Books by Cheryl Lawton Malone

Cheryl is the author of two children’s books, DARIO AND THE WHALE (2015) and ELEPHANTS WALK TOGETHER (2017), both published by Albert Whitman. DARIO AND THE WHALE is a Shelf Awareness Best Children’s Book of 2016, a Cooperative Children’s Book Center Winner for 2017, a Book Best Debut Picture Books of 2016, and a 2018 Mass Book Awards Must Read. It is now in its fourth printing. Her latest book, WRITING KIDLIT 101 (2023), is a fun, flexible course on how to write books that kids want to read. (Published by Write On Productions and Co-authored by Victoria J. Coe.)​ Cheryl is also a freelance writer, creative consultant, and award-winning poet. After a successful law career, she obtained her MFA from and taught creative writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She consults on manuscripts through Grub Street and speaks at schools, museums, and libraries. Her stories and poems have appeared online and in numerous journals and anthologies, including YARN, Bumples.com, and Lutheran Journal.

Dario and The Whale

When Dario and his mother move to Cape Cod from Brazil, Dario has a hard time making friends since he doesn’t speak English well. But one day Dario meets someone else who has just arrived in New England and he doesn’t speak any English at all…because he’s a right whale! Day after day Dario and the whale meet at the beach. But what will happen when it’s time for the whale to migrate?

Praise for DARIO AND THE WHALE

“A heartwarming paean to long walks along the beach.” Kirkus Reviews

“[W]ill spark rich conversations[.]” School Library Journal

“[P]owerful yet buoyant.” Shelf Awareness (starred)

DARIO AND THE WHALE was recently selected for the 2021 Library of Congress’ Great Reads From Great Places program.

Elephants Walk Together

As calves, Asian elephants Precious and Baba roam the wild together, curious and proud. But when they get captured and are split up, their time together seems like a distant memory. Still, separated by many miles and over many years, their friendship remains, and there’s hope they will once again roam wide open spaces together.

Praise for ELEPHANTS WALK TOGETHER

“Heartwarming . . . a sweet and sensitive encouragement of wildlife conservation.” Kirkus Reviews

“This sweet story of enduring friendship should help create empathy and spark lots of questions.” Booklist

Writing Kidlit 101

Writing Kidlit 101 is a how-to book about writing and SO MUCH MORE. It’s also a fun, flexible course designed to help you write the book that kids (and teens) want to read. Whether you’re starting out or already on your way, going through our user-friendly craft narratives, tips and tricks, hands-on exercises, & calls to action will show you what it takes to reach your goals.

And that’s just the beginning. Cheryl has teamed up with Victoria J. Coe to bring writers a new way to get on track and stay on track. Write On Productions is website offering tools, resources, and exclusive digital content designed to help aspiring writers of kidlit. Writing Kidlit 101 is their first in a series of writing courses.