It’s summer (unofficially anyway) and time to look for a good summer read. Here’s a recommendation for a child (or an adult to read to a youngster) from a New England author. Carol Story from Norwalk, Connecticut, used her quarantine time to write Ellie’s Day at the Shore. I wish I had used my time as wisely.

Ellie’s Day at the Shore was inspired by Story’s experience as a volunteer shorebird monitor for the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, whose primary purpose is to monitor nesting activity of piping plovers, American oystercatchers, least terns and other shorebirds along the coast of Long Island Sound. I was a volunteer myself several years ago and it’s a lot of work, but also fun, educational and purposeful.

Ellie’s Day at the Beach tells the story of Carol taking her great niece Ellie to the shore and discovering all sorts of natural goodies, such as horseshoe crabs, terrapins, butterflies and, of course, birds. The book is beautifully illustrated by Story’s friend Pippa J. Ellis.

There is a conservation theme to the story and a portion of the net proceeds will go to conservation charities. Ellie’s Day at the Shore is $12.95 and may be found on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and through the publisher.

Why not kick off the summer right and help support a local author and conservation organizations?

More details may be found in this article written by The Hour newspaper in Norwalk, CT.

Here’s another story from the Connecticut Audubon website.