Michelle Ferguson-Cohen
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Military brat and author, Michelle Ferguson-Cohen, authored, illustrated and published the first commercially available children's books for military brats. She has been called the "Dr. Seuss for Military Brats".
Her two titles "Daddy, You're My Hero!" and "Mommy, You're My Hero!" were the first books published to help children coping with deployment. Ferguson-Cohen published them in 2001 as part of her [1] Books for BratsTM series to encourage pride in the term "Military Brat". The titles are recognized by educators and librarians for their unique multicultural illustrations and representations of female soldiers.
During the first deployments of the Iraq War, Ferguson-Cohen worked with Family Readiness Groups nationwide to host readings of the books and convey coping skills to small children faced with separation from their parents.
Sought out by the press as an expert in the military community, she became an advocate for military brats promoting equal representation for the military commuinity in the media. Ferguson-Cohen consulted with Sesame Workshop encouraging them to create programming and content to help military brats and inform their civilian peers.
Ferguson-Cohen also wrote and illustrated The Sheltering Oak. The book addresses issues of transience and home. Ferguson-Cohen established publishing company Little Redhaired Girl Publishing company to publish and distribute her titles internationally.
Ferguson-Cohen is a standup comedian and comedy writer as well. Her standup material is featured in the anthology, Complete Idiot's Guide to Jokes). Prior to her career as a writer and humorist Ferguson-Cohen was a music publicist and agency owner in New York and London. Throughout her career in the entertainment industry she was involved in several high-profile charity projects that benefited children impacted by war.
Ferguson-Cohen's father was a career Army officer whose service in Vietnam was highlighted in William A. Cohen's The Stuff of Heroes [2]. Her grandfather was KIA in WWII.
