Hello

I’m Arlene. I’ve always loved words and the challenge of finding just the right word for just the right place. Once upon a time, I was a lawyer, and words were my stock in trade--writing legal briefs. Now I use very different words that help create stories for kids. But I still need to find just the right word for every place in my stories. That is the fun and the challenge.

My Story

I only discovered that I like to write children’s books pretty recently. Before that, I did lots of other things.

Before I was a lawyer, I was a first-grade teacher in New York City where I grew up. Before that, I was in college at Cornell University. Now I live with my husband in Rochester, NY. When our son and daughter were still young, we joined Temple Sinai. There, along with my children, I began my Jewish education and became a bat mitzvah at age 44!

I love reading and studying Jewish history. That got me started writing Jewish picture books. Even when I write fiction, I need to do some research to get the factual parts of my stories right. It might be the setting, or the types of foods the characters are eating, or how they dress or speak. Writing books like that gives me the chance to learn even more about my people’s history and culture. So I both learn and create when I write picture books—what could be better?

Besides writing picture books, I like to volunteer with varied organizations in my community.

Here I Am Volunteering at the Rochester International Academy

Teaching about Hanukkah

Lucky Me!