Elderberry Tales

Help! I've Lost My Llama

Tim is nervous about starting school. So he comes up with a VERY clever plan to bring his pet llama Lottie with him. But things don’t go exactly to plan. Join Tim and Lottie on their adventure as Tim discovers that school isn’t so bad after all.

By Colette Warbrook
Art by Mark Wilcox

Help! I've Lost my Llama is available on Amazon. 

For No Reason

For No Reason is an insightful tale about a better way to handle a bullying situation, following Jamie Higgins and a new boy in her class who keeps picking on her. Can Jamie solve this problem without getting into trouble?

By Kathleen Gauer
Art by Sari Richter

This is a book that plays very well in audio - but if you only experience it as an audiobook, you're missing out on the way the illustrations comment on and add additional layers to the text. Check it out at Skipping Stone Press, where you'll also find other books by Gauer & Richter, along with ideas of how to foster kindness in the classroom!

A Whole Other Magic

A Whole Other Magic is the jubilant ballad of a rogue fairy godmother who pawns off her wand, her wings, and all her magical powers for a sackful of old-fashioned toys, treasures, and "other things." She is moved by the plight of children today who are playing alone, inside, "in the blue and white glow of some other spell." To remedy their lackluster imaginations she has a whole new kind of magic up her sleeve... With her smorgasbord of unusual bibs and bobs and nature bits, and a rather rascally Toad by her side, she invites the children to enter into play that is ramshackle-wild, open-ended, and deeply satisfying. 

Written by Gigi Jobb
Art by Alisa Day Reeves

A Whole Other Magic is available on Amazon.

Go To School, Kanunu!

Kanunu doesn't want to go to school. How could his mother possibly convince him to go?
In this goofy, silly, absurd, and ridiculous Syrian tale, it takes a household to send Kanunu off to school... or does it?

Written by Chris Esper
Art by Cardigan Broadmoor

"Go To School, Kanunu" is available on Amazon.

Being Small (Isn't So Bad After All)

Being small is the worst! No one ever picks me for their sports team and my feet hurt from standing on my tiptoes all the time. There can’t be anything good about being small…right?

Told in dialogue between parent and child, this adorable rhyme is for every person who struggles with seeing the positive side to their unique traits. 

Written by Lori Orlinsky

Check out the book on Amazon or find extra resources on Facebook!

Violet's Cloudy Day

It's Violet's first day at a new school, and she is starting to feel worried. What if nobody likes her? What if her teacher is mean? Unlike your ordinary first day jitters, these thoughts refuse to stay inside Violet's head. They pop into the air and become 'worry clouds' that won't stop following her! Feeling small, alone and invisible, Violet must figure out what she's going to do about the worry clouds. If her thinking got her into this mess, can it get her out, too? 

Written and Illustrated by Roz Maclean

"Violet's Cloudy Day" is available on Amazon.
You can also download a classroom activity packet to practice replacing worries with helpful thoughts.

Squeaky and the Stinky Mouse

When a stinky mouse knocks on Squeaky’s door and asks for food, Squeaky rudely refuses to help and sends him away. But later, when Squeaky is the one who needs help, he finds himself at the mercy of the very same mouse he turned away. Will the stinky mouse leave Squeaky behind or come to his rescue?

Written by Sarah Cash
Art by Jason Smith

"Squeaky and the Stinky Mouse" is available in both hardcover and paperback at squeakytales.com. You can find more examples of kindness in action at the Squeaky Tales Facebook page!

Aidan The Wonder Kid Who Could Not Be Stopped!

He was a super hero with a furry sidekick. 
She was a secret mad scientist in the kitchen.
But he was sick... and she was stumped.
Can they work together to find out what is stealing his superpowers, and restore his boundless energy once again? 

Meet Aidan the Wonder Kid and his Super Smart Detective Mom. When food allergies strike, they bond together to fight back. But can they win? 

Kids will cheer for Aidan, and parents and teachers everywhere will love the message. Two kids in every classroom have a food allergy, and this story brings fun to the challenge of feeding every body just right. 

Written by Colleen Brunetti
Art by Dan Carsten 

For more information on Aidan the Wonder Kid, lesson plans around food allergies and intolerances, and Colleen Brunetti's work to educate parents and teachers about allergies and intolerances, visit ColleenBrunetti.com.

The Stone Who Learned To Sing

Follow the journey of a sparkly white Stone from birth upon the Mountain’s peak and down Creek & River to Ocean where tropical sunsets and white sandy beaches await. Along the way, Stone goes through an amazing transformation, learns many things about the world, and gets some help from good friends.

The Stone Who Learned to Sing is written by Sylvan Brightwolf. You can connect with him on Facebook.

It's also available as an ebook on Lulu.com. 

Evie Okay & the Thought Buffet

Evie Okay & the Thought Buffet is a story about a little girl whose afternoon of worrisome thoughts turns to hope after a blue monkey walks her through an epic buffet.

Evie Okay is a children's book written for everyone.  The story offers a simple understanding of the mind-body connection without denying the complexity of  it all. In the end, it's not that Evie picks the right thoughts and all’s well, but that she believes her thoughts matter, and that she cares to try.  It is the belief that she is an important, creative force which makes her “shine like the stars in a pitch black sky.”

Story & art by Valerie Shively
You can also see more of Val's gorgeous photos at Valerie Shively Photography