About Me

Dr. Rekha S. Rajan is an author of over 15 books (nonfiction and fiction) for kids and adults (and more to come!).  Her books have been listed on multiple BEST BOOKS list, received numerous starred reviews and been #1 new releases and editor's picks on Amazon. Her audio narration and musical instrumentation for the THIS IS MUSIC board book series were named best children's recordings from ALA/ALSC 2023. Her book AMAZING LANDMARKS is a finalist for the 2024 Rhode Island Children's book award. 

Rekha is a classically trained opera singer, has performed in numerous musicals, and plays the mridangam (a drum from South India), the piano, banjo, ukulele, djembe, bongos, recorder, and a lot of other instruments.

She has been teaching young children, helping them understand the world around them through STEAM activities, projects and books. As a professor, she has taught classes on arts, education, grant writing, evaluation.  She is also the editor for the Journal of General Music Education with the National Association for Music Education.

Rekha has published over 50 research articles on how the arts impact our lives from birth through old age and has helped to edit and chair many, many, many dissertations.  She is continually invited to present as a keynote speaker at national conferences. 

She has a doctorate in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University, a masters in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University, a masters in education from Roosevelt University where she also has a bachelors degree in music (vocal performance). 

Rekha lives in Chicago with her husband, three children, a bird, a hamster, a bunny, and two dogs. 

Literary agent: Lilly Ghahremani (Full Circle Literary)

Film/TV agent: Kim Yao (Echo Lake Entertainment)

Birthday: January 5th (I’m a Capricorn!)

Birthplace: Hoffman Estates, IL 

Cities I have lived in: Chicago, New York, Seattle, Sacramento

Favorite food: French Fries (especially McDonalds)

Favorite color: Magenta

Favorite movie: CLUE

Favorite song: "Cheek to Cheek" (sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong)

Favorite flower: Rose

Favorite animal: Orca 

Favorite subject in school: Music 

Favorite musical: CARNIVAL!

Favorite instrument: My voice (it's your very own instrument!)

Favorite video game: The Legend of Zelda

Languages that I speak fluently: English, Tamil, German

Languages that I speak a little: Italian, French, Spanish, Polish, Mandarin, Japanese, Burmese