Oak Knoll Alumna Builds Career as Children's Author

From Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child:

Oak Knoll alumna Patricia Richel ’55 is enjoying a budding second career as a children’s author with the publishing of her second book earlier this month about a one-legged seagull name “Patsy.”

Richel, a former school nurse and teacher at Brayton Elementary School in Summit, began telling stories of the fictional seagull at her granddaughter’s school, where she had begun volunteering after her retirement in 1996.

The stories, which impart lessons of compassion and understanding, gained a following at the school, prompting her fellow educators to urge her to put pen to paper and submit her story to publishers.

To Richel’s surprise, Patsy’s adventures quickly found an audience with the New York-based Page Publishing Inc., and “Patsy the Seagull” was published in October 2015.

“I had absolutely no hope that anyone would accept it. I just sent it to two publishers just to please the teachers,” said Richel, now of Point Pleasant Beach. “The whole process is fascinating.”

The book and its recently-published sequel, “Patsy the Seagull’s Return to Happiness Lake,” is a family effort, as both books were illustrated by Richel’s granddaughter, Faith Turnbach.

With her faithful Faith in tow, Richel said she is already mulling ideas for a third book in the series.

As part of her new career as an author, Richel travels to schools and libraries throughout Monmouth, Ocean and Union counties where she reads her books to children and discusses the publishing process.

Both Richel’s books are available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child is an independent, Catholic school, coeducational in elementary school from kindergarten through grade six; and all-girls in middle and high school from grades seven through 12. For more information about Oak Knoll, please visit www.oakknoll.org or call 908-522-8109.

Photos courtesy of Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child

Photo Caption Patricia Richel ’55 speaks with her pen pal Arden Schmidt ’23 during an alumna/i event in 2015.

Photo Caption: for Richel Patricia Richel ’55 and her granddaughter Faith Turnbach pose with Richel’s latest book, “Patsy the Seagull’s Return to Happiness Lake."