Etaine Raphael

Etaine Raphael is the author-illustrator of The Rhyme-Time Twins series. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and currently lives with her husband and two daughters in Northern Virginia. Before having children, she worked as a physical therapist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, mostly with men and women with traumatic amputations from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Etaine now delights in writing and illustrating children’s picture books. Her debut book, A Blueberry Day, was released in March 2020. She introduced her readers to The Rhyme-Time Twins in her second book, Words Take Flight, and followed that up with Search for Silver Linings. She is excited to add more stories to this series in the coming years, but pivoted to a new chapter book series in the meantime. The first book in this new series called "The Rhyme-Time Twins & Friends" is entitled "Flames in Paradise" and she is thrilled to add more titles soon. Etaine feels constantly inspired by her daughters and their experiences, and she enjoys embedding important life lessons throughout her stories. She especially enjoys topics of inclusion, disability awareness, friendship, kindness, empathy, time in nature, and family togetherness.

Etaine loves to include discussion topics at the end of her stories. These topics stem from her illustrations, which are often used to tell a parallel story of their own. She hopes this technique gives parents the latitude and framework to either broach these topics with their children or not, depending on their comfort level as well as their child’s age and readiness level. She hopes to one day reflect children from all walks of life in her stories.

She would love to hear from you at etaineraphael@gmail.com.