The Quiet Boy and the Lonely Girl

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, later moving to Melbourne, Victoria, where she taught at several inner-city schools. In 1985, Jayneen transitioned to a career as an educational editor and publisher.

In the early 1990s, Jayneen and her partner moved to Japan to work as English teachers, living there for over three and a half years, during which time her first daughter was born.

Upon returning to Australia, Jayneen began working as an educational author and packager, authoring and producing numerous award-winning titles for the educational publishing industry. She is also an accomplished children’s book author, contributing to literacy series such as ZigZags, Totally Kidz, Deadly and Incredible, and a children’s picture book series for Penguin.

Jayneen is currently the lead author of the literacy series ‘Engage Literacy,’ published by Capstone, for which she has written over 150 titles.

As a mother of three daughters and a former school councillor, Jayneen’s experiences in schools inspired her to question the protective measures in place for children. Realizing that little was being done, she used her authoring and publishing skills to write ‘Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept,’ aiming to help parents, carers, and teachers discuss sensitive topics and encourage children to speak up.

Following the positive reception of ‘Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept,’ Jayneen recognized the need for further prevention education. She pursued professional development in Protective Behaviours and attended conferences to gain expertise in child safety and age-appropriate body safety and consent education.

Jayneen subsequently developed and published a comprehensive Body Safety and Respectful Relationship Teacher’s Resource Kit, alongside writing more children’s books on body safety, consent, respect, gender equality, social and emotional intelligence, diversity, and inclusion.

Jayneen currently co-manages Educate2Empower Publishing with her partner, Mark Sanders. Her commitment to the safety and empowerment of children continues through new manuscripts and free resources.

Martina Heiduczek grew up in a small fishing village on the Baltic Sea in Germany, spending her childhood exploring forests on her Shetland pony, drawing, and reading. She now resides in Australia and works as an illustrator, drawing inspiration from nature, people, places, and everyday observations.