By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
On Saturday, May 3, from noon-2 p.m., award-winning local children’s author and Athens Now columnist Carissa Lovvorn will be at Toodlebugs for the signing of her fifth book, entitled Ella’s Alphabet Adventures. Toodlebugs Children’s Shop is located at 107 Market St. E. in Athens, and is a perfect location for celebrating Carissa’s latest book.
Ella’s Alphabet Adventures is the (almost completely) true story of the whimsical and creative ways in which Ella “did life” during COVID, and actually is the collaborative creation of Carissa, 12-year-old Isabelle, and 8-year-old Ella.
This project began without the end-game of writing another book as its goal. Carissa had an album on Facebook that wasn’t even all that current. It was a series of pictures of Ella as a 4-year-old, exploring creation and having all kinds of discovery experiences caught on camera. People began to comment and say, “This needs to be a book!” All but one letter’s “story” is factually tied to a real experience, and its resultant charm far transcends the standard “A is for apple, B is for boy, C is for cat.”
Carissa wrote a short poem for each letter, and told me with a chuckle, “The girls would definitely tell me when they didn’t like the rhyme.” The girls also worked on the intro as well as the activity section at the end. Ella appears in several of the illustrations, and is everything from an astronaut with a bow on her helmet to a scuba-diver, again, with a bow. Even the adjacent octopus has a bow! And, even though the book is inspired by the activities of a girl, there is plenty that will appeal to boys.
Carissa’s books are one of North Alabama’s best “side effects” of COVID. Being at home forced them to be creatively resilient and make “lemonade out of lemons,” and it served to launch Carissa’s career as an author. Carissa has also started her own publishing company called Starbeams, and Isabelle designed the logo. When COVID first hit and no one knew what it would do or how long it would last, the Lovvorns were put in a difficult position. At the time, Garth owned Valley Mowing, and was out and about taking care of peoples’ property as well as his family. For that whole first summer, he lived two doors down at the vacant home of a neighbor; and every night after work he would come and have a picnic on the lawn with his family. There were no hugs, but still a whole lot of love. The picnic often included the fresh vegetables from the garden Carissa and the girls had planted. Their gardening adventures served to birth Carissa’s first book, which is entitled Seeds For Sharing.
Another factor that made the COVID era so tough was that Ella had to be hospitalized for pneumonia, and I can say, as someone who has run two schools in two countries, that Carissa did a fine job of homeschooling Ella, as is evidenced by the book. All of Carissa’s books are illustrated by award-winning artist Joshua Wichterich, and their families have become friends. Carissa sends him the pictures that have inspired the books; Joshua captures what he sees and feels, and the results are marvelous.
One of the things I have so appreciated about Garth and Carissa as they have raised the girls is the emphasis gently placed on the need as a family and as individuals to give back to the community. As a result of their adventures, The Sharing Sisters, Tutus On A Mission, and Capes for a Cause have evolved into brands and activities that have taught even young kids of both genders that that they can make a difference, and have a whole lot of fun while doing so.
Carissa was awarded the Excellence In Marketing award for 2025 by the Christian Authors Network, which describes itself as “serving traditionally published authors.” She has also collaborated as an editor for other award-winning authors. It is pure joy to watch her grow in her career as well as to be able to heartily recommend her work.
On Monday, April 28 at 10:30 a.m., Carissa, Isabelle, and Ella are going to be my guests on my radio show, The Tennessee Valley Spotlight, which is broadcast on WKAC 1080 AM. Carissa has been on the show several times over the years, and this will be the first time for the girls. We will be hearing about the Sharing Sisters from the girls themselves, and it will be the maiden voyage of what could very well be a broadcast career. Who knows? Anything is possible with these ladies, and I hope you will both tune in to the show, as well as show up at Toodlebugs on May 2 for the book signing.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
April 18, 2025
