A Monterey teenager danced her way into writing children’s literature.

A 2024 high school graduate from Monterey, Elowyn Ingler is not set on becoming a writer. Yet this dancer and now college political science and peace student already published a book.

She had an idea and she just went for it. The result is The Boy Who Loved Ballet, written by Ingler and illustrated by her peer and good friend, Bean Dreier, a short and sweet tale of Henri who encounters the dance form.

As a junior in high school, Ingler had an inspiring discussion with her aunt on how culture presses gender-specific roles on young children.

“Growing up dancing, I knew a few boys who did dance, and I’ve definitely had the conversation where someone’s like, ‘Well, I assumed all male dancers are gay,’” she says. “And this assumption always blew my mind.”

She decided to write a children’s book about boys who danced ballet simply because that was what they loved to do. “I thought that maybe if there was a young boy who wanted to do it, it might be beneficial for him to see a story like that,” Ingler explains.

Writing wasn’t the hardest part. Ingler knew what she wanted to say. But how to bring in some color? Then she noticed Dreier doing sketches in class and asked him to collaborate.

The book was put together during their senior year. Ingler decided to self-publish; her parents helped with purchasing the ISBN for the book.

“It was mostly just a lot of hours late into the night after I got home from school or dance,” she says. “I sent it to the publishing company and they shipped it to me as a physical object – it was a really cool moment.”

Ingler started the distribution effort on foot, visiting bookstores. She says more work needs to be done, but college took her to Maryland, where she is also trying her luck with the book. In the meantime, her workload grows.

Thinking about a future career, Ingler is focusing on learning international relations. She would love to work or volunteer with different organizations around the world, and potentially go into law.

Ingler still dances, although not as much as in high school.

“Dancing brings community into someone’s life at any age, any gender,” she says about her own experience and the reason behind the book. “Dancing is an outlet that helps process emotions. Moving your body regulates emotions.”

The Boy Who Loved Ballet by Elowyn Ingler and illustrated by Bean Dreier can be purchased online.