Coco and The Giz Go Green
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 12. 4.06
The kids at Parliament Place Elementary School in North Babylon have undertaken a project to help other kids around the world understand the environment by working with two hero dogs, “Coco” and “The Giz” on their new book Coco and The Giz Go Green.To accomplish this they’ve teamed up with children’s authors Donna Paltrow and Jerri Fink, who bring their dogs into schools to help inspire kids to create better literature by writing about the dogs and their adventures. They’ve chosen to create a “choose your own adventure” book where kids can make decisions based on real facts to help “Coco” and “The Giz” as they travel around their town in a quest to make it a “greener place”.
Each set of classes will contribute one chapter to the book, focusing on such issues as global warming, recycling, alternative energy, and garbage. They’ll find ways to incorporate environmentally friendly ideas into the storyline as “Coco” and “The Giz” help save the planet. As their Principal, Ms. Christine Kuchta puts it “In Coco and The Giz Go Green we're using arts education to take a stand on environmental issues. Our children use their creativity and imagination to develop a better understanding of the world around them while taking positive action to make a change.”
And that’s not all… They’ve teamed up with my middle school classes at the Robert Moses Middle School to help provide the scientific facts; students at the high school to help produce a car that runs on vegetable oil for these hero dogs to ride in; and both local and corporate sponsors to help foot the bill for publication. When it’s done, their book will be available in bookstores and via the internet. It sounds to me like these kids are getting an early lesson in how community cooperation can make the world a better place, along with a chapter on working with business to get the job done!
