Dear Parents:

I worked with Dr. Elana Ashley in the creation of a book about my adventures on earth.  She will insist she is the author. She did not even acknowledge me in the credits!

Dream Image Press, LLC published my fun-filled, mystery adventure - the first in a series - in English. And, here I am holding my book:

Then, my book in English came out as a bilingual edition in English and Spanish.

You can see the cover of my book below:

The translation is written in a beautiful Spanish - very simple and expressive, combining 'proper' language with conversational usage. The bilingual reader is great for people of all ages who want to learn to read Spanish, as well as English, and it teaches strategies for dealing with daily issues in their lives - issues such as open communication, relationships, resolving conflicts and peace-making skills.

BREAKING NEWS IN FALL, 2008

Now available with Splunkey's Mystery Adventure in English and/or English/Spanish are two new items -

an Audio CD and a Teaching Guide for Educators and Parents!!

For a better understanding of what Splunkey's Special Three-Part Adventure Package can offer your child and family or your students, read the following Review:

"Splunkey's Three-Part Adventure Package is a delight in creativity and originality.  Whatchild would not fin this detective-peacemaker a source of imagination and dramatic fun! Children ages 4 to 8 will be enthralled by Splunkey's mystery-adventure story which includes an English-Spanish version.  The illustrations will intrigue both adults and children.  The ieas of teaching compassion, respect and wisdom will elicit a thoughtful response from readers and viewers.

Listening to the audio CD, gifted children and young students alike further explore their comprehension and sensory skills through the personality portrayals in the voices of the storybook characters as recited by Ashley and through their sensitivity to the Hispanic flavor imbued in the original, background music.

A unique feature of the package is the English-Spanish component which evokes a large appeal to bilingual, ESL and other classrooms and their students.  The book, the audio CD and the Teacher's Guide for Educators and Parents enable all of us as adults to work effectively with our children in understanding values we seek to impart.

Dr. Elana Ashley offers a splendid contribution to the classroom and the home through her book, CD and teacher's guide.  Splunkey's three-part package is a wonderful source of fun, learning and literacy!"

Joan Franklin Smutny, Director, The Center for Gifted at National-Louis University, Box 364, Wilmette, IL 60091-0364

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E X C I T I N G   N E W S:

Dr. Elana Ashley and Her Storybook Characters Eli, Ellie and Splunkey

[from left to right]

have been busy consulting and writing

Case Two of Splunkey's Mystery Series.

Now completed, the second book in the series is entitled

CASE TWO:  BIG BULLY HOLLY HOWLER.

It deals with FRIENDSHIP and BULLYING!

Keep a look-out for this second book in Splunkey's series in 2009!

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CONFERENCE EXHIBITS - PROGRAMS - SIGNINGS

September, 2008

Bank Financial 1368 Shermer Rd. Northbrook, IL	September 1-30     Saturday September 13	Dream Image Press, LLC BUSINESS OF THE MONTH at Bank Financial - throughout the month of September, 2008   10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.	DREAM IMAGE PRESS, LLC Business of the Month at Northbrook Branch Bank Financial - exhibit, dramatic selections, meeting of the author and a story book character   Fun Get-Together with Author Dr. Elana Ashley and Puppet Storybook Character Ellie Elephant - **talking, singing, listening to selections of the book and selections from the audio CD ** Seeing first-hand Splunkey's Book, Audio CD and Teaching Guide for Educators and Parents **Opportunity to get your copy of Splunkey's book autographed
Bank Financial 1368 Shermer Rd. Northbrook, IL	September 1-30     Saturday September 20	Dream Image Press, LLC BUSINESS OF THE MONTH at Bank Financial - throughout the month of September, 2008   10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.	DREAM IMAGE PRESS, LLC Business of the Month at Northbrook Branch Bank Financial - exhibit, dramatic selections, meeting of the author and a story book chaacter   Fun Get-Together with Author Dr. Elana Ashley and Puppet Storybook Character Ellie Elephant - **talking, singing, listening to selections of the book and selections from the audio CD ** Seeing first-hand Splunkey's Book, Audio CD and Teaching Guide for Educators and Parents **Opportunity to get your copy of Splunkey's book autographed
1st Lake County Fall into Literacy Conference held at Woodland Intermediate School 115 North Hunt Club Road, Gurnee Sponsored by The Regional Office of Education and The Northern Illinois Reading Consortium	Thursday September 25	3:40 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.	Dream Image Press, LLC exhibiting Splunkey's Special Three-Part Adventure Package for K-5th Grade Teachers of Lake County Author Dr. Elana Ashley with Puppet Storybook Character Ellie Elephant - displaying the 3-part package and presenting selections from the book and audio CD

