In My Dreams You Are Always Smiling

Like any other little girl, Sadie sometimes has bad dreams. When she's scared, her mom always knows just what to do. Together, they make a list of ''fun times'' and then choose one as a ''dream to share'' for the night. Sadie soon learns that the dreams she and her mom decide to share are special in another way she later experiences them in real life.

In My Dreams You Are Always Smiling is the heartwarming story of a mother and her daughter and their extraordinary solution to a common problem. Whether Sadie is four years old or twelve or eighteen, her mother is always there for her, to help Sadie chase away the bad dreams and replace them with the promise of good things to come. Author Rachel Schwartz takes us through several stages of Sadie's life, from little girl to young mother, each woven with the common thread of a mother's love and unconditional support for her daughter s dreams.

Author Rachel Schwartz believes in writing about what she knows, and she knows a lot of children and their parents. Her almost 20 years in elementary education, and the last eight years as an elementary school principal in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, have allowed her to see firsthand that every child has a dream, and every parent has a dream for his/her child -- and very often, those dreams don't match. Rachel has seen that the most successful, well-adjusted students are those whose parents set aside their own interests to unconditionally support the unique interests and dreams of their child.

Rachel grew up in northeast Ohio with parents who always supported her dreams. First, she wanted to be a clown when she grew up so her mom promptly bought her Ringling Brothers books to read. Next, she wanted to be a professional basketball player so her dad took her to college games and camps. In the end, they both supported her dreams of becoming a teacher, a coach, a principal, a wife, and of course, a mother. As the mother of two children, Sadie and Rees, Rachel works hard at stepping back and allowing them to choose their own paths.

Rachel continues to write about what she knows so look for her next story coming out, Love, Rees. It is a humorous compilation of Rees' letters of apology his first grade teacher makes him write whenever he gets in trouble.