Voorhees resident releases children’s book to combat bullying
Voorhees resident and educator Victoria Devine has many passions.
Writing, teaching, children, golden retrievers, Christmas elves and the entire Christmas season are near the top of her list.
Now, Devine has a found a way to combine all those loves with the release of her first children’s book “Santa’s Bully Elf.”
“Santa’s Bully Elf” follows the adventure of Sparky, a golden retriever who also happens to be one of Santa’s elves, who uses a magical telescope on a lookout tower at the North Pole to track children around the world. When Sparky spots two siblings on Santa’s naughty list because of their bullying of other children at school, Sparky leaves the North Pole to try to teach the children to stop hurting others or risk having Santa Claus fly past their house on Christmas Eve.
Devine said it was through her years working as an elementary school teacher and teacher for students with disabilities that she observed firsthand the harmful effects bullying can have on children.
Then, about three years ago, Devine decided she wanted to combat bullying in a new way by creating a children’s book that could help install character traits such as kindness, friendship and respect in children at a young age.
“I watch the news all the time, and it’s just a frightening world we live in, and while I believe bullying is a global issue, we also fail to see what happens at the most basic level of learning where children are subjected to this sadness because they’ve been bullied,” Devine said.
Now, three years later, Devine has launched “Santa’s Bully Elf,” — a book she believes is ideal for parents, teachers, bullying counselors and anyone else who is serious about showing children the real effects their negative words and actions can have on others.
“Bullying is starting out at such a young age, that it ends up just like ripples in the ocean where it just keeps going on and on as people get older,” Devine said.
The release of the book also fulfills a long-time dream for Devine, who said she’s wanted to write some type of children’s book for many years.
The Christmas setting in the book and the use of a golden retriever elf as the main character are all elements that have a basis in Devine’s real life.
Devine said Christmas was always a big deal at her home as her children were growing up, and she used Christmas elves in the past hidden away around the house or in her children’s backpacks to emphasize behaving well, lest Santa would find out.
Devine also now has her third golden retriever as a pet.
“He may not be named Sparky, but he is by far the feistiest I’ve had and he’s very ‘sparky’ in many ways. He’s like an electric shock,” Devine said.
As Devine teaches writing and reading to children, she also made sure her book uses a somewhat advanced level of vocabulary and several metaphors in the hopes that repeated readings of the book would teach children something beyond just the lessons against bullying.
“I felt it important to have words such as ‘belligerent’ in my book, and I used a lot of figurative language,” Devine said.
Devine said she’s already hard at work on her next children’s book, and she also has events scheduled for the upcoming New Jersey Educators Association convention, Collingswood Book Festival and Allusion Salon in Berlin as the holiday season nears.
Meanwhile, those interested in learning more about Devine or her work can visit santasbullyelf.com, where there are links to purchase the book at iBookstore, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor and Goodreads.
