Joanne Elaine

Joanne Elaine is a mother, stepmother and grandmother in a large family. She is the adoptive mother of two of her children, and now has had the pleasure of watching her children adopt. The author has also been blessed with a 30-year career as a Severe Special Needs Teacher. Writing had always been a leisure activity for her, but she has recently decided to pursue her dream of writing and publishing children's picture books. She currently has her set of Floppy Bunny books available on Amazon. She has also recently published the first book in her second series, "Magical Messages," and is working on several books to follow.

All of Joanne Elaine's books are written with an important message to the audience. Her first book, "A New Home for Floppy Bunny," was written with a message for the thousands of children waiting for a "forever family." Knowing that children often internalize traumatic events that happen in their lives, her wish is that every child who reads or listens to her book realizes that he or she is worthy of unconditional love, and that being in the foster care system is never their fault. She also hopes that this book will increase awareness for all children, thereby eliminating the stigma associated with foster care and adoption. The three "Floppy Bunny's New Friends" books in the series continue to foster self-love and self-worth through the main character's adventures.

The stories in Joanne Elaine's new series, "Magical Messages," are also written with uplifting messages to children, each one focusing on a particular characteristic that might make the main character feel different from his or her peers. The first book, "Color of the Sunrise," was written to send all of the beautiful redheaded children of the world, (one of them being her grandson), the message that the color of their hair is special and beautiful, and this message is delivered through the magic of nature in a simple and loving way.

The second book in this series, "Purple Seaglass," will feature a little boy with Down Syndrome receiving a beautiful message from the waves on the beach. The author has many more stories for this series planned, each one lovingly written from the heart.

The books in the "Magical Messages" series will all be hand-illustrated by the author's long-time friend, Cindy Young. Cindy has recently retired from a long career working with foster children, and is the mother of two young men, one of which has Down Syndrome. It is easy to see that this series is truly a "labor of love" for both the author and the illustrator, and their hope is that each of these books touch the hearts of those children who need to hear their "Magical Messages" of love and acceptance.