NEW YORK, NY: A young mother and Long Island native has written a children’s book with the goal of teaching the positive values of respect for elders, love of nature and how to care for the environment.
Emily Grows is a charming story about Emily, a fun-loving young girl who learns how to nurture a plant through her loving grandmother. But like any young girl her age, she forgets all about her plant with the advent of summer which she spends swimming and playing on the beach. What happens next teaches her a lesson on what’s important in life as she tries to nourish back to health her neglected plant.
Written by Kathleen Christina Esposito, Emily Grows is illustrated by Beatriz González Torre, a young Spanish artist from Asturias, Spain. Their common love of nature brought them together to collaborate across the Atlantic as well as their desire to inculcate in their young children (a seven-year-old girl for Kathleen and a two-year-old boy for Beatriz) good values early in life.
Kathleen grew up on Long Island, went to Academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood and attended Hofstra University where she obtained a BA degree in political science. A fter graduation, she worked in the health insurance industry until she gave birth to Emily Grace. When her child was older, she rejoined the work force as installation specialist of a health insurance firm. She is also a licensed real estate agent who enjoys helping people find their dream homes.
An advocate for the environment and a healthy lifestyle, she is against the use of chemicals in food and everyday household items.
Beatriz was born in Gijón, Spain. As a child, she was already drawn to painting. Seeing their daughter’s early passion toward this art, Beatriz’ parents very much encouraged her to develop her creativity. She was enrolled in art classes, where she learned a variety of techniques: charcoal, pastel, acrylic, oil.
She won a number of children’s painting contests and by the time she became a teenager, her illustrations were selected three years in a row by the Public Language School to adorn Christmas postcards. Beatriz has a doctorate in industrial engineering and works for a leading elevator company in Europe.
She lived in the United Kingdom and in Germany giving her the opportunity to get some inspiration from di fferent cultures. She took up formal art education at IBKK School in Bochum, Germany and at the London Art College in the U.K. If you are interested in Beatriz's art work, you may visit YU, her personal web site.