Farmington author wins award for children’s book

FARMINGTON – Farmington author J Bean Palmer has been awarded the Silver Medal in the 2022 Readers’ Favorite book contest in the Children’s Adventure Book category for her book “ElsBeth and the Freedom Fighters.”
Readers’ Favorite is an international book review and award contest site, that features both independently and traditionally published books. The contest has up to five award levels in each category: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Honorable Mention and Award Finalist. The awards are based on book overall quality.
“ElsBeth and the Freedom Fighters” is the second book in Bean’s Cape Cod Witch series, aimed at middle-grade readers. Along with the two other books in the series, it has also been named a Mom’s Choice Award winner. Mom’s Choice evaluates products and services created for children, families and educators.
Palmer said the aim of the series is to make reading more exciting for children and to present the best potential for effective and fun learning through story. In “ElsBeth and the Freedom Fighters,” the young Cape Cod witch and her classmates run into serious trouble on a field trip to the Freedom Trail in Boston, where they encounter the pirate ghost Captain Thomas Jacques. The pirate and his spirited parrot get caught up with the school kids in a daring rescue attempt and, along the way, ElsBeth and her friends get a real-life lesson in fighting for freedom and caring about something bigger than themselves.
Palmer is a graduate of Mount Blue High School and studied environmental science at the University of Maine, Farmington. She is working on the fourth and fifth books in the series and other creative writing projects.