Ridgefield High School junior, Alexandra Digiacomo, admits in her blog “Saving Sharks for Safer Seas”, “I have a peculiar fascination with sharks”. DiGiacomo states,“Ever since I was little, I’ve been fascinated by what lurks beneath the sea. On family vacations, I spent endless hours snorkeling the shallow waters of Key Largo, in awe of the fantastic creatures in this underwater world, from darting minnows to magnificent manatees. It was here that I discovered my first nurse shark and barracuda – and I was hooked!”
Digiacomo will dive even deeper into the vast ocean next week with the release of her first book for children, A Familiar Fin. "Remember, all profits go to Sharks4Kids, a wonderful organization working towards goals very similar to mine!" says Digiacomo. The illustrator of A Familiar Fin is RHS freshman, Dhruv Singh.
Digiacomo had a captive audience yesterday, World Oceans Day, when she debuted A Familiar Fin to a class of Ridgefield kindergarten students at Veterans Park School. "After a long but incredibly rewarding process of writing, editing, formatting and collaborating, I have released my children's book, A Familiar Fin. To celebrate World Oceans Day 2015, A Familiar Fin made its debut as I read aloud to a class of local Kindergarten students. As I flipped through the colorful pages, the children remained incredibly receptive to the tale," she explained.
Perhaps what amazed me most about my experience today was the kindergarteners' reaction to the simple question, "what do you think about sharks?" I asked this question before reading my book, and immediately most of the hands in the room shot up. Expecting to get the classic "they eat people," or "they're mean," responses, I was thrilled to find that many of the children actually had positive comments about sharks. Whether remarking on their color, size or general 'cool'-ness, the kindergarteners seemed to hold a somewhat untainted fascination with sharks. I feel so lucky to have shared my message with such open and curious minds today.
A Familiar Fin will be available for purchase early next week on Amazon. We will share the link when available or you can check Digiacomo's blog here.
Congratulations Alexandra on all that you have accomplished! Your commitment to making the world a better place is evident not only in your dedication to marine conservation, but by your book sale donation to Sharks4Kids.
Follow Digiacomo on Twitter @A_DiGiacomo_