Block Publishing's goal is to produce materials that encourage young children's intrinsic desire to learn more about their world. The most important tool the young children bring to their learning is their insatiable curiosity. The first step in education is to engage that desire to know why. Science is the perfect platform for capturing and stimulating a child's curiosity about his world while developing skills in other subject areas. The fascinating world of science provides endless topics for reading, writing, and discussion. The close link between math and science provides a practical application for math skills and problem solving. And science is the perfect vehicle for both critical and creative thinking.

Who We Are

Cheryl Block, MA, Author
I always wanted to be a teacher; I couldn’t think of a more important profession. After receiving my Master’s degree, I taught special needs children in a variety of settings, from diagnosing children in a private clinic to teaching kids at the end of a hallway (which we shut down whenever the fire marshal came through) in a Kansas school. One of my most favorite experiences was teaching primary science in a special education school. Special needs students don’t often get to science; the focus is always on basic skills. I found that science, though, opened doors to all kinds of learning. The kids loved it! And through science, I could have them read, write, solve problems, it was amazing. I left teaching when the opportunity to work in educational publishing arose; I felt it gave me the opportunity to reach many children at once. I was an editor, author, and director of production for The Critical Thinking Company for ten years, and wrote and edited several products, including Think Analogies, Can You Find Me, Reading Detective, and Editor in Chief. To keep my hand in teaching, I’ve been a docent with the Monterey Bay Aquarium for ten years. I also help out with my daughter’s kindergarten class when I can (She’s now the teacher, not the student.) I hope to share my love of nature and enthusiasm for learning with others through my books and software.

Gene Takeshita, Illustrator
Gene Takeshita began his design career with The Office of Charles and Ray Eames, and subsequently worked in other interdisciplinary design firms in Southern and Northern California. His experiences included history museum exhibition design, graphic and furniture design, illustration, and art direction.

For the past 20 years, he has been a freelance designer and illustrator. His work continues to be interdisciplinary and has expanded into: cultural and natural history exhibition design; editorial and biological illustration; logo and identity design; consumer product design; and creative and art direction. Clients have included The Monterey Bay Aquarium, The Huntington Library, the Oakland Museum, The African-American Museum and Library at Oakland, the Society of California Pioneers, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Japanese American National Museum, The Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Sunset Magazine, and Sea Studios.

One of his areas of continuing special interest is storytelling, as well as interpreting and illustrating the natural world.

Jeffrey Reynolds, Ph.D., Multimedia Designer & Programmer
Dr. Jeff Reynolds has developed a range of interactives, from interactive databases used to track humpback whale behavior in Alaska to interactives that let you “be a bass” in an Ozark stream. He has developed programs on both the Apple Macintosh and IBM PC platforms in a number of different programming systems. He has worked on a number of novel interactive input and output systems, including passive, integrated transponder tags (radio tags), bar codes, touch screens, multiple device controller systems, digital video, digital audio, and animation. Jeff's extensive science background allows him to be extremely effective at designing interactive content and directing its production.

Jeff has designed/developed interactive exhibits for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the St. Louis Zoo, the Museum of Technology (San Jose, CA), Kaiser Permanente, the California African American Museum, the National Aquarium, the Florida Aquarium, the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, Allensworth California State Park, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has designed and produced critically acclaimed CD ROMs for the National Science Foundation (Earth Explorer published by Apple Computer),Jean-Michel Cousteau (Cities Under the Sea: Coral Reefs published by Enteractive), and Kaiser Permanente (My Body, My Choice, My Future, Shoulder Motion, and How Best to Treat Your Scar). Jeff has also developed digital data collection and management systems for his humpback whale cooperative feeding behavior research in southeast Alaska. He has also designed content structures and web interfaces for non-profit and educational organizations like LandWatch Monterey County, Sea Studios Foundation, Audubon’s Seafood Guide, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and Ocean Futures/Jean Michel Cousteau’s Finding Nemo Coral Reef Fun.

Lisa Strong-Aufhauser, Narrator & Audio Engineer
Lisa Strong-Aufhauser is a writer/producer, cinematographer, lighting tech, sound recordist, and editor. She owns and operates Strong Mountain Productions, a small digital audio-video production company specializing in nature, science and history for museum exhibits, multimedia, promotional DVDs, and the web. Video projects include work for National Geographic's Crittercam, the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center, the Yosemite Association, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, and the Exploratorium. She holds BAs in environmental biology and environmental studies from UC Santa Barbara, and a graduate degree in science communication from UC Santa Cruz. Lisa is also a nationally published magazine writer and still photographer, and a naturalist with many years of experience teaching photography, natural history, and outdoor skills in Yosemite, Sequoia and SE Alaska.