So Many Words for Me to Be

Jayneen Sanders (aka Jay Dale) is an experienced Australian early years educator, children’s book author, and publisher. She began her teaching career in the 1980s as a primary school teacher in rural Queensland, Australia, and later taught at several inner-city schools in Melbourne, Victoria.

In 1985, Jayneen transitioned to a career as an educational editor and publisher. In the early 1990s, she moved to Japan with her partner to work as English teachers, where her first daughter was born. After returning to Australia, Jayneen worked as an educational author/packager, creating numerous award-winning titles. She is also a children’s book author, contributing to literacy series like ZigZags, Totally Kidz, and Deadly and Incredible, as well as a picture book series for Penguin.

Currently, Jayneen is the lead author of the ‘Engage Literacy’ series, having written over 150 titles. As a mother of three daughters and a former school councillor, her experiences inspired her to address child protection in schools. This led her to write “Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept” to help children speak up about inappropriate touch.

Following the positive reception of her book, Jayneen pursued further education in protective behaviors and child safety. She developed a Body Safety and Respectful Relationship Teacher’s Resource Kit and has written more children’s books on body safety, consent, respect, gender equality, social-emotional intelligence, and diversity.

Jayneen currently co-runs Educate2Empower Publishing with her partner, Mark Sanders, continuing her passion for child safety and empowerment with new manuscripts and free resources.

Born in 1992, I grew up in a small family where my love for art blossomed early. I spent my childhood painting, especially during long summer days, and sketching scenes from “Anne of Green Gables,” turning my favorite stories into picture books by covering pages with transparent tape.

As I matured, I explored various artistic styles, including oil painting in the miniature style inspired by Farshchian paintings, which taught me the importance of detail. I earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and business management, respectively, and gained valuable skills in scheduling and meeting deadlines from five years of experience with a marketing team.

The pandemic provided an opportunity to focus on my passion. I launched a bedtime story app for children, illustrating 60 images in two months, which ignited my deep interest in picture book illustration.

I am now based in Canada, where I live with my husband. While making a living as an artist has its challenges, I am grateful to have never abandoned my passion and continue to find joy in this journey.

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