In 2010, 11-year-old Alexa Peters, along with her mother Monique Peters, found a meaningful way to turn her passion and love for writing and drawing into an opportunity to “give back” to other kids. Starting at a very young age, Alexa created illustrated stories about her daily experiences, and from the pages of her sketchbooks came the idea for her first book, Cooper and Me. The story of a little girl’s fears about starting school evolved into a timeless tale about overcoming separation anxiety and trying new things – basic emotions all people experience throughout their lives – but this time, written by a child, for children. As retold in Cooper and Me, Alexa’s own story had a “happy ending” – a clever, compassionate solution that involved taking a small replica of her beloved pet to school with her. The first book introduced the family’s real-life dog, Cooper the Labrador Retriever, and the mother-daughter team began imagining a series of stories featuring Cooper that would engage little kids while guiding them through the ups and downs of daily life. In addition to the original Cooper and Me, four more story books are set to publish throughout the next twelve months, all containing relatable life lessons inspired by Alexa’s experiences, with illustrations based on her drawings of Cooper.

To enhance the fun and learning potential of the series, each Cooper and Me story is accompanied by three original, infectiously upbeat songs and narration. The music is written and performed by Bridget Mason Doran, a music educator and founder/owner of Tiny Tunes. Team Cooper was further expanded with Jennifer Scarpa, who brings a wealth of knowledge and personal experience from public school programs that address social/emotional learning. Jennifer and Monique met while collaborating on other education projects and soon realized they shared a vision for helping children develop the skills and resilience to handle various life experiences.

To ensure the series reflected Cooper and Me’s core mission, Monique and Jennifer set up an educational advisory panel to oversee the development of the books’ supplemental learning components for children and adults. The panel consists of Karen Lunny, who also serves as editor, Ann Mele, and Carolyn Olivier, all educators with a passion for early childhood learning.

The Team Cooper creative team is rounded out by Nicolette Pappas, a contributing writer to the Cooper and Me series, and Christie Holmes, our art director, also known as the Iconista. Christie has retained the charm and spirit of Alexa’s original drawings as she has extended their use to the website and other graphic applications.