When I was child, my Mom read to me every night, and every night I went on a different adventure. I was a pirate, a president, a witch and at Christmas time, I was the littlest Who of Dr. Seuss' Whoville. My participation in these stories was more than just as a passive listener because as my Mom read the stories aloud, she exchanged my name for one of the character's and I was swept along with the adventure. My "involvement" in these stories began my love for reading and is one inspiration behind BeachWalk Books.

I told my Mom about my idea for personalized children's books and asked her to write the stories. Fortunately, she agreed because she is a creative, talented writer who knows how to inspire children. We then asked my sister, Carol, who has earned a Ph.D. in Education and is an expert on children's language and literacy development, to help us create books that encourage more than a child's love for reading. Thanks to her, these stories are written based on scientific research to better promote learning, language development and to enhance literacy. Each book contains a full explanation of this research, how the research was used in the creation of the book, and how best to read the book with your children.

Because we agree with the World Health Organization that literacy is a critical survival skill in today's society, and because we share a wish that all children could thrive and happily live to their fullest potential, we donate 10% of all profits to charitable organizations that support these ideals. We hope you and yours enjoy our books as much as we liked creating them.

Kathleen McDonald Sergeant, President and Co-Founder of BeachWalk Books.