treasured friends in both places.
As an adult, Terri has held a couple of different careers. After twenty successful years in business-to-business sales, Terri decided to change careers and teach. Her first teaching job was with Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Houston, TX. After a few years there, she became a teacher, a reading specialist, and a gifted and talented specialist in Tomball, TX. It was while she taught that she became aware of the kinds of books children enjoyed reading. She also noticed areas in need of good children’s books. You will find many of her books respond to these needs.
Terri is very happily married to her best friend, Michael. Together, they live in Oakridge, OR with their black Labrador, Oliver. Terri and Michael enjoy traveling together, fishing
Reviewed by Katelyn Hensel for Readers' Favorite
Terri Kelley has a gift for creating children's books that are both realistic and fun at the same time. In Today, I'll Be Good, kids learn to tackle minor behavioral issues without realizing that they are learning at all. School-aged kids who are heading off for their first time at pre-school or kindergarten may be confused and bewildered by the rules that they have to follow at school, which they didn't have to follow at home. Terri leads the way for them, and depicts what will happen if they decide not to listen to their teachers, and consequences at home when you misbehave at school.
One thing I love about Terri's stories is that she portrays diverse families very well. In this particular story, the main character only has a dad. We don't know if he's a single dad, a stay-at-home dad, or one of a same-sex couple pairing, but I enjoyed that Terri is making it more accepted and "normal" to have one parent take care of a child. Very cool in my book!
The illustrator, Mardee Santos, is much more realistic with her artwork than what I see in a lot of children's books. While I thought that the kids in the story were a little old for the topic (they look about 5th grade, and this book is obviously for children about the age of 5 or 6), she used colored pencils in her drawings to great effect. The characters' expressions are really vivid and detailed, and you can tell what is going on in the story even without the words. That quality of being able to interpret the story from drawings is what marks a very good illustrator, so Mardee is one of those elite few.
