by Ellwyn Autumn M.Ed.
Hello, MagicBeans Bookstore Readers,
First, I'd like to thank Leat at MagicBeans Bookstore for inviting me to write on their blog. I appreciate the opportunity to spread the message about my books.
My name is Ellwyn Autumn. I'm a former public school teacher who now writes children's stories and fantasy novels. My picture book series, The Kamyla Chung Series, empowers children to become their own self-advocates. I'd like to take a moment to share with you why I write these books.
People often ask authors what inspires them to write. For me, there are many reasons but the most fundamental is to bring greater awareness to childhood trauma and the mental health of students in our schools. Drawing on my experiences as an educator, I write books about difficult issues children face every day that are intended to encourage viable solutions.
During my tenure in the public schools, I noticed the long-term and devastating effects of child abuse and neglect. Through dangerous outbursts and oppositional-defiant behavior, the victims' emotional trauma transferred over into the school and effected the education of every child.
Like many teachers I was in an overcrowded classroom with insufficient resources and inadequate behavioral support. The violence enacted by some students became so overwhelming I resigned from the profession to preserve my own mental health.
Despite leaving the classroom, I still want to help students and teachers dealing with these problematic situations. I do this through my educational blog Lemon Drop Literary and my books about a bi-racial child named Kamyla Chung who proactively solves problems that arise in her life.
The second installment in the series, Kamyla Chung and the Classroom Bully, deals with sensitive social issues: bullying and child abuse.
In order for us to deal with these concerns as a society, we must discuss them with our children. They need to learn how to advocate for themselves when they are being mistreated, by adults and children alike.
In the book, Dahn Tran and I show the harmful effects of bullying from both sides. Many children in my classroom who'd been hit or teased by a troubled classmate, would say what Kamyla says in the book, "I didn't even do anything to them." The children would be so confused. They couldn't understand why someone would hit them for no reason.
Presenting the side of the bully is not condoning the hurtful behaviors they inflict upon others. I simply want to make the victims understand that they are not at fault. Knowing why a person is behaving in such a negative way often helps us to make sense of a bad situation. This understanding can assist in our coming to terms with it.
To assist parents, teachers and counselors with these difficult topics, I’ve also written several articles on bullying, harmful childhood behaviors and other pertinent educational issues.
If you’d like to continue this journey together, please visit me at http://www.ellwynautumn.com/ and lemondropliterary.blogspot.com.
Happy Reading!
To find Ellwyn Autumn's books and other books like these please visit our website @ www.magicbeansbookstore.com today! When you buy a book through MagicBeans we are able to donate new books to underserved children, for some these are the very first books they have ever owned. Please visit our bookstore today!
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