E647 - Christine Devane - Elephant Beach - A Children's Book That Talks About Being Shy and Being Open to Others

EPISODE 647 - Christine Devane - Elephant Beach - A Children's Book That Talks About Being Shy and Being Open to Others 

About the author
Christine grew up in North Andover, MA with her parents Tony and Joyce and brothers Anthony and Eddie. She was very shy when she was young and spent a lot of time reading. Throughout her childhood Christine loved animals, especially elephants. People started to buy them for her as a collection. Her grandparents, Eddie and Ginger, as well as her parents would bring her back lucky elephants from their trips. Throughout her childhood Christine always enjoyed trips to the beach with her family and grandparents.

In 2006 Christine graduated from Merrimack College with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Elementary Education. In 2008 she received her master’s degree in Elementary Education from Merrimack College. Christine would then go on to teach elementary school for the next 13 years. Her favorite part of the day was reading to her students. It was during reading time that she connected with her students through books. They learned, laughed and felt a range of emotions together. Christine decided that she wanted to write her own book for students to engage with, while learning and laughing. Since elephants have always been her favorite animal, she found it fitting to include them in her story. In 2017 Christine traveled to Africa with her mother and husband where she was able to see elephants living in the wild, which was always a lifelong dream. Many of the elephants were playing in the water and seemed to be having fun as they appear to in her book.

Christine and her husband John have 3 children- Joey, Nick and Adeline and a dog named Sophie with whom she loves to read with. They laugh at her stories and enjoy trips to the beach together as a family.

Book: Elephant Beach - A young girl is expecting a quiet, peaceful beach day of reading—but she’s in for some disappointment. It turns out elephants love to play, especially at the beach! At first, the girl is annoyed when the elephants break her beach chair. Then, they block her sun amidst other loud and distracting shenanigans. Soon, though, the girl becomes intrigued by the elephants’ playful nature. She still tries to read, but their games continue and can’t be ignored. Having a change of heart, the young girl joins in when the elephants play volleyball. She surfs huge waves and even helps the elephants when they are scared. The young girl came to the beach to be alone, but she now finds herself surrounded by new friends. The silliness of these gentle giants amuse her, and what was once a plan to find some peace turns into a feast of fun! Come along to Elephant Beach, where distractions are welcome and adventure arrives with each and every wave.

https://www.christine-devane.com/