Kids throughout Tampa Bay have made a new friend with a delightful octopus called Okalani, a Hawaiian name meaning “from heaven.” The series written and illustrated by Shelly Augsbury delivers captivating, colorful images and life lessons in a fun way.
Augsbury’s own story begins during the pandemic when all her art shows were closed. She decided to paint the 80-foot fence in front of her house. “I’ve always loved sea creatures and missed going to the beach, so I did an ocean theme with sea life and octopuses,” she says. “I even put googly eyes on them. Immediately, kids, grandparents, and young parents would gather and spend joyful moments pointing at the art. Fox News even came and did a feature story on it. My former art director suggested I write a children’s book, and Okalani was born.”
An artist all her life, Augsbury worked at national and regional ad agencies as an award-winning creative talent and won more than 30 national and international awards. In 2009, she pursued teaching as an adjunct professor in Atlanta, and started painting (www.ShellyAugsbury.com), showing her work in galleries throughout the Local Author, Shelly Augsbury. Augsbury also teaches art to kids, so writing and illustrating the Okalani books brings together all her talents and experience.
Books That Entertain as Well as Teach
“I want my books to help teach children how to grow up smart, nice and strong,” Augsbury says. In Okalani the Octopus Wants New Shoes, for example, Okalani needs a lot of sand dollars because an octopus requires eight shoes. So Okalani gets a job at Fred’s Fish Market working the swim through window. She doesn’t have any pockets to save her sand dollars in so she opens a savings account and learns about banking. Okalani knows that money opens up a sea of possibilities, so she helps the crabs buy school supplies and the lobsters buy groceries, learning that helping others gives herself joy as well as helping those in need.
All books are hardcover, landscape format, printed in the United States. Augsbury feels it’s important to support American businesses, “and the quality is so much better.”
Giving Back to the Community
Augsbury also set up a donation page, “Okalani Cares,” at www.okalanitheoctopus.com where proceeds go to give free Okalani books to kids in need. So far, beneficiaries include Ronald McDonald House and youngsters affected by abuse in the Pinellas County court system. She also reads Okalani books via Zoom to children at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and appears in person at schools, the Glazer Children’s Museum, and various craft markets throughout the Tampa Bay area. “Teachers, principals, grandparents, and young parents can’t get enough of Okalani the Octopus,” Augsbury reports. “But my greatest heartwarming reviews are the children who come up to me and tell me how much they love the series and what they have learned. I know this is what I’m meant to do.”
You can order Okalani the Octopus signed books directly from www.okalanitheoctopus.com or on Amazon.
