I was curious to see what AI would create for Yonka’s Aquatic Adventure with the description of "happy orange tabby cat at the beach!" This is what it came up with under the wooly art style. Which is your favorite?

The epidemiologist on page 8 of The Scientist In Me was inspired by my twin sister Jasmyn! With a background in chemistry, she moved to NYC by herself to pursue her PhD in 2017. Amongst other things, she is a lover of dirty martinis (with blue cheese olives), an OG Drake fan, and a mother to instagram.com/jeffybeannyc. She recently defended her thesis focusing on population health and birth outcomes for women in Afghanistan, completing her doctoral program. Super proud of Dr. Abrams and grateful for all the help and support she gives and glad to include this personal Easteregg!

Not In My Author Bio I am an NFL fanatic! Meaning my favorite time of year is football season! 🏈 I have been patiently waiting for this season to start and I’m excited to be firmly planted watching the games on Mondays, Thursdays, and (of course) Sundays. I’m not a fan of a specific team, but I love watching my fantasy football players! I have been playing NFL fantasy with my family since 2018 and it is one of my favorite things! I have won once, and I am currently trying to redeem my title as I got destroyed the following year. The draft party is next month, so I am doing some research and scouting out some players. Who would you draft this year?

Did you know, the fluffy pup featured on page 32 of The Scientist In Me, was inspired by Sammy? Sammy is a Starbucks pup cup connoisseur and a Bark Box aficionado in the body of a seven-year-old lavender pomeranian. He is a true lover at heart except when he is face to face with his natural-born enemies...The Charmin Bears and the Liberty Mutal LiMu Emu. He is a great household helper and willingly removes any chip crumbs you may drop and will pick up his toys with—the promise that you will immediately throw them again. Despite constant reassurance from his humans, he does not believe he is “the cutest of sirs” when he is dressed in costumes or clothes and prefers to go without them. His favorite time of day is after dinner when he and his older brother Yonka (who meows instead of barks but who is he to judge) get slices of turkey as a reward for finishing their food. His favorite past times include chasing leaves, playing with his favorite toy dumpling, and wondering where the ice he hid in the curtains thirty minutes ago went. Keep an eye out for Sammy hidden in future projects!

Big news! My second book is done! I wrapped up the writing portion a few months ago and found an illustrator that I love. This book is called Yonka's Aquatic Adventure and it follows Yonka the cat as he learns about climate change, sustainability, and ocean conservation while visiting the #beach! This project has been super fun to work on and I am excited to finally see it come to life! Enjoy this sneak peak of the project featuring Yonka and Audrey. Artwork done by Daniel Wlodarski.

This is Manny, AKA the inspiration behind your favorite neonatologist from page 22! While Manny is not a neonatologist in real life, he is a 4th-year med student who has been involved in medicine and patient care for as long as I have known him—and considering we met junior year of high school, it was only fitting for him to be a doctor in my book. I have never met someone so dedicated to helping others and I am so glad I have been a small part of his journey thus far! Medicine is truly his calling and he will make a fantastic physician. Proud of him every day and so glad I included this personal Easteregg!

At her core, Audrey is a scientifically curious 5th-grade student and proud cat owner. In The Scientist In Me, she is opened up to the possibility of several STEM careers she can have as an adult and is seen brainstorming different career opportunities on the cover. The beautiful artwork for this book was done by illustrator Ethan Kocak and I could not be happier with the results! I always imagine Audrey as a young African-American girl —whose pigtails are larger than her love for #science— and I love seeing different interpretations of what she looks like. I challenged an AI program to create Audrey in several different styles only using the short description of “African-American girl with pigtails doing science”. Here are the results! Which is your favorite?

Hi! My name is Jayda! I am a former science teacher turned children’s author and social media manager. I am originally from VA but have been based in NYC for the past five years. I was inspired to write my first book (The Scientist In Me) after I could not find a similar resource for my classroom. I decided to give my book the unique twist of including industry vocabulary while making the entire thing rhyme, after watching the Bedtime Stories episode of How I Met Your Mother (featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda) during the initial COVID lockdown. This page follows me and my writing shenanigans as I navigate the world of writing, publishing, and creating as a children’s author.