Hi there! I'm Esther.
I'm a mom of four boys. Carpools and feeding hungry kids fill most of my days, and in between, I write. My first memory of writing is from fourth grade: I drew a black dress with shiny buttons I'd imagined, then I described the dress. When I showed it to my mother, she told me I'd written a poem. I've never stopped writing since.
When I was in Brooklyn College, I took as many writing classes as I could fit into my schedule. I loved the way my professors challenged me to think, write and most importantly, to edit. Most of my writing turns up in poetic form at some point along the editing process.
After having my four boys, the biggest thing I've done was donate my kidney to a stranger on May 13, 2025. Publishing my first book is something I'm pretty excited about too!
I Paint My World
I wrote I Paint My World in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, a scary and uncertain time when managing emotions felt harder than ever. In a lecture I was listening to, a teacher explained that feelings come from thoughts. It struck me as empowering information that kids deserve to know. So I wrote about it.
In this gentle story about how we respond to the world around us, a young child discovers that his feelings can color the way he experiences everyday ups and downs. Much like a painter selecting from a colorful palette, he has the power to choose how he reacts.
Bring Esther to your classroom.
Esther loves reading I Paint My World with young readers and talking about the big idea at its heart: that we get to choose the colors we paint our world with.