For more than 18 years, Jordan D. Brown has written numerous high-quality, award-winning books, magazine articles, Web sites, television programs, and educational guides for children, teachers and parents. As a writer, editor, and educational consultant, Brown has worked for clients including Nickelodeon, Nelvana Ltd., the American Museum of Natural History, Sesame Workshop, The Jim Henson Company, Scholastic Inc., Thunderbird Films Inc., TIME for Kids, Joseph Henry Press (National Academy of Sciences), Newbridge Educational Publishing, and Thirteen/WNET. Regardless of the subject matter or medium, Brown approaches his projects with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a sense of humor. Clients appreciate his collaborative spirit, his meticulous attention to detaail, and his uncanny ability to refer to himself in the third person.
Jordan, the Educational Consultant for Kids' Television
Jordan, the Writer for Children's Web sites
Jordan, the Author of Children's Books
Jordan, the Writer of Books and Other Resources for Teachers
Jordan's Educational Background
Jordan, the Online Columnist for Sesame Workshop
Random Facts about Jordan
Jordan, the Educational Consultant for Kids' Television
He is currently the educational consultant for My Friend Rabbit, NBC's animated preschool series produced by Nelvana Ltd., based on the Caldecott Award-winning book by Eric Rohmann. This popular series promotes divergent thinking, fosters collaborative creativity, and encourages helping others in need. Brown is also the educational advisor for Zigby, an animated preschool series, produced by Thunderbird Films in Canada, and co-produced by Flying Bark Productions in Australia. Through the use of funny, character-driven adventures, Zigby the zebra and his friends engage viewers while modeling pro-social behaviors, and introducing creative problem-solving strategies.
In addition, Brown served as the educational advisor for Nickelodeon's Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, a preschool series that focuses on social-emotional development and the wonders of the natural world. Nickelodeon also hired Brown to develop the original curriculum goals for the preschool TV series that became The Backyardigans.
Other clients for which Jordan has serves as Educational Consultant include Sesame Workshop, and The Jim Henson Company.
For more information on Jordan's current work as an educational consultant, visit the Current Projects page.
Jordan, the Writer for Children's Educational Web sites
As a writer for OLogy, the American Museum of Natural History's award-winning kids' science Web site, Brown wrote articles, activities, humorous interviews, and song lyrics about topics including marine biology, paleontology, astronomy, and genetics. (Highlights include Stella Stardust's interview with the Sun (PDF), and a lively song about bioluminescence in the ocean...which is well on its way to becoming the definitive song on bioluminescence for children.)
For Thirteen/WNET's, he wrote numerous articles, activities, and lesson plans for Learning Adventures in Citizenship, a social studies site developed to support and extend Ric Burns' film: New York: A Documentary. For the PBS documentary Slavery and the Making of America, he wrote a short historical play about Titus, a slave who lived in New Jersey in the mid-1700s.
For additional samples of Jordan's work as a writer of Children's Educational Web sites, visit the Writing Samples page.
Jordan, the Author of Children's Books
Jordan D. Brown's non-fiction work includes Robo World, a 125-page biography of MIT roboticist Cynthia Breazeal for middle school kids (Joseph Henry Press, 2005), Everyday Inventions (Newbridge, 2004), and A Student's Guide to Mental Health and Wellness (Greenwood Press, 2004).
Brown's fiction for children includes Just Kidding! (2001), a comic novel set in a middle school, and Animal E.R. (1999), an adventure story set in a veterinary hospital, both published by Scholastic.
As part of Sesame Workshop's Mathmatazz project (1997), Brown wrote two math books for early elementary school students: Too Many Toothbrushes, a humorous book to teach subtraction strategies, and Double Your Fun, a silly math story set in a novelty store. For Bantam Books, Jordan wrote two tie-in books for the Ghostwriter TV series: The Ghostwriter Detective Guide 2: More Tools And Tricks of The Trade and Movie Marvels: Film Facts You'll Flip For.
For additional samples of Jordan's work as a writer of Children's Books, visit the Writing Samples page.
