Recently, Washingtonian Magazine called Erica S. Perl a “Writer to Watch.” What this means is that the power brokers have been listening to their kids, who can’t get enough of Erica’s bouncy, infectious rhyming books for children.

A life-long writer, Erica’s first published poem appeared in the children’s literary magazine Cricket, when she was eight years old. In high school, she won local, state and national writing awards and was selected to attend the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Breadloaf.

Erica’s first book for children, Chicken Bedtime Is Really Early (Abrams, 2005) was dubbed “a clever, winning offering that soars” by ALA Booklist (starred review) and “a double debut that’s double the fun” (Publishers Weekly). Chicken Bedtime is quickly becoming a modern bedtime classic, according to the new parenting book Reading with Babies, Toddlers and Twos (Straub & Dell’Antonia, Sourcebooks, 2006). Teachers also applaud Chicken Bedtime for cleverly incorporating the concept of telling time into both the text and the illustrations.

Ninety-three In My Family (Abrams, 2006), Erica’s newly released book, was selected as a Book Sense Pick. As with Chicken Bedtime, the animal characters’ humorous antics bounce along winningly due to Erica’s impressive ear for rhyme and meter. Illustrator Mike Lester (A is for Salad) provided the zany illustrations that perfectly complement the story. Ninety-three skillfully blends curriculum (math, literacy and social skills) into a rollicking story with kid-pleasing characters and silly situations. Kirkus Reviews praised Erica’s “bouncy verse,” calling Ninety-Three “a rib-tickling romp with plenty of counting opportunities.”

Erica’s other current projects include writing for the Emmy award winning series Peep and the Big Wide World (produced by WGBH and aired on Discovery Kids and TLC) and completing her first young-adult novel. She has developed television programming and written series proposals for Powderhouse Productions and several freelance clients (including developing and writing outreach materials for ToddWorld, Ready Set Learn!, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, The Meaning of Food and PBS’ The Raising Cain Project: Boys in Focus).

In addition to her writing abilities, Erica has a remarkable ability to connect with and engage young children. For example, at book readings for Chicken Bedtime, she often pulls out her “chicken hat” and leads her young fans in chicken songs. Washingtonian Magazine clearly got it right: Erica S. Perl is well worth watching.

Erica can be reached at erica@ericaperl.com.