Does a Porpoise Have a Purpose?

Do your children like to laugh? Do they enjoy whimsical, humorous lyrics? If so, invite your 5 to 10-year-olds to engage all of their senses with this unique book of fantastical poems that will charm them with many comical twists and turns. Their imaginations will soar as they see a dolphin living his best life; creatures partying till the break of dawn; a parade of animals emptying out Sue's closet; Willie Waters' change of heart about playing out in the rain, and many more entertaining rhymes. By the end of the book, your youngsters will surely be able to answer the question, "Does a Porpoise Have a Purpose?".

Nan DeBlase is an avid children's book reader which keeps her young at heart. She attended Brooklyn College at the age of 52, and earned a BFA in Creative Writing and graduated Summa Cum Laude. That experience inspired her to write her first children's picture book, "Does a Porpoise Have a Purpose?" geared to a 5-10 year old audience. What also inspires Nan are puppies and babies. Nan lives in Brooklyn, New York, which she loves and spends much of her time writing and playing tennis.


Jennifer Skopp grew up in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Pratt Institute, where she studied illustration. Working primarily in watercolor and gouache, her work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, such as The New York Times, the New York Daily News, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. Her children's illustrations have appeared in Children's Television Workshop's "3-2-1 Contact Magazine," "Highlight's Puzzlemania," "Scholastic News," MacMillan/McGraw-Hill and Viking Penguin Publications.

She has also taught art to Brooklyn Elementary Public School students, and enjoyed inspiring children to think about and make art creatively. Her students' work has been selected many times to appear in the New York City "PS Art" show, where their work was displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a couple have even appeared on a digital screen in Times Square.

Jennifer now lives in New Jersey where she enjoys working on different illustration projects.