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I was born in Florida and spent many happy days there as a young girl until my family moved to the gentle mountains of Western North Carolina. Playing with my younger brother, reading him stories and making him laugh, inspired me to love children and teaching. I obtained a BA in Early Childhood Education from UNC at Chapel Hill and headed to Australia for my first teaching job.
For a year and a half, I lived and worked in the fascinating country of Australia and spent a month touring New Zealand, totally inspired by the pristine environment there Then I traveled home to North Carolina and ended up getting married and living outside of Chapel Hill on a wonderful organic farm where my two daughters were born, the two biggest events of my life.
After a few years, we returned to the mountains of Western North Carolina where I worked for many years as a substitute teacher for grades K-6 while taking classes at night to obtain a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Western Carolina University.
I believe it was in my Master's program when I wrote a thesis on how Right Brain teaching methods can enhance learning, that my own creativity improved. I had to learn how to use the methods myself in order to teach the children...methods like meditation, journaling, and drawing. Many of the principles of learning I admire are woven into my stories.
By the time I was ready to begin to write, I had lots of life experiences and interests to draw on. Parts of my childhood and a fascination with organic gardening, rock hounding, and nature spirits turned into the idea of the Gemstone Elves.
Reviewed by Sierra Edelen for Readers' Favorite
In Tales of the Gemstone Elves, Volume One: Beryl's Journey by Patricia Elizabeth Bennett, there once was a time when elves and humans lived peacefully together and worked side by side. Our story follows the gemstone elves, more specifically Beryl and Jasper as they travel on a journey to find a new home for their fellow gemstone elves. The gemstone elves' home was destroyed by humans, who cut down the trees and forest where they lived in order to build a shopping mall. After years of constantly moving, they decide to send some scouts out to find a new home in nature that is not close to shopping malls as well as not close to humans. Beryl has always been the odd elf out. He has always been curious about the human world, and makes a human friend named Irelynn, though she doesn't know it. She moves away after some years and Beryl hopes they will meet again one day.
I liked Beryl's Journey and thought it would be great for kids to read. The plot is simple but intricate enough that it will be able to capture young minds. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, though I am no longer a child. So both adults and children alike can enjoy reading this book together. I liked the drawings included in the book, and was impressed with how they are child-like, but also adult. It really helped move the story along and show the different imagery described throughout. All in all, it was really enjoyable and will be a good family read!
