Ready for Kindergarten and Beyond: Prepare Your Child for School Success and a Lifelong Love of Learning

Catherine Burns is a parenting educator and family literacy specialist with over two decades of experience working directly with children, parents, and early childhood educators. She holds a master's degree in early childhood education from the University of Michigan and has served as a kindergarten readiness coordinator for a public school district in the Pacific Northwest, where she developed transition-to-kindergarten programs that have supported thousands of families.

Her work has appeared in *Parenting Magazine*, *The Horn Book*, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children's peer-reviewed publications. She has presented at national conferences on topics including early literacy development, parent-child attachment in the school transition period, and play-based approaches to kindergarten readiness. She is the founder of Ready Stories, an organization that provides workshops and resources to help families navigate the early school years with confidence and joy.

Catherine lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two children, who have taught her more about kindergarten readiness than any textbook ever could. When she is not writing or working with families, she can be found reading picture books to anyone who will listen, exploring the trails of the Pacific Northwest, and testing new cookie recipes on willing taste testers.