Shopper Blog: Educator-turned-author puts focus on children's emotional health
SOUTH KNOXVILLE
Educator-turned-author puts focus on children's emotional health
Eric Woods, Shopper News
Christine Pelillo spent 30 years in early childhood education using her innate ability to connect to children. She would often make up an imaginary story off the top of her head to calm a child down or teach a lesson.
Through the years, she honed her ability to tell stories. Now, Pelillo has decided to put those stories on paper as a published author of “Shep Learns a Lesson.”
“I have a really good way of engaging children and helping them to use higher level thinking skills to ask questions and add to our stories,” Pelillo said. “Which is really the reason one of the main reasons I wrote this book, helping children connect to their emotions of feelings, and helping them through them in a positive way.”
Pelillo owned a child care center, where she was able to draw on her experiences for “Shep Learns a Lesson.” She didn’t take the task of child care lightly, and used it as a way to improve self-worth, cooperation skills and strength as people.
As a self-proclaimed former people pleaser, she wanted to use her personal experiences for the betterment of her students.
“I do not want to see children go down that road because the people pleaser always ends up hurting themselves. Just going along with whatever the crowd is doing. And oftentimes it just leads to a lot of hurt.”
She also has three children of her own − all of whom are now grown − who have distinct personalities. Each of those personalities influenced characters in her book.
“My oldest was the rule follower, straight down the middle of the road,” Pelillo said. “My daughter liked to push my limits a little bit, and my youngest, Sean, tested my patience. It helped me as a mom, and I think I became a better, stronger educator as well, because I realized these are my own children and I need to help them deal with these challenges.”
Pelillo then attended a camp in 2010 called Family Week in Rhineback, New York, with her daughter, Sophia. The camp was designed for adults and children. The two groups stayed in a cabin over the weekend and attend their own camps.
It was at Family Week where Pelillo found her passion for writing when she took a course.
“It was there that I realized the writing was such a great release for myself, for my own emotions and mental health,” Pelillo said. “Like it really helped me. And I wrote a short children's story while I was there that week.”
Pelillo received good feedback on the story, and she then decided that she would someday become a published author.
A few years later, a new member of the family was welcomed. Her husband and children rescued a dog named Chevy without her knowledge.
Originally, Pelillo didn’t welcome the arrival of Chevy, but the dog quickly became her “best pal.” She began to include Chevy in her stories, and the dog eventually became one of the characters in “Shep Learns a Lesson.”
“For some reason there was something calming about her that we had a really strong connection and I just started writing more,” Pelillo said. “So Chevy is one of the characters in a book and she's friendly and and strong willed, welcoming, and has a warm disposition.”
Pelillo was finally published in April 2024 after years of writing, editing and a lengthy search for an illustrator. Because of Chevy’s influence in her life and writing, she will give a portion of the sales to Young-Williams Animal Center.
As for the future, Pelillo hopes to continue sharing her work with the world and write a story centered on her other rescue dog, Finn.
“I feel like children are my goal with this,” Pelillo said. “I feel like it sends an empowering message, knowing that when somebody buys my book, not only can they help a child learn, but they can also support the needs of an animal. And I think animals just naturally give us so much love and teach us compassion that it just seems like a win-win.”
OPINION
Common knowledge is for the birds
Leslie Snow, Shopper News
I think I made a face. It wasn’t a mean face; it was more a look of surprise mixed with a dash of confusion. I was sitting with my mother-in-law, in the rehab facility where she was recovering from her back injury, when a bird flew into the feeder hanging outside her window.
“Look!” she said, happily watching the bird peck at a sunflower seed, “It’s a gray cardinal! I’ve never seen one that color before.”
That’s when I made my confused-surprised face and contemplated what to say next. I decided on a gentle but direct approach. “Mom,” I said softly, “That’s actually a tufted titmouse, not a cardinal. And the bird next to it is a chickadee,” I added helpfully.
She laughed reflexively and said, “I didn’t know you knew so much about birds.”
Then the conversation shifted from my vast knowledge of our avian friends to her physical therapy schedule. A few minutes later, it was time to head home for dinner. I gave her a quick hug before I left and said, “See you tomorrow. Enjoy the birds!”
On the drive home, I thought about my reaction to the surprising case of the misidentified bird. I had been dumbfounded, but I wasn’t sure why. So, I called Ethan. He seemed like the right person to help me understand my reaction.
I told him my story then asked the question that got to the heart of the matter. “Is the identity of a tufted titmouse common knowledge? It seems like it is. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t recognize that bird. I think I was actually born knowing what a tufted titmouse looks like.”
He laughed. “I don’t know if it’s common knowledge for everybody, but it’s definitely common knowledge for us.” Then he went on to share his own story on the subject.
“The other day I was trying to decide if I could pack an inflated football in my suitcase to take on vacation. I asked one of my co-workers if he thought it would pop on the flight, and he didn’t even know that the air in the ball would expand in the luggage compartment because it’s not pressurized!”
He sounded as shocked as I was by the gray cardinal.
I considered his story for a minute then replied, dubiously, “Ethan, I don’t think expanding air is common knowledge. It’s nothing like The Great Tufted Titmouse Incident of 2024.”
We both laughed as we debated what constitutes common knowledge. It was a funny conversation, but it got me thinking.
It’s easy to assume that the people around us share our frame of reference, that other people know what we know. It’s human nature, I think. We believe that our own knowledge base and perceptions are universal, but that doesn’t make it true. Not when it comes to animal identification, or 10th grade science, or other more important issues.
Every day we hear about how divided we are as a country. It’s become a news story in and of itself. We can’t debate without anger; we can’t disagree without frustration. Maybe we need to be reminded that common knowledge comes from common experience, and most of us don’t share the same background.
Yesterday, I was sitting at my kitchen counter when a beautiful bird at my window-feeder caught my attention. “Look!” I shouted in delight. “There’s a rose-breasted grosbeak!”
And this time, when my declaration was met with blank stares, I didn’t make a face. Even though I wanted to.
Leslie Snow may be reached at snowcolumn@aol.com.
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