The Words that Cook!™ Educational Consultants

Dr. Miriam Marecek is known throughout the world as
"The Book Lady" and is the children’s literature expert behind Words that Cook!. She most recently worked with the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a Literacy Coach and Change Coach with the Boston Public Schools. She has also served as Adjunct Professor of Children’s Literature at Harvard and was
the educational consultant, advisor and script developer for the innovative, award-winning children’s series A Likely Story. Dr. Marecek also served on the Advisory Boards for Reach Out and Read, Children’s Television Workshop and Electric Company and was President of Children’s Literature and Reading, a special interest section of the International Reading Association.

Dr. Jeanne M. De Temple consults in the areas of script and theme development. She has served as a Research Associate with the Harvard Graduate School of Education for projects in Language Development, Observational Studies of Mother-Child Interaction, Home School Study of Language and Literacy Development. Among her most recent publications is Learning Words from Books, a chapter that Dr. De Temple co-authored with Dr. Catherine Snow for the book, On Reading Books to Children: Parents and Teachers.

Dr. Sharon A. Edwards is a curriculum development and literacy specialist with 35 years of experience in the classroom. She serves as a creative writing project consultant for Words that Cook!. Since the publication of her first book, Kids Have All the Write Stuff: Inspiring Your Children to Put Pencil to Paper, co-authored with Dr. Robert Maloy, she and Dr. Maloy have made more than 300 presentations to teachers, parents and children across the country and in Canada. Their workshops demonstrate how writing and reading inspire learning and self-expression by children at home and in the classroom. Dr. Edwards is the recipient of a State Farm Good Neighbor Award and a National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) award in recognition of excellence and innovation for the Writing Box Project.

Dr. Robert W. Maloy is a Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst as well as the Founder and Co-director of the TEAMS Tutoring Project.
He helps to generate ideas for show content that addresses children’s writing. Dr. Maloy co-authored the book, Ways of Writing with Young Kids: Teaching Creativity and Conventions Unconventionally, with Dr. Sharon Edwards and Dr. Ruth Ellen Verock-O’Loughlin. Dr. Maloy also serves as Co-Principal Investigator/Co-Project Director for the Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement, a program for the development of new models for urban teacher preparation funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Reverend Patricia A. Walton served on the Committee for Diversity at Wellesley College and was a member of the college's Multi-Faith Leadership Team. She advises the Words that Cook! production team on issues that help strengthen the program's inclusion of and outreach to a diverse audience. Reverend Walton consults on the tone of the series as reflected by program content, themes, guests, etc. in order for Words that Cook! to more effectively connect with the broadest possible audience in socio-economic, geographic and cultural terms.

Dr. Diane Edwards shares her expertise in the field of early childhood education, particularly with regard to multisensory teaching methods. She became the Early Childhood Program Manager for Lake Sumter Community College in 2005 and established two new early childhood degrees. In 2006, she expanded her role to include Program Manager of the Alternative Certification Program, which accommodates people making a career change into education with a four-year degree program that certifies them to teach in K-12. Prior to accepting her current position, Dr. Edwards directed the Advancing the Field of Early Care and Education project at Salem State College. She also founded the National Coalition for Educational & Cultural Programs (1991 - 2004) where she developed and coordinated operations and activities that included teacher education courses, hiring and training of course instructors, grant writing, long-range business planning and fiscal development.

Charlene Sontag Eng does general behind-the-scenes research and production assistance for Words that Cook! as well as specific consultation in the areas of science and math. Charlene has been a classroom teacher for grades K-8 since 1989. She has also been a science fair judge, an environmental education workshop facilitator, a seasonal naturalist for the Venture West School of Outdoor Living and a camp counselor for a family camp outside of Yosemite Park. Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked as a physical science technician for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Geological Survey. Charlene brings a unique perspective that combines her experience as an elementary classroom and outdoor education teacher with a broader career background in science and math.

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