About Us
Welcome to the website for Breton Bay Publishing featuring books by Ellynne Brice Davis, author, and Joyce Judd, Illustrator. Both Ellynne and Joyce are retired St. Mary’s County Public School teachers (Ellynne taught elementary school music, and English-as-a-Second Language grades PreK through 12; Joyce taught middle-school art). Their collaborations highlight unique features of their southern Maryland locale. They are often invited as Guest Readers to county elementary schools for holiday assemblies and for Career Days. All books are edited by Myra Raspa. Myra is also retired from SMCPS where she taught high school English and Publications before becoming the Writing Specialist for the school system.
Breton Bay Publishing’s most recent release is Whispers From the Colonial Past: A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic St. Mary’s City – the most ambitious project to date. This illustrated walking tour guidebook is designed to be your companion as whispers from the St. Mary’s City Living History Museum’s colonial past engage your imagination, aided by a colorful fold-out map. Ellynne and Joyce have created a memorable family-friendly volume which reflects their love of Maryland’s first settlement.
The Chesapeake Cats and the Easter Surprise, a rhymed children’s book, follows a trio of felines as they walk along the beach on a shopping trip to Miss Bunny’s Health Food Store located on the Town Square, and then back home again in time to prepare a scrumptious Easter buffet for their neighborhood friends. This book includes recipes for kids to prepare, plus a bookmark, and a paperdoll which may be reproduced, colored, and cut out.
Halloween Fright on a Chesapeake Night is a rhyming tale of three scaredy-cats who go out trick-or-treating on a moonlit night made spookier with the sounds of whistling swans, blue herons, and hooting owls, and with sights of a grinning Jack-o-Lantern, and a garden hose that looks remarkably like a snake. Joyce’s illustrations perfectly capture many childhood thrills and fantasies surrounding this beloved holiday.
Ellynne’s Top Tomato Cookbook boasts 59 original recipes with accompanying illustrations, and suggestions for wine pairings by Masae and Richard Fuller of the Port of Leonardtown Winery. Ellynne’s recipe, “Tomato Stack Salad”, was declared the winner of The Washington Post Newspaper’s Third Annual Top Tomato Contest in 2009 and served as the inspiration for the cookbook. The prize=winning recipe is included in the cookbook, along with recipes for tomato main dishes, tomato side dishes, tomato soups, and tomato recipes for kids to prepare.