Welcome!

Hi! I am SO glad you are here! My name is Dana Kramaroff and I write books for young people!

If you REALLY knew me, you’d know…

  • I am a mom to three awesome kids! My husband and I live with them in the eastern part of Pennsylvania.
  • I am a second grade teacher! I just spent a number of years teaching fifth grade and miss those middle grade books BUT I love second grade books, too!
  • I have loved being creative since I was little! My mom, dad, and many amazing teachers allowed me to let my personality shine through arts, crafts, and writing. (The carpet in my basement had A LOT of glitter in it!)
  • I have a big brother and he is one of the best people I know!
  • I am a collector of many colorful pens, books, and stickers!
  • I keep a Writer’s Notebook and there is nothing better than filling a whole one and starting a new one!
  • In high school, I was voted Miss Congeniality!
  • I did an internship at a dinosaur museum and got to work in the paleontology lab on actual dinosaur fossils!
  • I am a total geek for anything personalized with my name! “Dana” was NEVER on keychains, pencils, or mugs and I always hated that!
  • From the time I was in fourth grade, I had a knee condition and was not allowed to do any physical activity besides walking and swimming. I wasn’t even allowed to attend P.E. with my class! It made me feel really different and left out of a lot of things. I had knee surgery on both of my knees the summer before seventh grade and that healed me up!

Favorite…

  • Quote: “It’s okay if you fall apart sometimes. Tacos fall apart and we still love them.”
  • Dessert: A sundae with peanut butter sauce, hot fudge, and a lot of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on it!
  • Holiday: Valentine’s Day! There’s something so fun about decorating paper bags with paper hearts and watching my family and students fill them up!
  • Animal: Doggos! I don’t have a dog right now but I am obsessed with watching cute and funny dog videos! When I meet a dog on the street, I immediately fall in love and if I could snuggle them right there on the sidewalk, I would do that in a heartbeat!
  • Foods: Pizza with fresh mushrooms, sushi, and french fries!
  • Dinosaur: Parasaurolophus
  • Act of kindness: Painting rocks with positive messages and placing them around my town for people to find!

I love books!

I started writing books, for children, in 2015! I dreamed of having my book in the hands of the students I work with every single day, but most importantly, in the hands of my own children!

Reading has ALWAYS been a huge part of my life. Trips to the book store, school library, and the book fair were so special to me. As a child, I read a lot of different things! I loved the Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin, I owned almost every ‘Family Circus’ comic book by artist Bill Keane, and I saved up my money to buy magazines, especially ones about horror movies!

When I wanted to write books for middle graders, I read a TON of books for middle graders! It just so happened that my oldest daughter turned ten the year I really wanted to write books. We both read so many amazing ones!

Some books that I cherished from that time and since:

  • COUNTING BY 7S by Holly Goldberg Sloan
  • BECAUSE OF MR. TERUPT by Rob Buyea
  • THE PARKER INHERITANCE by Varian Johnson
  • DEAR SISTER by Alison McGhee
  • HOPE IN THE HOLLER by Lisa Lewis Tyre
  • FRONT DESK by Kelly Yang
  • BREATHING UNDERWATER by Sarah Allen
  • OPERATION DO-OVER by Gordon Korman
  • THE MIDNIGHT CHILDREN by Dan Gemeinhart
  • THE WAY I SAY IT by Nancy Tandon
  • FISH IN A TREE by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • ONE FOR THE MURPHYS by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

I also adore novels-in-verse and the way there is so much emotion on every page! Here are a few of my favorites:

  • KAREEM IN BETWEEN by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
  • LILAC AND THE SWITCHBACK by Cordelia Jensen
  • SPARK by Chris Baron
  • THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY by Laura Shovan
  • FORGET ME NOT by Ellie Terry
  • CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander
  • STARFISH by Lisa Fipps
  • ALL OF ME by Chris Baron
  • RHYME SCHEMER by K.A. Holt
  • EVERY SHINY THING by Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison
  • ALONE by Megan Freeman
  • RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE by Rajani LaRocca
  • LOVE THAT DOG by Sharon Creech
  • HATE THAT CAT by Sharon Creech

Teaching Resources!

Kickoff Writing Workshop

The people (Cell Phone Favorites)

Copy of Cell Phone Favorites

The places (Placemat)

Copy of placemat blank

The objects (Yard Sale Nightmare)

Copy of Yardsale Nightmare

Seed Ideas

Copy of Seed Ideas