Students at Oakwood and Countrywood Primary Centers had a special guest reader in their classrooms recently. Not only is she the author and illustrator of Sox and His Extra Toes, but she was once a student in some of those classrooms herself!
Nicole Quattrocchi, who graduated from Walt Whitman High School in 2014, after starting out in the district in kindergarten at Oakwood, is a first-time author. Her beloved dog, Sox, was the inspiration for her story about a dog with six toes on each of his front paws. That makes Sox feel “different” and question whether he “fits in.”
Nicole is an occupational therapist who works with children with special needs. Whenever children would meet Sox for the first time Nicole said, “I would always show them, yeah, he has an extra toe. And then one day when I did that, I'm like, you know what, that would be a good children’s book because that makes him unique. I can make that a storyline.” As a lover of children’s books, she also felt there was a need for a book that showed kids no matter what makes them different, they’re unique and special. “There's also so much bullying,” Nicole added. “That's another big point of the story. The dogs bully Sox a little bit and it's to show that you don't bully people that are different just because they're different than you.”
Once she had her story, the novice writer set to work penning and illustrating Sox’s tale, while also learning all about the world of self-publishing. “I didn't know all the rules on the sizing of the pages and everything. It was getting really hard. So I kind of pushed it to the side for a little while,” said Nicole. Then, sadly, last December Sox passed away. Nicole decided she had to turn her sadness into something positive, and got to work finishing the book. “That's his legacy,” she said. “He's always going to be able to help kids. Everyone remembers him and he's going to help people.”
Nicole has been wonderfully surprised by the positive reception her book has received, and she hopes to turn it into a series. She said it’s been an amazing experience to come back to the very South Huntington classrooms in which she learned, see her favorite teachers again, and read to their students. “I could show those kids that, hey, I was in your shoes 20 years ago and now you can be doing something like this,” she explained. “You could do whatever you put your mind to.”
Sox and His Extra Toes is available on Amazon. You can follow Nicole on Instagram @SoxAndHis_ExtraToes
Nicole read to Ms. Farkas' class where students enjoyed the story of Sox, and the new author was able to visit her teacher she had when she was a student at Oakwood.
The Whitman alum captivated her young audience with special characters.
Students in Ms. Mitchell's class at Countrywood participated in an art activity to help discuss what makes each of us unique.
We are so grateful to have our district alumni come back to visit and share their work with current students!