Inkandescent Kids Story of the Day

Say Howdy to Best-Selling Illustrator and Children’s Author Sandra Boynton and sing along with her award-winning book, “Frog Trouble”

A Note from Hope, publisher, Inkandescent Kids magazine — Hang on to yer hat, cowboy. One listen-to and read-through of Sandra Boynton’s illustrated country music songbook/CD combo, “Frog Trouble,” and you’ll be humming your way through the day.

Created for children ages 1 to “older than dirt,” this is Boynton’s fifth foray into merging music, words, and art. Like the others she’s created with keyboard player Michael Ford, it’s likely to become a certified Gold, and an award-winning New York Times best-seller.

Packed with star power — including musical performances from Linda Eder, Brad Paisley, and Dwight Yoakam — the message of the book is as charming and iconic as the lyrics and illustrations by Boynton herself.

From “I’ve Got a Dog,” to “Deepest Blue,” and “More Frog Trouble,” this 64-pager is filled with wit and wisdom — as well as lyrics and sheet music so readers can sing and play along.

We wouldn’t expect anything less from the successful artist and author, who has been writing books and drawing charming animal illustrations since the 1970s.

“I love illustrated books, and I’ve always been smitten with records, so I guess it was inevitable that I’d eventually want to put the two together,” Boynton explains.

How did the native of Orange, New Jersey, make her way to the recording studios of Nashville?

“If you love recording, sooner or later you’re going to find yourself in Nashville,” she believes. “And y’all might even start saying ‘y’all’ without even realizing it.”

Taking a traditional route through life has never been Boynton’s style. She went to UC Berkeley for a year, then dropped out, transferred to Yale School of Drama for a year and a half, and dropped out again. That’s when the art bug bit her.

“The summer after my junior year (1973), I couldn’t face the prospect of waitressing again,” Boynton explains. “So, I designed gift cards and Christmas cards, had my Uncle Bill, a printer, print them, and I trudged around to various East Coast stores selling them.”

The cards took off, and so did her love life.

“Jamie McEwan was a tall, swarthy, and cheerfully subversive Yale wrestling captain/1972 Olympic bronze medalist when we met,” says Boynton, who married and moved with him to a farm in the foothills of the Berkshires. “Then we collaborated on four perfect children and two quirky books.”

Those stories were “The Story of Grump and Pout,” and “The Heart of Cool.” Dozens of books by Boynton followed.

Then, in 1996, she met her now professional partner, Michael Ford.

“We’re a very lean team,” she explains of her collaboration with the Pennsylvania-based music man. “I write all the lyrics and most of the melody, and from there, Mike and I create each song together in our own small New England music production studio, with Mike playing scratch instrumental tracks on keyboard and helping with all the technical stuff, which he’s masterful at. I call him The Computer Whisperer.”

Was it tough to round up such stellar singers as Eder, Paisley, and Yoakam for “Frog Trouble”?

“It was!” Boynton admits, insisting it took foolish optimism on her part. “They all really loved the songs, so that helped.”

To seal the deal, Boynton also sent each country star a gift of a stuffed animal (Mr. Chicken, to be precise). “Surely there’s nothing so persuasive as receiving an unexplained stuffed chicken,” she says.

What are Boynton’s plans for the future?

“I’m thinking of tackling an enormous pile of laundry — and buying the Christmas gifts I meant to get for the kids last year,” she says. “But that’s just a little Frog Trouble.”

March 2026: In her books to help families thrive, child psychiatrist Dr. Gayani DeSilva offers insights for tweens and teens — and their parents — to stop addiction and depression before it starts

A Note from Dr. Gayani DeSilva, a child and adolescent psychiatrist — “I obtained my medical training at Albany Medical College before interning at Brown University and doing a residency at Harvard, and have been honored to win numerous awards for my insights and work, including helping children in juvenile justice centers and foster care. Based on my experience and research, I have written several books with the goal of providing insight for parents hoping to help depressed tweens and keep their children from suffering from addiction.” If you are struggling with these issues, please take a look at these books.

 

January 2026: Start the new year off right with rock star and social justice activist Michael Franti whose songs teach us the art of embracing “Peace, Love, and Social Justice”

A Note from rock star Michael Franti — “When I’m asked if I’d ever think when I was a little kid that you would be traveling the world playing music, I admit it really was not an ambition of mine. Throughout my childhood, all I wanted to do was to be a basketball player, and I eventually played at the University of San Francisco. My dorm room was right above the campus radio station, so I’d hear these bass lines coming up through the floor all of the time, and at first, it was kind of annoying. And then I started to get into music, hearing all these different styles coming out of the campus radio station. By the end of the semester, I was hooked, and the rest is history.”

December 2025: Children’s book author Karen Leggett Abouraya teaches us that we are all connected in her newest tale, Zamzam

A Note from Karen Leggett Abouraya, author of the children’s book, “Zamzam” — Zamzam is a young boy who enjoys life with his Egyptian grandparents in Alexandria, Egypt, and his American grandparents in New York City. He shares big and little differences in his daily experiences in each country – including phrases in Arabic and English — but ultimately realizes that the most important experiences are exactly the same​ across cultures. We know you’ll embrace this story of peace, family, and love.

September 2025: In his new book, “The Secret Sauce,” Superintendent Peter Noonan and his team of Educators Share 45 Ideas on What Makes FCCPS Special

A Note from Dr. Peter Noonan, Superintendent of Schools — “When I arrived in 2017 to serve Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) as the 9th Superintendent in the division’s history, I knew something about this place was different than anywhere else I had ever worked,” insists Dr. Noonan. Read all about it in the 45 essays by teachers, administrators, and Fall Church officials that sum up the story in his 2025 book, “The Secret Sauce.”

Get Ready to “Scanimate!”

Making kids giggle, grown-ups grin — then say “how’d he do that?” — is the goal for Rufus Butler Seder. He credits his parents for helping him become a filmmaker, inventor, toymaker, and author of several moving picture books including Gallop! (2007), Swing! (2008), and his 2009 release, Waddle!