Parker and Stephanie Young may have left the farm when they moved to Coronado, but ideas of chickens lived on. A few years later, their chicken-centric story is now a children’s book from the local couple.
“We had a house in LA on a few acres,” Stephanie shares. “There were horses and chickens. My daughter named all of our chickens, but I wanted to name one Dolores. She wouldn’t let me.” Stephanie laughs, then continues, “I love old people’s names for my chickens. So I thought we should write a book about a hen. Parker helped me write it.”
Parker is the author of The Tales of Dolores, while Stephanie is the editor. However, bringing Dolores to print took teamwork.
From Actor to Author
As a Hollywood actor, Parker shares how acting has fueled his creativity. “Acting has influenced my whole life. The SAG strike was the impetus for sitting down and writing something.” Stephanie chimes in, “This is kind of a creative outlet for you. It started with poetry.”
What do Hollywood, Humble and Holland’s have in Common? Actor Parker Young
Parker elaborates, “In Hollywood, I’ve always been at the mercy of what jobs Hollywood has given me. This was something that wasn’t dependent upon the Hollywood machine. Hollywood was on strike, and we could be creative for our own sake.” He continues, “When we lived on the ranch, we developed beautiful connections with these little pets of ours. I found myself sitting outside with the animals and writing poetry. This was one of the biggest poems that turned into a little kids’ book.”
A Girl Dad
“The moral of The Tale of Dolores was inspired by having little girls. We have a six-year-old and a two-year-old, and both of them have arguably boy names: Jackson and Charlie,” Parker says. “We never want anyone to judge them, on an online application for example, for being girls. We want people to judge them based on their capabilities. So we’ve always been advocates for letting our girls do what they want – Jiu Jitsu, running outdoors, camping, playing with bugs, or things that might seem like ‘boy activities.’ Even though they’re very girly girls, we want to inspire them and encourage them to do whatever they want. They won’t be in any box that society might put them in.”
Marketing & Publishing The Tale of Dolores
Stephanie shares that they self-published “The Tale of Dolores” through Amazon, and they have plans to get it into local bookstores. It’s currently for sale at Joyride Bookshop in Liberty Station. They’ve sold over 500 copies since The Tale of Dolores was published in December 2024.
The couple says, “We haven’t shared on socials, so this has been word of mouth and people finding the book, which has been really cool. We’ve got two more books in the works that are written. They’re very different, but I love them so much. They’re currently being illustrated, and then we will start publicizing them and sharing them.
Stephanie connected with Coronado-based non-profit, Reading Legacies and shares that they did a story time at Liberty Station for them, which was a lot of fun. They are also looking to get Parker set up to read in the classes.
On self-publishing the book, Parker says, “It’s been cool to see that people are finding it and buying it, enjoying it. We love the idea of not having to be beholden to anybody else. We have an idea, we create it, and send it off into the world. Then we can go about traveling, camping.”
A Joint Adventure
The husband and wife team were high school sweethearts. “We do everything together. I love it because we bring very different things to the table,” Stephanie says. While they are compatible personally and professionally, Stephanie jokes that there can be some challenges. “Parker can be slow at responding to what I need done. His mind works in a very mysterious way.”
Two More Books Planned for Release
While Stephanie and Parker have a couple ideas for sequels to Dolores, they are currently working on separate projects.
“One’s called The Gratitude Fairy,” Parker says. “It’s about this kid who wakes up and has a really bad morning. He starts with a bad attitude, and as a result, he has a horrific day. Then the gratitude fairy comes and grants him the opportunity to start the day again, but he can only change his attitude and be grateful for the opportunity to have that day. So, he wakes up and starts to have a bad day, but he catches himself and changes it. He ends up having the best day ever. It’s a really cute rhyming story about the importance of having a good attitude and being grateful.”
The second book is called People Are Different. “It’s a story about the complexity of human beings and how we’re all different – how differences make us unique and special. They make the world a more exciting place to be a part of.”
For all of their stories, Parker says, “We look at it as messages we want to leave to our grandkids. The whole message on how we look at life .”
Home in Coronado
Parker and Stephanie have enjoyed calling Coronado home. “We love it here. We feel so blessed to be here, I just wish we could have chickens on the island,” Stephanie smiles. Parker adds, “Coronado is such a small town vibe, it’s this adorable little community. My dad owns Holland’s Bike Shop – it’s such a staple in the community. We love being here and supporting the community.”
How to Get “The Tale of Dolores”
The Tale of Dolores is available for purchase on Amazon.
Follow Dolores on Instagram.
What is the title of the children’s book written by Parker Young?