 

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BOOK REVIEWS

and

PROGRAM REFERENCES

 

Book Reviews

"Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker - what an original idea!  Using photography to illustrate this book was a brilliant concept, and the author/illustrator has done a fantastic job of bringing her main characters to life through her photographs.  Kids will love how Ellie, Eli, and Splunkey adorn the pages, acting out the story and solving the mystery of Ellie's lost bracelet.   I can remembeer seeing books like this at the public library when I was a child and wishing there were more that contained other types of art besides watercolors and colored pencil drawings.  It is so wonderful to see people take their skills and utilie them to create books for young readers.  The photography is super, and the creatures are really adorable.  I can only imagine the time ane effort the author/photographer put into making this book a reality - quite impressive.  This book would definitely make a nice addition to any children's library, and I am sure will be getting giggles for years to come.  Very imaginative!"

Judge's Critique, Writer's Digest 11th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards

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A missing bracelet causes a rift in friendship of two animated elephants. Alien Splunkunio Splunkey, detective, smoothes the difference and aids in finding the bracelet.

The story, most effectively narrated to a group by storyteller, Elana Ashley, offers conflict, peacemaking and humor. As an educational vehicle, it could launch discussions on friendship, trust and helpfulness. A lively, satisfying story.

Nancy Ferrell, Juneau Juvenile Book Review Committee, Juneau Public Libraries, Juneau, Alaska, Author, Former Librarian, Former Teacher

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Splunkunio Splunkey, the outer space "Sherlockian" Detective, shows children the method of deductive reasoning for finding a missing friendship bracelet.

The book helps children to retrace their steps when something is missing, and teaches them positive and constructive ways of handling their frustrations when they can not find or when they misplace things.

Through her characters and vivid photography, Dr. Elana Ashley teaches children thoughtful insights about Caring, Sharing and Fairness.

Dr. Suzanne M. Cahnmann, Ph.D., Psychologist, Highwood, Illinois

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Detective Splunkey does a grand job of mediating. He is quite tactful in the way he encourages his friends to reenact the events of the day. Your story line had me guessing wrongly at where they would find the friendship bracelet. I love the color photos. Kids can relate so well to images of real things. Even realizing that the characters are not "alive," children may see them "come to life" within such a realistic setting.

Ronnie Rund, Assistant Head of Youth Services, Morton Grove Public Library, Morton Grove, Illinois

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Children's books should be written to teach impressionable youngsters about life in a positive way, while concurrently entertaining them. Sometimes an author will get one aspect right, but not the other. Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker, Case One: The Missing Friendship Bracelet is a successful combination of these elements. How to maintain interrelationships is the integral message of this charming and amusing story. Trust, acceptance of others who might appear different, not giving up when things appear difficult, and being willing to work hard to solve scary problems are the lessons that children will learn from this book. I highly recommend it for parents, teachers and youngsters.

Dr. Leonard B. Miller, Professor of Psychology, American Behavioral Studies Institute, Santa Anna, California; Contributing Co-Editor, Integrative Psychotherapies

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This book is made with so much love and hope for deep world friendship and brotherhood. We are all on a little planet sharing the same burdens and daily struggles, and, if we share love and friendship and understanding - what a BETTER beautiful world we would share.

The photography is lovely. The characters are lovable. You do such gratifying work

Ada Moriel, Singer-Musician-Composer, Israel Her latest CD -- "Shepherd's Daughter - Celtic Songs of the Heart" -- and Her Previous CD -- "The Many Colours of White"

For further Adult Book Reviews, See http://www.dreamimagepress.com/reviews.html .

 

Selected Book Reviews of Students in Patricia Bahnick's 3rd Grade Class following a Dramatic Reading of Splunkey's Mystery Adventure, South Park Elementary School,
Deerfield, Illinois

"It was beautifully written. Favorite character: Splunkey because he's funny. Lesson learned: Don't be mad at someone for no reason. Greatly taken and funny photographs. Great change from most mystery books. Nice author. Read with lots of expression Funny voices."

"I really liked Eli. I thought it was cool that the characters were ventriloquist figures. I liked how Dr. Ashley read the story with the squeaky, loud and neat voices. I liked Eli because he was not the main character but he played a part in the story. I wonder what will happen in her next book."

"I liked Splunkey because he was funny and cute. I think the lesson in this book was don't think someone did something just because that was the only person there. This book was the best book I have ever read. I would read this book over and over and over because it was such a good book. I thought that the book was funny, sad, special because you should always be friends even if you get into a fight."

"My favorite character was Ellie because she had so many expressions like the way she talked when she was sad and happy. The photographs really help you know exactly what's going on. A lesson is not to blame other people for something they didn't do. I wonder what I would picture if there were no photographs."

