My Teacher is An Elf and Writing Our Own Books

Hello, friends. Happy Almost Thanksgiving. I have my fingers crossed for days full of naps, wearing my pj's and robe all day, and watching Hallmark movies kind of relaxation.

I have been meaning to share a little about our (my husband and I) new journey writing books. Since I was in college we wanted to write a book. My husband, Joey, has also loved doodling and drawing. I still have notes from him when we were in college with characters all over it. For you young ones, we totally wrote notes before texting...haha!

We both had kept ideas of books we wanted to one day write together. We always thought it would be cool to be a husband and wife team...and here we are today. We have three books available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and plenty more coming. Our first three are all a similar style but we are excited about our upcoming ones that have a totally different feel and look.

With it being the holidays, we are excited to share about our recent release My Teacher is an Elf. This book is based on my years as a 1st grade and Kindergarten teacher and my students' suspicions. You can find it here.

This book was written for pure fun to be enjoyed by all but it was really written from the viewpoint of a teacher to use during shared reading. There are plenty of opportunities to make inferences, discuss character traits, and comparing and contrasting.

Something we were so excited to hear about is how a Elementary Principal is using it in Florida. We received a snippet of the email she sent to her awesome staff and we think this is a pretty neat idea!

My Teacher is An Elf On the Shelf???!!!! Whhhaaattt???!!!!

You know how those ornery elves hide during the holiday season? You find 'em in a different place every day (well, almost every day)...Those elves are usually up to somethin' no good!

Well, we have a similar scenario that's going to be happenin' here at Sterling Park! From the Monday after Thanksgiving through the last day before Winter break, ornery elves are going to be hiding one book each night, the lucky finder of the book gets to keep it! What's the book called you ask?

My Teacher is an Elf! By Joey and Melanie Acker


We will have our own My Teacher is an Elf on the Shelf hunt! Be on the lookout each day for the book! It could be hidden anywhere! When you find it, send an email to STPE-AllStaff with the location that you found the treasure so we'll all know it has been found for the day.

We can't wait to see pictures of all the fun they have. If you are using out book in your classroom or on your campus, please feel free to share pictures. We would LOVE to see them. You can email us at joeyandmelaniebooks@yahoo.com. You can also follow us on Instagram & Twitter @ackerbooks and like us on Facebook here.

We also have My P.E. Teacher is a Ninja and My Counselor is a Princess. You can find each of them HERE and HERE. 

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving, eat lots of pie, and take plenty of naps. 

Melanie

ABC....Worry Free Book Review

Happy almost Thanksgiving, friends!  It is so cold in Texas right now. Those of you in places up north are probably laughing hysterically at me right now while I sit in my robe, on a heating pad, and under about 7 layers of blankets. It's a whopping 36 degrees and in Texas, that is straight up winter weather. Our family is excited about the break and I hope you all get time to renew and practice self care!

I am really excited to review a new book titled ABC Worry Free by Noel Foy. Now that my husband and I are writing books, my love for picture books has grown even more (I will blog about that in detail at another time). Y'all...I love books. My husband thinks I buy tons of shoes and clothes but really it's books...they are just much easier to hide. I even love the smell of books. Can they make that as a candle scent?

What I love even more than a good picture book is a book that easily relates hard to understand situations and emotions to kids. Things like depression, frustration, and anxiety are often difficult to express to children in books....even in person. Noel Foy does an amazing job of this and with an easy to understand situation.

The character in the book has a rough experience (an encounter with a bee) and begins to feel anxious about ever going out or being with friends. It touches on what anxiety and worry can look like in kid form, which I love. Not only does it show what the boy experiences (not wanting to go outside, not playing with friends), it gives an outside look at what his friends are thinking. It even gives a catchy coping technique (A-Accept, B-Breathe, C-Change).

This would be a wonderful addition to your guidance rotation and also great for a small group. The illustrations by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov are warm and inviting, as well.

You can purchase the book HERE, and find more information about the story and author HERE.

As I am beginning to work with kids struggling with anxiety in my LPC-Internship (under the supervision of the amazing Erin James, LPC-S), I have found a great need for resources like this. I have even created a quick sheet that you could supplement the story with. You can find that for FREE in my TPT store HERE.

I am also giving away a FREE copy of this book. Check out the instructions on Facebook to enter! Have wonderful week and enjoy the rest of the week with your students!

Melanie