The Gotta Be Me Race is a book in progress made possible by a $10,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts FY 2026 Individual Artist Award, administered through Long Island Arts Alliance (Special thanks to Lauren Wagner for your patience and guidance). I am honored to
have received this award and excited to share
the steps of my book-making process.
Please share any THOUGHTS or QUESTIONS,
and I will get back to you ASAP.
1st Draft
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The only requirement for the grant, other than submitting a finished copy of the book, was to give a free public presentation of my book-making process. I had the great fortune to do a series of four presentations at the Sunshine Summer Day Camp, where all the fun of regular camp activities is enriched by social-emotional learning themes.
(Sending big love and huge thanks to the Sunshine Center for letting me share The Gotta Be Me Race with their campers.)
I did a book reading where I was able not only to share my creative process but also to engage the campers in a discussion about “positive inner voice,” the social-emotional theme of the story. As a follow-up activity, the students used Rodro’s bike from the story as an example to draw their own bikes, celebrating their uniqueness. (Click on the slide show below to see their wonderful creations.) Their amazing one-of-a-kind bikes will be featured in the end pages of the final book.
Kids Bike Designs
2nd Draft
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