Elizabeth-Jade Beattie isn’t your average 10-year-old. While many kids her age haven’t given much thought to what they want to be when they grow up, this fifth grader from Beverly, Mass. is already well on her way. In fact, she can already list published author on her resume.
It all started after Elizabeth-Jade learned about elephants during a third grade reading project. Her curiosity was peaked with what she learned. Inspired, she devised a plan all her own to develop a children’s book with an elephant as the main character.
With the encouragement and help of her mother, Amanda Beattie, the children’s book “The Elephant Dentist” was born. The fun, colorful, and educational book follows the story of E.J. the Elephant as she decides she wants to leave the family business as a chef to pursue her dream of being a dentist.
Elizabeth-Jade knew she wanted to include dentistry in her book right from the start. She’s always had a fascination with teeth and loved going to the dentist—often requesting to have a dental check-up on her birthday—so it was completely natural she’d combine her newfound love of elephants with her longtime dentistry fascination.
Knowing that some kids are afraid to go to the dentist, Elizabeth-Jade is hopeful that her story will help kids understand that dentists are good people that simply want to keep them healthy. This theme runs throughout the story and makes it a great book to have at pediatric dental offices.
The young Miss Beattie made sure to do her homework before publishing the book. She met with Dr. Joseph Calabrese, associate dean of students at Boston University’s School of Dental Medicine, and shared a copy of the book with him to review. He loved the story and encouraged her to publish it. Then Dr. Calabrese spent a little time talking to her about getting into dental school—something Elizabeth-Jade is already dreaming about.
Once the story was complete Amanda and Elizabeth-Jade reviewed publishing options and finally decided to self-publish the book through Amazon. Now all the proceeds from sales go directly to a college fund set up for Elizabeth-Jade.
She and her mother also go door-to-door to sell the books, as well as, to speak about the book at local elementary school book fairs and book signings, all in hopes of spreading the good word about dentistry through the story of E. J. the Elephant.
If you’d like a copy of the book for at home or at your practice you can order it here. Happy reading!
