Valerie Leonhart Smalkin, Neighbor

Valerie Leonhart Smalkin, ventriloquist, musician, composer, and writer grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Her parents, aunties, uncles, sisters, and brothers (6 children in all) were all artistically inclined. Everyone played the piano, one brother flute, one bass, and several siblings guitar. Every Sunday night, after dinner, they entertained parents, neighbors, and visitors with songs and revelry.

Valerie composed and performed the musical version, Chadwick Sings: A Little Bay Music, of Priscilla Cummings' International Literacy Award-winning book, Chadwick the Chesapeake Crab; published The Early Childhood Curriculum with Karen Rupprecht; and composed Babel: The Oratorio, Signs: An Epiphany Musical, and Darrell: The Draggin' Dragon. As Silly Goose & Val she now tours school, libraries, and live stage theaters in the Mid-Atlantic area with her puppets, marionettes, comedy, and music.

Valerie wrote the song Springtime Dance in Spring 2013 and then met Kimberly Hopkins at a Painted Pallette event. She noticed immediately that Kimberly could actually draw round circles and asked if she were an artist. That conversation led to lunch, which led to Kim’s illustrating the book Springtime Dance.