Shannon Olsen had a story to tell. In fact, she told it to her entire class each year, before finally writing a children’s book. When she did finally write her book, Amazon sat up and took notice. In fact, they took out a billboard at Penn Station just for Shannon’s book. The billboard is eighty-three feet tall — she couldn’t help but be noticed.
Shannon is thrilled that her book will be shared with more children and teachers everywhere. “Our Class is a Family” was a passion project that filled her creative soul. While she’s been teaching for over 15 years, having the opportunity to write a book and know that it can help children makes her heart sing. Not only did she write a book, but she also started creating educational materials for other teachers to use in their classrooms.
Working with elementary school children, her message is clear. You spend a lot of time together at school, and with each other. It’s important to treat each other well and make sure everybody feels both safe and welcome in the environment. She says it’s not about a new idea, as this is something teachers have put into practice in their classrooms for years, but a new way of expressing the concept in the form of a picture book.
While the book can be purchased on Amazon, she also sells it on her website, so schools, principals, and teachers can buy in bulk with a discount, as so many people had asked about.
And now that her book has been featured on a massive billboard in August 2020, the demand continues. Reaching out to other educators and their students is a great experience and allows her network to grow. She loves networking with other educators and learning from one another to better the experiences of their students.
Her website can be found at LifeBetweenSummer.com and her book is both available there and at Amazon. If you’re a teacher and interested in acquiring some of her educational resources, be sure to check her out on Teachers Pay Teachers, a site where educators can purchase materials made by fellow teachers.
While making time to write a book, learning about book marketing, and creating resources for teachers is a nice side venture, her focus is on raising her children and teaching her students. She says, it’s a good lesson for her children to see that when you care about something, you work hard to get things done, even when the time feels limited. The effort pays off, and your time was well spent.
Shannon Olsen hopes to write and publish more books, and her current title is in the process of being translated into multiple languages. She’s excited at the prospect that her book will be read globally, and the message will continue.
Life Between Summers
Email Address: shannon@lifebetweensummers.com
Website URL: lifebetweensummers.com
Instagram URL: www.instagram.com/lifebetweensummers
