en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en
Synopsis of book: A little girl from Boonsboro and her favorite toy, a rubber ducky named Marew, are playing outside when a storm comes in and washes Marew away into the storm sewer system. There, Marew gets to learn firsthand where the rain water goes after it has run off our streets and also how dirty rain water can get when we don’t take care of our environment. The little girl sees how dirty her ducky gets from being in the runoff and decides to make some changes to help keep clean rain water from becoming dirty.
Your day job is watershed specialist for Washington County. What did you see in your job that led you to write this book?
Part of our responsibilities here at the Division of Environmental Management is to meet federal environmental mandates, and there are requirements in them for us to conduct education and outreach. Whenever we would discuss stormwater runoff and its impact on our local streams with younger kids, we noticed that there was an opportunity to fill in the knowledge gap about exactly how pollution can get into our streams through stormwater runoff and how a stormwater network actually functions. We wanted to be able to tell a story that was not only entertaining, but also informative and placed in a local context. I chose Boonsboro because we participate in the Green Fest at Shafer Park every year and we wanted to use the story as a way to connect kids to the stream there at the park that drains part of the town. The story of Marew takes place in Boonsboro and actually reflects the stormwater network of the town. Much of the town drains to Shafer Park and in the book, it is there that the little girl is reunited with her ducky. This allows us to also have a rubber duck race in the same stream that Marew is in and helps to connect the kids to the story even more as they pull their rubber duck out of the stream the same way the little girl does in the story.
There are several different animals you could have chosen to illustrate your stormwater tale. Why did you choose a duck?
I chose a rubber duck because I wanted the little girl’s toy to be able to float away on the stormwater runoff and safely make it through the stormwater network. A rubber duck also allows us to tie the story to a rubber duck race that all of the kids love and can take their own rubber ducks home with them. I chose the name, Marew, because it is a combination of my son’s names, Max and Drew, who I tell off-the-cuff stories to all the time. I was only able to come up with this story because I am a dad to those amazing boys who require me to be more creative than I usually am.
How did you come to work with your illustrator, Kellie Mele?
Kellie and I met through a mutual friend and I became a fan of her artwork immediately. For several years, we have been “friends” online where I get to follow all of the different art projects she gets involved in. She is the museum educational engagement coordinator for the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, and I have seen many of the projects that she has done with local kids. I knew that she and I would work well together. When I began writing this story, the illustrations that I had in my head that would go with each page were all inspired by her art. Kellie’s art is very natural and environmentally inspired and when the time came to illustrate the story, she is the only one I could imagine doing it. She read the story and loved it and within a few days she had illustrated the whole thing. She is super talented.
Do you have any other books in mind?
Currently there are no other books planned, but the positive feedback that we have received so far has been encouraging. It is not out of the question.
Where can readers purchase your book?
Our goal has been to make this project self-sustainable. We are giving the book away to kids at our outreach events, like the Boonsboro Green Fest, but if people can’t make it to one of our outreach events, they can get a copy of the book at Turn the Page Bookstore in Boonsboro for a suggested donation of $5. This donation goes towards the reprinting costs so that we can continue to use the book to educate county children about the importance of clean local water.
Careers Staff Directory Accessibility Site Map Legals Our Ethical Principles Terms of Service Privacy Policy Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy PolicyDo Not Sell My Info / Cookie Policy
Contact Us Support Local Business Advertise Your Business Advertising Terms and Conditions Licensing & Reprints Help Center Subscriber Guide My Account Give Feedback