Ellen Quay
Voice Actor, Ellen Quay
I believe that serving is my spiritual gift, so it’s no surprise that this middle-grade book has come about through my passion for helping others. This June, Whispers Across the Prairie will be available in softcover, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. Yes, audiobook!
Today, may I introduce you to Ellen Quay, the very talented actor who will bring this story to life through her voice. (I can’t wait to share this with the three deaf children I met earlier, who fortunately have cochlear implants.)
I hope you find 18 minutes to listen to our chat. Here are some topics we discussed:
Less is more with character voices.
Her favorite character in this story is Rusty (the dog!) and Oliver, too, because she was like him as a child.
MG and YA stories differ in content. Middle-grade usually includes a group of friends and kids learning they’re separate people from their parents.
Activities she enjoys outside of work.
The process of narration (voice acting). What’s involved?
AI can never replace an actual human. Storytelling is a human thing and a privilege.
She narrates a quick example from the book live.
What she hopes children will take away from the story is that everyone deserves to be heard and seen. (Emeline’s empathy.) Ellen believes kids can be great listeners and communicators. She says this story emphasizes the need to meet people where they are, not try to change them, but get to know them.
I agree!
Summer Reading is Here
Don’t Miss This Month’s Free Reads!
Just a quick nudge—your month of free books and activities is in full swing, and there’s still so much to explore. If you haven’t checked out the latest downloads yet, now’s the perfect time to jump in and surprise your young reader with something new.
Remember, these stories and activities won’t be around forever. Take a few minutes today to grab your favorites and keep the reading excitement going strong! Click on the image to get started.
A Moment of Wonder
Not every lesson needs a classroom. Sometimes it begins with noticing.
The Work No Flower Does Alone
By May, the land feels awake. Color returns. Fields fill in. Blossoms open one after another, as though the earth has been holding its breath and finally lets it out. Yellow, white, and purple flowers appear almost everywhere at once.
It feels sudden. But none of it happens alone. Flowers cannot make seeds by themselves. They rely on helpers: bees dusted with pollen, butterflies drifting from bloom to bloom, wind brushing past at just the right moment. Even creatures that seem busy with other things become part of the work.
Pollination is cooperation in motion. Long before anyone understood the science, people noticed the pattern. More flowers meant more fruit. More bees meant fuller harvests. A quiet partnership was unfolding all around them—one that required timing, movement, and trust.
Flowers open when they are ready. Their helpers arrive when they are needed. This work is easy to miss because it looks gentle. A bee pauses. A breeze lifts. A petal trembles.
But the future depends on these small exchanges. Seeds form. Plants multiply. Food appears.
The bright beauty of May is built on countless acts of sharing. Flowers remind us that growth is rarely solitary.
Even the most beautiful things depend on relationships we may never see. Paying attention to these connections helps us understand how deeply the world is woven together, and how much of it depends on care given freely.
A Moment to Reflect
May invites us to notice cooperation at work. From pollinators to people, life flourishes through connection. When we slow down enough to watch these partnerships unfold, we begin to see how much of what we enjoy exists because something, or someone, showed up at just the right time.
