Tag: children’s books

Olly is 11 years old!

by Elaine Ann Allen

Olly the Oyster Cleans the Bay, illustrated by the awesomely talented Kelli Nash, was first published by Tidewater Press eleven years ago today. Our amazing editor, Jonna Jones gave Olly a chance to see the world and we owe her many thanks! A year later it was picked up by Schiffer Books. It has been so much fun visiting schools and spreading the word about the importance of oysters! Since then two sequels have been published, Olly’s Treasure and Olly Explores 7 Wonders of the Chesapeake Bay, as well as a companion book, Mallory the Forgetful Duck, each highlighting the wonders and beauty of sea life along the Chesapeake Bay. Happy birthday Olly!

For an easy oyster craft activity, click here.

For a crossword puzzle with key vocabulary words, click here.

To find out where to buy a copy, click here.

To schedule an author visit, click here.

Happy Mother’s Day!

by Elaine Ann Allen

Happy Mother’s Day from Mallory the Forgetful Duck, a proud mama bird with a nest of beautiful ducklings. My own two little cuties are in the photo, wearing a white T-shirt and orange T-shirt. Hope you enjoy Mother’s Day with your families.

Mallory the Forgetful Duck. Ages 5 to 8, Schiffer Books.

 

For a fun craft activity making baby birds, click here.

For a word search puzzle, click here.

To find out where to buy, click here.

To schedule an author visit, click here.

Author Visits

Olly’s Treasure Book Trailer

by Elaine Ann Allen

 

Reading Olly's Treasure
Reading Olly’s Treasure

The book trailer for Olly’s Treasure is here! I love this story because it is about the real treasures we have in oyster reefs as well as in our own friendships, community and environment.

Here is the full description… 

Continue reading “Olly’s Treasure Book Trailer” →

Reading Mallory the Forgetful Duck

New Book Trailer

by Elaine Ann Allen
Reading Mallory the Forgetful Duck
Reading Mallory the Forgetful Duck

After a brief hiatus from writing and blogging, I am looking forward to jumping back into the writing world! To that end, I have finally put together a book trailer for my book, Mallory the Forgetful Duck.

This story about a mama duck and her baby birds is one of my favorites. I came up with the story while rocking my baby to sleep in the middle of the night. With its message about mama birds and their eggs, it’s a great book for springtime as well as Mother’s Day which is coming up soon! Hope you enjoy the book trailer.

Continue reading “New Book Trailer” →

How to Add Conflict to your Story

by Elaine Ann Allen

Story conflict smallYou may not realize it, but every story has conflict. Every story. Just like the “story concept” and the “MDQ”, if there is no conflict, there is no story. Even the most innocent, feel good, lovey dovey, soft-hearted children’s book story has conflict.

With a chapter book, there is conflict in each chapter. With a picture book, ideally, there is conflict on every page! You won’t get that feel good emotional response at the end of a story if there is no conflict for the characters to overcome. I have read so many stories from aspiring writers that are beautifully written, well thought out and nicely formatted. I can see where the authors are going with their stories, but they, in many cases, are not complete. A story without conflict is like a run-on sentence. It doesn’t have the proper punctuation. Continue reading “How to Add Conflict to your Story” →