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out she had the opportunity and resources to
publish her book.
It is now available as a hard copy and online,
and can be seen being read by her family and
friends, previous teachers, and elementary
schools in Lynnfield.
"In high school, it was just a hard copy. But
when I got to college, I had the opportunity to
make it digital and add in pictures and type in
the text so I could sell it online for people to buy,"
Rocco said. "It was really cool."
When she began writing this, Rocco said she
was unsure of the plot of the story and where it
would go.
Once she started writing, however, she said she
just went with it.
She started writing with the little boy releasing
the balloon, then came up with the idea of the
balloon visiting famous landmarks, such as the
Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Great Wall of
China.
She then came up with the idea of incorporating
the black and white to color theme, which she
said reminded her of "The Wizard of Oz."
The little boy buys the balloon at a balloon
stand with his grandfather in New York City, and
they name it Cherry.
One day, the little boy sets Cherry free, telling
the balloon to go chase its dreams.
"I realized I could make it a lesson for kids to
chase their dreams," Rocco said.
The balloon traveled all around the world, but
found its way home to the little boy at the end.
"As the balloon goes around the world, the
kids reading it can recognize where it is and learn
about all these places," Rocco said. "The whole
book rhymes, so it's kind of like a song and it's
educational."
Rocco said she got so carried away with this
story that she wrote it all in one sitting.
"I've never done anything in one sitting
before, but for some reason, when I was writing
the book, I just sat in bed and all of these things
started flowing out," Rocco said. "I was just like
'oh my gosh I think I have a good story here.'"
When it was published, Rocco posted the
book on a Lynnfield community page on Facebook,
and people started buying it.
"It's kind of crazy," Rocco said.
She also gave a copy to her grandmother,
which was read at her nursing home.
"I want the next step for this book to be
exposure," Rocco said. "I feel like I have enough
if I want to take it to the next step and bring it
outside of Lynnfield for any teachers to use it."
One of the best parts about publishing this
book, Rocco said, is that the kids love it.
She said parents will tell her their kids love it
and she'll sign some books for them.
Rocco does have plans to write more books
about Cherry the balloon, when things slow
down with school.
She is hoping to write books that focus on one
city that the balloon flies to, such as one book just
about the balloon flying to Boston, going over
Fenway Park and the Prudential Building.
"I want to do something like 'Goodnight
Moon' with the balloon," Rocco said.
Rocco was on an Individualized Education
Plan (IEP) in high school, and said this book is
like a tribute to how thankful she is for the education
she got in Lynnfield and what the teachers
did for her.
"Seeing them (her teachers) getting the book
is like (coming) full circle in a way," Rocco said.
"Now I'm in college writing this book. I always
knew I was going to go to college but I was on an
IEP and never really expected to be at a school
that I love and following my dreams by writing
this book."
Rocco said it is amazing how her teachers
have supported her along the way, pushing her
to be her best and helping her follow her dreams,
just like Cherry did.
"A World From Above" is available for
purchase at www.blurb.com/b/10058601-aworld-from-above.
259 S. Main Street,
Middleton, MA 01949
Tel. 978-972-5114
www.mytrueviews.com
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