Last week, I had the good fortune to meet Joelle Leali, local mom and author of a new book, Pelicans Forever.
Joelle is busy!! She's a mother of three (5yr. old twins and an 8 yr. old), a speech therapist, a new author, and a take charge sort of gal. Upon hearing of the oil spill, she knew that something had to be done to communicate the event in ways a young child could understand. Along with her very talented 14yr. old niece as illustrator (the illustrations are so sweet and wonderful, as in the one pictured here), she wrote this book. She also actively sought ways her own children could be proactive and spent a day in Grand Isle, with the assistance of a park ranger, cleaning and rehabbing hermit crabs.
In the book, meet Parish and Pauline, two Louisiana Brown Pelicans. They live on Barataria Bay, a popular pelican nesting ground, near Grand Isle. Follow along as these two captivating characters are forced to deal with their habitat affected by the oil spill, and the friends they meet along the way.
Her goals? To allow children the opportunity to understand what took place, what's occurring today, and how they can help. Joelle would love to see her book, appropriate for children ages 3-7, donated and available to public schools and libraries in the Gulf Coast area. Because she in the educational field, she's done a great job including extension activities for parents and teachers. She also has a Pelicans Forever facebook page, where she hopes to communicate updates on the crisis and to inform her fans about opportunities for families to be proactive about preserving our wetlands and its ecosystem.
Find out more on her website, www.pelicansforever.com, about donating a book, or purchasing an autographed copy. Plus, be sure to check out her facebook page and to become a friend of Parish, a Louisiana Brown Pelican.
