October 28, 2025

KCKPS Graduate Releases Heartfelt Children’s Book About Kindness and Courage

Two women standing in a school hallway beside a poster for “Aubri’s Story: Rising Above Bullying.”

A former Kansas City, Kansas Public School student transformed her personal pain into purpose by writing a book that addresses bullying.

Crystal Ellison, a 2006 graduate of Wyandotte High School, wrote a children’s book called Aubri’s Story: Rising Above Bullying.

A teacher sits in front of a classroom, holding up a book to read to a group of attentive children.

Ellison’s book was inspired by her young daughter Bri'Yah, who, at the age of 11 years old, was bullied at her elementary school.

The book focuses on kindness and ensuring that people, especially young people, are nice to one another. “It’s also about courage, resilience, and forgiveness,” added Ellison. “A lot of times we go about our day, and we don’t think about being intentionally kind.”

A teacher sits facing a group of young students sitting on the floor in a brightly lit classroom.

On Tuesday, October 21, Ellison visited Hazel Grove Elementary School to share her book with a class of second-grade students. During her visit, she read the story aloud, capturing the students’ attention with her engaging storytelling and warm presence.

After the reading, Ellison led the class through an interactive exercise related to the book. She selected a student and sat her down in front of her classmates. Ellison asked the students to say something nice about their classmate.

A teacher stands before a group of attentive students seated on the floor in a brightly lit classroom.

“Many students said she was beautiful. One of the students said that she draws well. That’s probably something that she didn’t know. Another student said she was smart. I did that so she could see that people can pour into her and be kind to her.”

While being interviewed about the book reading and exercise at Hazel Grove, a tearful Ellison says she wrote the book because she felt that it could reach places where others might be inspired by it.

“It’s important to me to make sure that it’s in the form of literature because it’s so easy to tell someone to be kind, but if they have a book about it, if they see beautiful illustrations, if they see a beautiful storyline, it will stick with them and resonate with them.”

A teacher stands in front of a brightly lit classroom, showing a colorful presentation on a screen to seated students.

Ellison is not a classically trained writer, but her diverse career has provided a wealth of knowledge and unique stories to tell. Currently, she is a Senior Litigation Attorney for Allstate Insurance and an Officer with the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).

“I am a lawyer, so I’ve been writing for a very long time. But not only that, when I graduated from law school, I had the honor of writing a blog for women lawyers that allowed them to have a voice in the community. That’s where a lot of my writing started.”

Ellison admitted that she struggled when she set out to write the children’s book. “I can’t tell you how many times I got frustrated and became discouraged, and I thought maybe writing isn’t for me.”

Two women stand beside a large poster for Aubri’s Story: Rising Above Bullying displayed in a school hallway.

She even thought that people wouldn’t like her book. Thankfully, her daughter offered her some encouragement and insisted that she finish it.

The book was published in September of 2025, and now Ellison is receiving positive feedback about it.

“I spent a lot of time on Aubri’s Story: Rising Above Bullying. This was important to me to make sure that I’m spreading kindness, every single day.”

KCKPS is also doing its part to help combat bullying. During the month of October, which is National Bullying Prevention Month, students across the school district have engaged in creative activities to promote bullying prevention.