Dara Sanders Dokas

Dara Sanders Dokas is the author of Remembering Mama, a picture book published in May 2002 by Augsburg Press. Her second picture book, Muriel's Red Sweater, is forthcoming in February 2009 from Dutton Children's Books.

In addition to being a children's author, Dara holds a Masters in Education and is a licensed English and drama instructor who has taught creative writing for many years. She works at Micawber's Bookstore and lives in St. Paul with her husband, daughter, and many pets.

Muriel's Red Sweater
illustrated by Bernadette Pons
Dutton Children's Books, 2009
ages 3 to 8, ISBN 978-0525479628

Muriel the duck pulls on her favorite red sweater and hurries all over town to deliver invitations to her birthday party. She’s so busy she never notices the funny things happening around her...like the fact that her sweater is shrinking...and what’s that trailing after her? By the time she returns home, her sweater has disappeared, and all her friends have found good uses for nice bright red yarn!

Luckily, the daffy duck’s friends arrive just in time with the perfect gift! This deliciously illustrated charmer will entrance sharp-eyed young readers with clever details and fun, tongue-in-cheek humor.

Remembering Mama

Remembering Mama
illustrated by Angela L. Chostner
Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2002
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0-8066-4352-6

A young girl expresses emotions connected to her loss and uses memories of her mother to work through her grief. Some of the memories are hers, others are stories people tell her about her mother. Some of the stories are sweet, others are funny, but all of them help her recognize that it not only helps to remember mama, but to talk about her feelings with her dad.