About the Author, Lisa Coleman
Lisa Coleman has been working with children for over 12 years. She was born and raised in Northbrook, Illinois, right outside of Chicago, but moved to Georgia soon after completing college. She has spent most of her teaching career teaching and directing a small, non-traditional, private school whose emphasis is using nature as a teaching tool. In addition, Lisa was the equestrian manager at Flowered Rock Farm in Cumming, Georgia. She worked for 6 years managing the daily tasks of the farm, teaching horseback riding lessons, and operating camp programs and retreats. Lisa was doing all of this while continuing to write childrens books and songs!
All of her 'Once There Was A...' books are written about real animals in her life, and all of the stories are written as songs first. Lisa truly believes that animals and the natural world make sense, and that all people can learn important life lessons from them.
Lisa hopes to bring awareness to her readers and make a difference in the world by sharing these lessons... one story/song at a time.
Lisa's Goal
Lisa’s goal is to share her farm experiences and the lessons that come with it with as many children as she can. In a world where technology is becoming such a primary focus, Lisa's message and hope is to inspire children to step outside and enjoy the beauty and lessons that nature provides.
A Conversation with Lisa Coleman
What inspired you to write your books?
At the time I was writing my first ‘Once There Was A…’ song, I was working for an afterschool kindergarten program and thought it would be fun to have a song to share with the children that taught about love and friendship. What else would be better than to use a real life experience to teach this lesson...as it is more inspirational and believable.
| I realized there were so many lessons that animals can teach us |
Once this song was done, I realized that it told a story and that turning it into a book would be easy. Soon after that, I realized there were so many lessons that animals can teach us and how much fun it would be to share their stories.
What do you love most about teaching kids?
I love how children are so excited by the simplicities of life. The younger they are, the more connected they seem to be with their true selves. They remind me to be more kid-like in my love for life and to enjoy each moment. I truly believe if more people worked with kids...and acted like them once in a while...they would have more joy in their lives.
Where do you get inspiration for your books?
I truly love all of the animals that I encounter and I do my best to interact with them as much as possible. I never know when an idea or a conversation with a friend will come and prompt the next animal song/lesson.
| I believe that my work is bigger than me |
Did you always know you were going to be a Children’s Musician and Author?
| we almost traveled around the country to promote our music |
I always knew I enjoyed working with children and I loved animals. I never dreamt of the possibility of being a musician or author. I picked up the guitar when I was 21 years old because it was something on my ‘to do’ list. Within 6 months, my dear friend, Niki, and I were writing and performing music at our college. It was a lot of fun and we almost traveled around the country to promote our music. The only, and I mean only reason I didn’t, was because I knew that I was suppose to work more with children. Thus, my adventure to Georgia began.
The more I worked with children, the more I saw that the way for me to be the most effective in teaching them school and life lessons was through music! So, my journey began to write music for kids. It started with ‘I Believe In You', The Circulatory System’, ‘The Phonics Song’, and then I soon incorporated songs like ‘Macaroni and Cheese’ and 'The Horse Song'. It all happened so fast that all of a sudden one day I realized that I was a children’s musician! I couldn’t believe it...it was so much fun.
And when the idea came to me to put my 'Once There Was A...' songs in book form, it made sense that this would be a great opportunity to share the songs and their lessons with children. I approached my extremely gifted, former student Cristina to illustrate the books, and the rest is history! But to answer your question...no, I had no idea. :)
