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Authors of Mariemont By Rex Bevis Many residents have no doubt been reading more during these challenging stay-at-home times. Did you realize that we have several local Mariemont authors? Their books deserve to receive some notice and are worthy of finding their way into your personal library. While shut in like the rest of Mariemont, I had the opportunity to interview these authors and, in some cases, to peruse or even read their books.
So, what inspired a busy professional, while raising his children in Mariemont with wife Erika, to research and author a book on the educational benefits of traditional board games? “The simple answer is that fundamental educational skills such as mathematics, language arts, economics, logic, and communication are so
Jeffrey P. Hinebaugh, 6600 Mariemont Avenue, has written two books about the educational value of board games. His first book, “A Board Game Education: Building Skills for Academic Success,” was initially published in 2009 by Rowman & Littlefield Education. The sequel, “More Board Game Education: Inspiring Students Through Board Games,” was published in 2018 by the same publisher. Jeff is an attorney and 25+ year resident of Mariemont. His books have been written with the premise, in Jeff’s words, that “the classic board games that you enjoyed as a child, and that you still enjoy playing with your own children (or grandchildren), are excellent tools for teaching fundamental and core educational skills. What’s more, these games are really fun to play!” Jeff’s books review the history of board games, describe educational values of board games, and delve into specific educational concepts of games including Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Scrabble, Monopoly, Clue, Risk, Checkers and Chess, Sorry!, CONNECT4, Backgammon, and many others.
important for the educational achievement and success of students that any tools that assist in the development of these skills should be highlighted. The fact that some of the best tools for developing these skills might be the very same board games that most people have played for years was simply astonishing to me. I subsequently found that the potential educational value of these classic board games was also quite surprising and exciting to my friends and peers. Hence, I decided to explore the issue in greater detail.”
Jeffrey Hinebaugh’s delightful books are available at Amazon, likely also at Jos. Beth bookstore, and available from the publisher. Will he write another book on this topic? Stay tuned, I sense another sequel will be coming! Pat Curran Van Stone, 4050 Lytle Woods Place, is a seven-year Mariemont resident. Pat has written a novel, “Silver Screen,” self-published in December, 2019. From Pat herself: “This adventurous love story shows Susan, a young single mother, trying to reestablish herself in a powerful new love relationship, while struggling to disengage from her former partner of four years. That fading relationship has become highly dysfunctional due to his ongoing depression. Yet Susan feels a degree of loyalty to try to remain friends with this man for the sake of her four year-old son; he has been the only father figure her son has ever known. The new couple’s passion for professional musical theatre unites them in a union of bliss and a potential of future love. Obstacles must be overcome, but the themes of personal growth and sacrifice are interwoven as the new couple work patiently toward their dream of being together.” Silver Screen is a sequel book to a predecessor book that Pat published in 2013, “Golden Screen.” In conversation with Pat, I learned that she has a Master of Arts degree in Education from Northern Kentucky University and taught literature at NKY as an Adjunct Professor for 15 years. Pat “loves writing and chose her novel Cont'd on page 7