Jordan, the Writer of Books and Other Resources for Teachers
For more than 15 years, Jordan as written Teacher's Guides for NATURE, produced by Thirteen/WNET, on subjects including reptiles, migration, jungle wildlife, tigers, ocean life, and much more. Brown also wrote the curriculum and activity guide for Africa, a special Nature series that focused on social studies and geography.
Jordan is the author of several Scholastic Professional Books for teachers, including Easy HyperStudio Projects That Fit Into Your Curriculum (2000), and Natural Disasters: 20 Fun, Web-Based Activities for Grades 3-6 (2002).
Jordan has written lively lesson plans for Roads to Success, an ambitious program that strives to engage struggling students in grades 7-12, and provide them with study skills, interesting career choices, and preparation for college. To see a sample lesson Jordan wrote, click here.
For additional samples of Jordan's work as a writer of Books and Other Resources for Teachers, visit the Writing Samples page.
Jordan, the Online Columnist for Sesame Workshop
Since 2003, Jordan has written a monthly parenting column for Sesame Workshop's web site. This humorous column, which stars Jordan's children Finn (short for Finian) and Olivia, is distributed to more than 100,000 subscribers. Past topics include: sibling rivalry, nurturing curiosity, potty training, developing sense of humor, media literacy, discipline techniques, and coping with the death of a pet.
My Top 5 (okay 6) Favorite Columns
Potty TalkThe Quest for Sibling Revelry
Don't Use Reverse Psychology
Celebrating Silliness
Kids' Quirky Questions
A Dog's Life...and Death
Jordan's Educational Background
In 1986, Jordan Brown graduated from Oberlin College with the world's first degree in the study of humor. His interdisciplinary coursework examined the psychology of humor, cross-cultural humor, the physiology of laughter, and humor in education. As a "humorologist," he presented informative, entertaining lectures at venues such as Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. . (Shortly before graduation, Jordan wrote a satirical song about his humor major.)
In 1990, he received his M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University. His coursework and internships focused on the application of educational theories to various non-school settings and media, including television, radio, theater, and museums. Upon graduation, he was hired by Children's Television Workshop to work on Ghostwriter, a mystery series to promote literacy. From 1994 to 1998, Jordan worked for Scholastic Inc. developing content for multimedia CDs to support projects such as Literacy Place, and Read 180. After working full-time for "the man" for nine years, Jordan decided to pursue a career as a freelance writer, editor, and educational consultant-with his trusty and furry Senior Vice President, the late great Satchmo, his beloved cocker spaniel (1993-2007).
Random Facts About Jordan
- During his college years, Jordan started a singing telegram service, "Groucho Grams," in which he dressed up as Groucho Marx. As Groucho, he sang songs like "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady," offered irreverent insults, and presented the guest of honor with a batch of ultimate chocolate chunk cookies, which he baked himself.
- Despite rumors to the contrary, Jordan Brown is not, in any way, associated with the Brown Jordan furniture company.
- Shortly after graduating from Oberlin College with the world's first degree in the study of humor, Jordan delivered a lecture about his studies before 4,000 people at Chautauqua Institution. During this lecture, Brown performed original satirical songs on piano.
- As a lyricist, Jordan participated in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in New York City. Celebrated alumni of this workshop include Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and (composers of Avenue Q), Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, and many other Disney musicals) and Maury Yeston (composer of the musicals Titanic and Nine). In one of Jordan's less auspicious musicals, entitled Analysis on Tap, Jordan played the role of a singing bartender, who suspiciously resembled Sigmund Freud. To see sample lyrics that Jordan wrote while in the BMI Workshop, click the titles below:
- During his late 20s, wrote into his college alumni magazine that he was "trying to maintain joie de vivre while searching for his raison d'être."
- Since he was 10, Jordan has made a hobby of writing fan letters to people he admires. Noted people who have responded to his letters include B.F. Skinner, Ed Asner, Matt Groening, Tom Lehrer, and Dave Barry.
- As a teenager, Jordan wrote, directed, and starred in "Coming Detractions," a home movie that spoofed movie trailers. A horror flick spoof of "Poltergeist" was called "Poultry Heist."
- At 11, Jordan memorized the lyrics to Tom Lehrer's classic song "The Elements" which features a list of the chemical elements set to a tune by Sir Arthur Sullivan (Click here for a fun animated version of this song.)
