Local author writes children’s books

Elyria native Helen Lewis-Wells has experienced much in life, but through her education and career knowledge, she is aspiring to help others.

Lewis-Wells, 67, now of Sandusky, has published three children’s books that she said can help put youngsters on a good path.

Her first book, “Sad Duck,” published in 2014, focuses on a duck that looks different from others.

Lewis-Wells’ second book, “Joy Needs a Melody,” published in 2017, is about a character who could not sing.

Her most recent book, published this year is called “No Bark,” about a dog who could not bark.

The three books are part of a seven-book series that focus on the concept of visiting a magic pond, which is a place each character goes to gain hope and become whomever they want to be, Lewis-Wells said.

The magic pond is something that children can relate to — a mentor or anyone who can inspire them to make a difference, she said.

The pond also assimilates to one’s faith in Christ, who can help anyone in need who believes in Him and themselves, Lewis-Wells said.

“It relates to inviting Christ into your life as if you emerged in the (magic pond),” she said. “When you come out, you are different.”

Lewis-Wells said through Christ, one can gain whatever it is he or she is lacking.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re lacking; you can get it,” she said. “Someone can help you and you can become what you want to become.”

Lewis-Wells said she is planning to publish the last four of her books with the same concept by January 2019.

Through her books, Lewis-Wells wants to reach and inspire children and families across the world.

Currently, she’s a foster mother and substitute teacher in Sandusky City Schools to preschool and kindergarten students.

She said she has shared her books with students and they become engaged.

Education, her love for children and helping mold them into good citizens at a young age has been a career and passion for her, she said.

However, her experience in different careers gives her an understanding of where people come from, she said, and what they are going through.

Lewis-Wells said she first moved to Michigan in 1980. She also has lived in Kentucky and South Carolina until she moved back to Ohio in 2014.

She has worked in the food industry, as a corrections officer in a men’s prison and as a licensed cosmetologist. She managed to work in child care and as a foster mother, also.

Lewis-Wells has three children: daughter, Yulanda Blakely, 48, of Elyria; and sons Andrew Blakely II, 44, of Michigan and Carlton Blakely, 40, of South Carolina.

While in South Carolina at the age of 57, she went back to school to continue her teaching career, she said.

Her seven book series was inspired by an assignment given for only one book, she said.

“As a teacher, early development student and foster mother, I realized some kids feel that they’re not as good as the other,” LewisWells said. “Every child has a place in the world. I have a passion for kids, you know. If I can save one (through books), it’s worth while.”

Lewis-Wells