Theresa Cocci received a 2022 General Scholarship and chose to use it for two online, on-demand courses with Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen: Picture Book Characters A-Z and Picture Book Plotting A-Z.

Theresa’s Story

Theresa’s love for telling stories began early in her teaching career. As an elementary school teacher, with a certification in Orff Schulwerk Music, she enjoys integrating movement and music while spinning a tale or two. Her books, Harry’s Horrible Hair, winner of a Mom’s Gold Choice and Henry the Hungry Hound, include interaction along with valuable life lessons. She has published several lessons on “Teaching with Orff” and “Music ConstructED”. They can be found at: https://teachingwithorff.com/lesson-harrys-horrible-hair/ and https://bit.ly/HenryTheHound-Cocci. Theresa is currently continuing her writing journey by enrolling in courses at the Highlights Foundation and SCBWI. She enjoys being with family, school author visits, playing the piano, long walks and giving “belly rubs” to her dog Molly.

Theresa says that Sudipta “supplied me with a wealth of knowledge that I have been able to readily apply as I continue to write children’s picture book manuscripts. Worksheets and writing exercises along with video tutorials with Sudipta continued to reinforce the essentials that I truly need in writing manuscripts for my children’s picture books.”

 She added, “I have enjoyed studying all the aspects of creating and crafting a quality picture book. Sudipta provided the foundation of learning proper writing techniques, including learning the process of what defines a character driven book, the art of plotting and thus exploring all the necessary tools, explanatory worksheets and outlines. The abundance of materials and mentoring provided by Sudipta has helped me to formulate, outline and construct my ideas in a helpful and organized matter.”