Elijah’s Book ClubGet the Book
Welcome to Elijah’s Book Club

Meet Eli —
author, artist,
age 7.

Eli is a 7-year-old author with a big imagination and an even bigger heart. He loves writing stories, making art, dancing, and inventing new things.

  • ✏️ Writing stories
  • 🎨 Making art
  • 💃 Dancing
  • 💡 Inventing things
Explore Eli’s worldFor teachers & parents
Eli, a young boy with short curly dark hair, wearing a pastel striped button-down shirt and smiling in front of a bookshop's shelves while holding up a copy of his book Different Isn't a Dirty Word.
Cover of the picture book Different Isn't a Dirty Word, showing three fuzzy monsters on a playground: a blue one in big round glasses, a purple winged one flying, and a green one in a wheelchair.
Eli’s first book

Different Isn’t a Dirty Word

Neeko wears big glasses and has one leg a little shorter. Zara’s wings don’t fly, so she builds machines that do. Max gets everywhere fast in his wheelchair. When the other monsters stare and ask “why do you look different?”, the three friends just smile — because they already know the answer. A picture book about belonging, written by Eli at age 7.

Written by
Eli Rudolph, age 7
Illustrated by
Uncle Nick
Reading age
4–8 · read-aloud friendly
Themes
Difference, belonging, disability, friendship
Classroom use
Read-aloud guide and SEL lesson plan available free
Get the BookDownload the read-aloud guide →

Where do you want to go?

Four places to explore — whether you’re here to teach, to print, or just to play.

Resources

Read-aloud guides, an SEL lesson plan, and a parent kit — free to download and print.

Go to Resources →

Coloring Pages

Print Neeko, Zara, and Max and color them in any way you like. New sheets added often.

Go to Coloring Pages →

Media

Interviews, read-alouds, and news stories about Eli and his book, all in one place.

Go to Media →

Fun

Games, puzzles, and silly things to do with the monsters from Eli’s story.

Go to Fun →

The characters Eli invented, and a few pages from the book itself.

Watercolor illustration of a smiling green monster with cream horns and curly brown hair, standing with hands on hips in a grassy field under a pink and turquoise sky.

Eli’s own monster

Every character started as something Eli described out loud — including this one, the monster he made for himself. Uncle Nick drew them all from Eli’s descriptions.

Neeko, a fuzzy blue monster wearing big round black glasses, running happily along a blue path through a green park.
Neeko — big glasses, even bigger grin
Zara, a small purple winged monster with pink hair, floating above a playground while holding three balloons.
Zara — wings that don’t fly, so she finds another way up
Max, a green monster with little horns, cheering with both arms up as his wheelchair sails over a skate ramp.
Max — his wheelchair goes exactly as fast as he wants
Book page titled “Meet Neeko, Zara, and Max!” — the three monsters together on a playground, Zara hovering with a little propeller in one hand.
A page from the book — meeting all three friends
Book page reading “And of course, going on lots of fun adventures to explore the world!” — Zara wears a wooden glider, Max holds a spyglass, and Neeko holds a treasure map.
Page 5 — off exploring the world together
Book page reading “Sometimes other monsters stare. ‘Why do you look different?’ they ask.” — a crowd of pastel monsters watches Neeko, Zara, and Max, who are smiling.
Page 9 — the question at the heart of the story