Fran Connell is a graduate of Dunedin Teachers' College and in 2001 completed a Bachelor of Education, specialising in literacy, at Massey University. Her teaching career has incorporated many schools and a variety of positions from principal of a small school to literacy leader of an intermediate school. Her recent mentoring of beginning teachers made her aware of the need for a practical, hands-on resource to assist them in making a positive start in their classrooms.