NWC Teachers Collaborate on E-Book for Children

Two veteran teachers from Northwest Catholic have collaborated on an exciting new project: an e-book for children.

“The Big Watermelon,” a gently told story about overcoming fears, is meant for children from nursery school through grade 3. Available only electronically for $2.99, it was written by Barbara Fanning Iorillo ’69 and illustrated by David Woodford.

Iorillo, a Spanish teacher, has worked at NWC for 23 years; Woodford, a 27-year veteran of NWC, teaches religion and art. Though they have never joined forces on a project before, Iorillo said that her longtime colleague and friend was her first choice when she was looking for someone to bring the characters in her book to life.

“It’s amazing to me that he could read my words and capture them so beautifully,” said Iorillo, who – ironically enough – wrote her book with a pen and paper.

Woodford is accustomed to selling his artwork, but has never worked on an electronic publication. “I’ve never bought an e-book, and I’ve never read an e-book – before this one,” he said with a chuckle.

For Iorillo’s manuscript, he used ink and colored pencils on paper, creating 13 different illustrations that were then turned into digital images for the publisher, Sardinas Publishing.

The book is available through Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and Sony. The e-book comes with a free app for the associated computer, which permits teachers to use their SmartBoards while reading the book, making it easier for the entire class to see the pages all at once.

“We are so pleased that our teachers are working together in this new format, and we wish them success with the book,” said NWC Principal/Chief Administrator Margaret Williamson.