Educator, Author Strives For Representation In Children’s Book

By Alyssa Riccardi BRICK

educator 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 Dr. Denise children through the story of Ben’s adventure on his fi rst class trip and discusses the obstacles he goes through as someone with food allergies.

Dr. Denise Furlong cowrote 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

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Players:

Continued From Page 1 that “one of the goals of this program is to be community-involved. I was so proud of our young men for doing this. They were genuinely happy and having fun talking with the

Open Space:

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Protection integration.

“This property is surrounded by more than 1,200 acres of existing county natural lands in the Roosevelt City section of Manchester Township,” said Ocean County Commissioner Virginia E. Haines, Liaison to the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund Advisory Committee.

“Preserving this land is beneficial to our efforts in maintaining open space and also allows us to expand our wildfire mitigation activities, which ultimately will help protect our residents and their property,” she added.

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Continued From Page 1 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 residents and playing bingo.”

“There’s no better way to help others than by spending some time with some seniors that are in our backyard. I’m proud of our team,” Coach Farrell added.

Junior linebacker Dante Mortellite remarked, “I’m just glad that I was able to

Properties under the Natural Lands Trust Fund Program are preserved as open space and are open to the public for passive recreation. Properties are generally left in their natural state.

Manchester Township also recently approved a resolution supporting the acquisition of land in another section of Manchester by Ocean County through the Natural Lands Trust Fund program.

That open space purchase includes property along Ridgeway Road near Hope Chapel Road that had been purchased by a developer along with four separate properties that, according to Ocean County land records, were planned 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 give back to the community that has done so much for me. Spending time at the senior center was a real eye opening experience for me.”

“The people there were so kind and welcoming, and this experience reminded me the importance of being in touch with your for single-family homes.

The properties to be purchased include 89.57 acres at 3500 Ridgeway Road, near Quarry Road, which is across the street from a future Ocean County park.

This land had been bought by a developer earlier this year. According to county land records, the second property - which adds up to 34.5 acres on Cherry Street - was previously owned by developer US Homes.

A third property involves 3.43-acres on Route 547, just south of Ridgeway Road.

It is unknown currently as to just how much Ocean County plans to pay for these properties but the land acquisitions add to the township’s 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 community and the value of human connection. Hearing the people’s stories made me realize that life is precious and we should value every second of it,” he added. There will be further visits to other communities ahead of their opening game which is quickly approaching in August. and Ocean County’s open space inventory. The land provides a habitat for numerous plant and animal species and according to a statement from the mayor, “the commitment to preserving natural lands and advancing environmental stewardship aligns with requests from the community on social media and Town Council meetings for responsible growth as neighboring towns continue rapid development projects.”

A map of all properties under review with the Natural Lands Trust Fund Advisory Committee is available at ocpd.maps.arcgis.com/ apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=3ec977cf3aed4a8c937a0d5886609769 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.

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