Olson–Brown, Ellen 1967-

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Olson–Brown, Ellen 1967-

Personal

Born 1967; married; children: twin sons.

Addresses

Home and office—46 Willowdale St., Groton, MA 01450.

Career

Writer and editor.

Writings

Ten Stinky Babies, illustrated by Joy Allen, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2005.

Hush Little Digger, illustrated by Lee White, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2006.

(With Brian Claflin) Bake You a Pie (includes audio CD), illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2006.

Sidelights

The mother of twin sons, Ellen Olson-Brown has also managed to find time to establish a career as a children's book author through her work for Tricycle Press.

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She adapts a classic lullaby in her first book, Hush Little Digger, as a loving father tells his young son that he will give him ever-larger gigging equipment, from a backhoe to a front-end loader, asphalt paver, and powerful bulldozer. Olson-Brown's "lyrics flow in rhythm with the traditional melody," noted Lynn K. Vanca in her School Library Journal review, the critic calling the work "a fun, lively choice for one-on-one sharing." Praising the full-color illustrations by Lee White, Carolyn Phelan predicted in Booklist that Hush Little Digger "will instantly find its audience—small folks who love big trucks."

Toddlers who are adapting to a new infant sibling in their family will get particular enjoyment from Ten Stinky Babies, as Olson-Brown counts from ten to one with the help of ten babies who are preparing to take a quiet nap. Packaged with an audio CD, Bake You a Pie finds Olson-Brown joining songwriter and musician Brian Claflin in a book that captures and shares musical styles from throughout the world. Each double-page spread contains one verse of a ten-verse song that describes the favorite pie of a chorus of eleven young musicians. In a series of corresponding illustrations featuring what a Kirkus Reviews contributor praised as "vibrant" acrylic pictures by Jeff Ebbeler, characters state their pie preferences, from an opera tenor who favors something savory to a singing cowboy with a hankerin' for cactus meringue, a rock-and-roller with a taste for tangerine, and a jazz chanteuse craving a jelly jam confection.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of Hush Little Digger, p. 45.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2006, review of Hush Little Digger, p. 413; October 1, 2006, review of Bake You a Pie, p. 1021.

School Library Journal, June, 2006, Lynn K. Vanca, review of Hush Little Digger, p. 139; November, 2006, Linda Staskus, review of Bake You a Pie, p. 108.