BRICK – A local educator is discussing the importance of inclusivity and representation in children’s literature through her co-written book “Ben and the Amazing Animal Adventure.”
The book features Ben, a kid who has severe food allergies. The book takes children through the story of Ben’s adventure on his first class trip and discusses the obstacles he goes through as someone with food allergies.
Dr. Denise Furlong co-wrote the book with Sarah Szamreta Tang, who was a teacher for about 15 years teaching bilingual Spanish and ESL. Leslie Daily, who was an elementary school teacher for 35 years, illustrated the book.
Furlong is currently an Assistant Professor at Georgian Court University and an English language interventionist at Brick Township Public Schools. She’s taught public school for over 20 years and is also a Brick Township High School Graduate.
The trio met years ago when they all taught together at Freehold Borough Schools, and they’ve now come together again to create this book.
Furlong said the inspiration behind the book is to showcase different types of children and how often times they are not represented.
“About a year and a half ago, I was teaching at Georgian Court and we were talking about representation in children’s literature and we were talking about the different ways that children might be able to see themselves in books,” Furlong said. “It got me thinking, my friend Sarah the co-author, she has two children who have severe allergies. After I taught that class that evening, I asked her if her sons have any children’s books where the characters have allergies… And the idea blossomed from there.”
Furlong and Szamreta Tang explained there was a hole that needed to be filled when it came to having a book that included food allergies.
“It was really important to write a story about children with food allergies because in my family, my kids have food allergies and it’s something I didn’t have experience with before. There was just so much to learn. In our experiences I’ve seen how many misunderstandings there are, how much exclusion there is,” Szamreta Tang said in an interview with EduMatch Publishing. “It is life or death in a lot of situations so it’s really something that we need to get the word out here for.”
“It’s a story that includes that idea and concept to make it something that’s talked about, to make it something that’s normal that isn’t strange and is hushed as a ‘medical thing,’” Szamreta Tang added.
Furlong said how many people brush off allergies and hopes the book diminishes those feelings.
“A lot of times people are just not kind or (they are) annoyed. People think that it’s someone who’s just trying to be a pain when someone has allergies. That was really partly to provide representation to these children and to partly share their story so other people might have empathy – children and adults alike,” Furlong said.
The characters in the book are also Chinese-American, as Szamreta Tang’s children are half Chinese, and felt there needs to be more children books with Chinese characters.
“When one thinks about points of access or parts of representation that this book really provides, there’s a ton. There are multi-generational families, Asian-Americans, children with medical differences. It really took on a life of its own,” Furlong said.
Daily said, “it’s important for everyone to understand that children with differences need be accepted and not misunderstood. It’s a book for everyone.”
Additionally, the story was published as a bilingual book to increase the access. Children can read along in either English or Spanish.
After the book launched in April, Furlong had the opportunity to host a read aloud at the Asbury Book Cooperative in May. The event welcomed everyone to the local bookstore to hear a reading of “Ben and the Amazing Animal Adventure.”
“It was adorable,” Furlong said about the read aloud. “The Asbury Book Cooperative is a such community place. We had a couple of preschoolers come in and enjoy the book.”
Furlong has published previous works including “Voices of Newcomers: Experiences of Multilingual Learners,” an educational book which she won an award for. Furlong said that she plans to continue to publish books focusing on resource texts for educators.
“Ben and the Amazing Animal Adventure” is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, as well as at the Asbury Book Cooperative.
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