"I thought it was a great friendship story because it shows that everyone gets in fights. My favorite character was Splunkey because he makes Ellie and Eli friends. He also helped Ellie find her friendship bracelet. I also learned don't let a friendship break up like Ellie and Eli. It's so nice to hear a story that ends good. I sometimes get into fights with my friends. But we're still best friends. I had a great time. Thank you."

"I really liked this book because it had a very good message, and I think the message was that you shouldn't get mad at someone for something you don't know they did. My favorite character is Splunkey because I think he is really funny. I really liked the photographs because they were very unique. I also liked how it was read because Dr. Elana Ashley really knows the characters and their expressions."

"I liked the character Splunkey because he was very funny. I like the photographs, too. They were very interesting to look at. I also liked the expression that Dr. Ashley used for all of the characters. I learned that if  you have somebody over some time, and you lose something while your friend is there, don't always blame them that they did it because they might not have really took it, and even then you would be embarrassed because of it. It is a very good story, and I can't wait till the next one is published."

Program References

Dramatic Reading  of Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker, Case One: The Missing Friendship Bracelet with Dr. Ashley and Visit with Guest Ellie Elephant - Nevada Reading Week, 2004

Dr. Elana Ashley did a dramatic reading during Nevada Reading Week, on Monday, April 26, 2004 at Jacobson Eelementary School located at 8400 Boseck Drive, Las Vegas Nevada 89145.  The students were very attentive, and it was a wonderful assembly. The assembly lasted approximately 45 minutes.

During the dramatic reading, she used expression and dramatic voice variations to portray her puppets in her own book she published and authored. At the end of the reading, she shared with the students the characters which were puppets. It was a rich and rewarding experience for the students at Jacobson ES to meet and listen to a published author discuss and talk about a book that was really hers.  It also was a positive interactivee experience for all the young students at our school.

Mrs. Shirley Wells, Literacy Specialist, Jacobson Elementary School, Las Vegas, Nevada

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Dramatic Reading  of Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker, Case One: The Missing Friendship Bracelet with Dr. Ashley and Visit with Guest Ellie Elephant - National Library Week, 2004

My Stories 'n Stuff class of first and second graders, along with their younger siblings, parents and friends, were delighted with Ellie's and your visit. We were enthralled with your dramatic reading of Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker, Case One: The Missing Friendship Bracelet. The discussion that you led following your reading made it clear that the children were in tune with Splunkey and his methods of mediating disputes. They could see immediately the feasability of such a misunderstanding on the part of Ellie and Eli. The highlight of the evening was your presentation of Ellie. The children were delighted with such a 'fashion-conscious' elephant.  Thank you so much for visiting our class and sharing your book and puppet friend with us."

Ronalee Rund, Assistant Head of Youth Services, Morton Grove Public Library, Morton

Grove, IL

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Dramatic Reading, Discussion and Roleplay with Gifted Students, 2004

Thank you so much for the engaging and entertaining special program which you gave as part of my Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder "Acting Up" workshop for first and second grade children on Sunday, January 18th, 2004.

The students and I thoroughly enjoyed the dramatic reading which you gave of your book, Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker, Case One: The Missing Friendship Bracelet. Their responses to your well-organized follow-up questions after the reading exhibited total interest and involvement in the story's plot. I was impressed with your ability to actively engage them in critical thinking about the characters and events in the story. I could see that the children greatly enjoyed being challenged to creatively act out several scenes in the book. Your book's usefulness in teaching values of friendship, respect for others, and the positive results which can be gained when individuals work together to solve problems was especially impressive.

I'm glad that I have had the wonderful opportunity of experiencing one of your excellent, valuable, and entertaining programs. I know your book and programs will continue to do much good for our children, families, nation, and the world. Thank you for all your work in sharing this very special program with my class and me.

Andrea Aschenbrenner, Center for Gifted Workshop Teacher, Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder, National-Louis University, Evanston, Illinois

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Dramatic   Story  Reading  &  Song  As   Storybook Characters  Come  to  Life:   Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker, Case One: The Missing Friendship Bracelet [Children and Parents], 2003

The Highwood Library highly recommends the performance of Splunkunio Splunkey Detective and Peacemaker, Case One: The Missing Friendship Bracelet. Dr. Ashley has a lovely singing voice and a wonderful interaction with the audience. Values of peace, friendship and honesty are presented in a very creative, entertaining manner.

Joan Retnauer, Director, Highwood Public Library, Highwood, IL

 

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"Spokespuppet" and "Splunkunio Splunkey" are Registered Trademarks of Elana Ashley.

Copyright © 2008 by Elana Ashley, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.