Ellington Owl's Awesome Birthday

Ellington Owl throws the best parties! In fact, his hospitality is legendary. So when the anxious Thelonious Melon doesn't receive an invitation, he becomes upset and feels left out. His excellent good friend Bootsy Bat, who likes to get to the bottom of things, comes to the rescue.

Join Reginald P. Lizard, Lady Horse, Ellington Owl, Thelonious Melon, and Bootsy Bat as they discover who took the melon's invitation!

With light situations, humor, and a few morals sprinkled in for good measure, these stories will entertain both children and adults.

Great for reading aloud—and be sure to use separate voices!

In a world with a talking melon, anything is possible.

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I think of Ellington Owl's Awesome Birthday (BOOK 1) as a cross between The House at Pooh Corner and Stuart Little. The characters are like the former, and the adventures are like the latter. I tried to keep the characters fun and simple for kids, but I also gave them full, rich personalities to appeal to the "kid" inside adults.

After some constructive criticism, I attempted to simplify the story to "bring it down" to a child's level. However, after re-reading Stuart Little, I came to the conclusion that E.B. White didn't do this. I decided not to cater to a particular audience. Some of the words might be a bit "large" for a 5 year old, but this offers additional launch points for parental instruction.

This book is a reflection of myself. I wanted charming characters with rich personalities. I wanted to illustrate positive values, encouragement, and warmth.

I feel that this book is best read aloud. I envision a young child saying to the parent, "You gotta do the voices!" Part of my proofreading process requires that I read the book aloud, and I do use "the voices" myself. It's way more fun that way.

As for a technical note, I wrote the entire book using OpenOffice Writer, which is free to download under its software license.

Welcome to a world where improbable things are possible, the wind plays an active role (you know how the wind can get), and you might just learn a thing or two.

This book series was written at a middle school level; however, they are fun for adults, too. These kid-safe adventure fantasies host unusual friends, odd circumstances, and a great deal of humor.

The lead character is none other than Reginald P. Lizard, an intelligent lizard of few words. His best friend is the regal, proper, elegant "Lady Horse" with a positive demeanor. Ellington Owl is a lovable, cuddly, yet uncoordinated owl, who flies just fine, but doesn't land so well. Finally, Bootsy Bat and Thelonious Melon (Yes, a melon!) are an inseparable pair who crack jokes and play games on each other.

These five charming friends get into light, non-threatening, and fun adventures, and they meet the most interesting creatures. You will be entertained by songs, jokes, games, puzzles, manners, and interesting facts, too! The world of Reginald P. Lizard (and his friends) is waiting for you. Yes, yes, yes, YES!

As one reviewer writes of the fourth book:

"This book defies categories and nearly eludes description—clever, witty, and tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time gentle, sincere, and reassuring. Like so many of the best stories, different layers will appeal to multiple ages; you will find yourself giggling and pondering in equal measure. Also, there is an awful lot of coffee, an enviable coat of infinite cookies, a bathysphere, and poetry. What's not to love?"

Join our five friends on their first adventure!

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Interest Level: Grades 3 - 7 & Adults!
Reading Level: Grades 4 - 8 
ATOS Book Level: 5.2

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