Rekha S. Rajan

Rekha S. Rajan is a nationally recognized educator, performer, and STEAM expert whose work has been featured with NPR, the National Head Start Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the California Alliance for Arts Education, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a STEM/STEAM curriculum advisor to multiple states and agencies including the California Department of Education and the Illinois Department of Education and is the Editor of the Journal of General Music Education, a journal of the National Association for Music Education that has a readership of over 200,000. She recently created a STEAM focused activity guide for musician Raffi’s Foundation for Child Honouring where she also serves on the Board. Rekha is a consulting editor and contributing author for Scholastic Storyworks and a consultant for Lakeshore Learning.

She is the author of numerous adult and children’s books, including academic titles on how to integrate the arts into other subjects. The Read Aloud Factor (Chicago Review Press, 2022), which received starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist for being a modern read-aloud handbook for parents with an actionable game plan that embraces family diversity, multilingualism, life with technology, inclusive reading lists and more.

Rekha’s children’s books are heavily influenced by her deep STEAM expertise, her professional background as a performer, her South Asian heritage, and her love of music. Her children’s books include Amazing Landmarks (Scholastic), the This is Music board series (RISE/PenguinRandomHouse), Can You Dance Like a Peacock? (Sourcebooks, 2023) and a new Branches series DISASTER SQUAD (Scholastic, 2024), and many more.

Rekha holds a Doctorate and Masters in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Roosevelt University. After teaching preschool through third grade for a decade, she now conducts groundbreaking research on early childhood education, integrating the arts into schools, and curricular strategies for supporting parents and families with STEAM-engagement at home.

When she isn’t busy writing, Rekha now sings mostly with her husband and three children (cue: lullabies and nursery rhymes) and often dreams of being discovered by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Visit her online at RekhaSRajan.com
Instagram: @RekhaSRajan/
Twitter:  @RekhaSRajan

Praise for Rekha S. Rajan’s writing

“Everyone should read this book—perhaps even out loud to a child.”
—Booklist Starred Review of The Read Aloud Factor 

“A must, chock-full of usable ideas and recommended reads and sure to be a favorite for parents of preschoolers.”
— Library Journal starred review of The Read Aloud Factor 

“Exuberant and participatory, like the music and instruments it showcases.”
—Kirkus

“This first introduction to horns is a great way to teach young readers about musical instruments. The playful language and colorful illustrations make this a fun read for little ones and encourages them to find horns all around them!”
— KIDS Bookshelf, on This is Music: Horns

“This interactive board book encourages creative, musical play.”
—Publishers Weekly