Young authors join giving drive

Jonnie and Brookie Allen are out to make a difference.

With help from their parents, the Gilbert 12- and 10-year- old girls have self-published three books and are working on their fourth CD, with 75 percent of the proceeds going to help children’s charities.

With their latest project, the Allen girls are giving away 5,000 copies of their first book, "No Snow for Christmas," in an effort to collect more than 20,000 cans of food for Arizona food banks.

Jonnie and Brookie are asking everyone to donate at least four cans of food at 22 drop-off locations around the Valley to receive their book. The dropoff locations are at all Maricopa County libraries and Valley of the Sun YMCAs.

The girls helped their mom write "No Snow for Christmas" and recorded their first CD of the same name when they were 5 and 7. Sales from their newest two-song CD, "Make a Difference," which came out in June, benefits military relief organizations.

"Kids can make a difference, and we think we can make a difference," said Jonnie, a Highland Junior High School seventh-grader.

The sisters have worked on several projects to help their community, donating thousands of dollars. They have collected shoes for the East Valley Thomas J. Pappas school for the homeless. They’ve put together care packages for Iraqi children with school supplies, stuffed animals, clothing and candy. And the two donated money and products to help the Adopt a Marine program.

The busy girls also perform for Radio Disney’s Limelight Performance Team and sing and dance throughout the Valley. Their next public performance is 10 a.m. Dec. 14 at Fiesta Mall.

"They like to do it. They like to sing," said mother Melinda Allen, adding the girls work with singing coaches and choreographers and practice in their home dance studio.

They spent their Thanksgiving morning singing and dancing on the Discovery Channel float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The girls were selected from a national audition.

"It’s fun to sing," said Brookie, a Sonoma Ranch Elementary School fifthgrader. "It’s exciting cause we get to perform in front of a live audience."

For information on Jonnie and Brookie, visit www.jonnieandbrookie.com or call (602) 762-9786. Drop-off locations

East Valley food drop-off locations to pick up free Jonnie & Brookie books

• Mesa Family YMCA, 207 N. Mesa Drive

• Tempe Family YMCA, 7070 S. Rural Road

• Chandler-Gilbert Family YMCA, 1655 W. Frye Road

• Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA, 1030 E. Liberty Road

• Scottsdale-Paradise Valley YMCA, 6869 E. Shea Blvd.

• Fountain Hills library, 12901 N. LaMontana Drive

• Queen Creek Library, 22407 S. Ellsworth Road

• Southeast Regional Library, 775 N. Greenfield Road, Gilbert

• Sun Lakes Library, 10440 E. Riggs Road