Kelley, Ellen A.

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Kelley, Ellen A.

(Ellen Chavez Kelley)

PERSONAL:

Born in Duluth, MN; married John Kelley (an architect); has children. Hobbies and other interests: Visiting schools and meeting her readers, watching lizards in the garden, beach combing, baking cookies, growing sweet peas and wildflowers, traveling in the American southwest, singing and listening to all types of music.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office— Santa Barbara, CA. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and teacher. Formerly worked as an elementary-school teacher; California Poet in the Schools; instructor and lecturer in adult education and at University of California at Santa Barbara Writing Program.

MEMBER:

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Academy of American Poets Prize, 1998; Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award prize, 1999; National Poetry Competition award, Associated Writing Programs Intro Journal Project, 2000; Arizona State Literacy Project Award finalist, 2007, for Buckamoo Girls.

WRITINGS:

The Lucky Lizard, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley, Dutton (New York, NY), 2000.

Buckamoo Girls, illustrated by Tom Curry, Abrams (New York, NY), 2006.

My Life as a Chicken, illustrated by Michael Slack, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2007.

Author of poetry under name Ellen Chavez Kelley.

SIDELIGHTS:

Children's writer and poet Ellen A. Kelley grew up reading, following the adventures of fictional sleuth Nancy Drew and the characters of The Boxcar Children, and sometimes just reading the backs of cereal boxes. She was also an author early on: her first story was published in the local newspaper when Kelley was seven years old. In addition to her work as a writer, which has produced books such as The Lucky Lizard and Buckamoo Girls, Kelley has also worked as a teacher, both in elementary schools and on the college level.

Kelley's first book for children,The Lucky Lizard, is a chapter book that is narrated by a pet lizard named Bima. The lizard helps its owner, Todd, by building the boy's confidence in activities ranging from riding his bike to confronting the class bully. "Bima has a wonderful sense of humor, true love for his owner, and determination to help out," wrote Wendy S. Carroll in a School Library Journal review of The Lucky Lizard. A Publishers Weekly critic noted of the same book that "Kelley pulls off her unusual premise with humor."

Buckamoo Girls, a picture book featuring illustrations by Tom Curry, was inspired by Kelley's childhood dream of becoming "The Lone Rangerette," as the writer admitted on her home page. In the story, this dream is flipped, as two cows decide to become cowgirls. Bovine beauties Joanna and Susanna ride the range, rope steers, munch clover chili, and dance by the light of the moooon, living out their cowgirl dreams. A Kirkus Reviews contributor dubbed Buckamoo Girls "an udderly hilarious parody," and a critic for Publishers Weekly predicted that Kelley's "bovine heroines will appeal to the dreamer in everyone."

In My Life as a Chicken, Kelley tells the story of Pauline Poulet, who escapes a hungry farmer only to find greater dangers beyond, from hungry foxes to pirate cats. Finally, the chicken makes her way to safety at a petting zoo. "Kelley's couplets sally forth unstoppably," quipped a Publishers Weekly reviewer in describing Kelley's rhyming text. Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, reviewing My Life as a Chicken for School Library Journal, wrote that "the tone and zany sensibilities … are a perfect match for the funny bones of an early elementary audience."

Discussing where her ideas come from, Kelley wrote on her home page that she "doesn't exactly think of stories, so much as hear the characters' voices and see pictures." Kelley continues her work as a teacher of poetry in workshops, conferences, and adult education, and visits schools and author fairs where she gives lively book presentations for young readers.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2000, John Peters, review of The Lucky Lizard, p. 340.

Children's Bookwatch, February, 2007, review of Buckamoo Girls.

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2006, review of Buckamoo Girls, p. 957.

Publishers Weekly, November 6, 2000, review of The Lucky Lizard, p. 91; November 6, 2006, review of Buckamoo Girls, p. 60; April 30, 2007, review of My Life as a Chicken, p. 159.

School Library Journal, October, 2000, Wendy S. Carroll, review of The Lucky Lizard, p. 128; January, 2007, Susan E. Murray, review of Buckamoo Girls, p. 98; June, 2007, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of My Life as a Chicken, p. 110.