A tale of two sisters, retired UCS administrators and authors

This year, UCS elementary libraries were gifted a children’s book with close ties to the district. Sadie Sees Trouble was created by sisters, Julie Jarkey-Kozlowski and Dr. Linda S. Jarkey, both UCS retirees.
Jarkey-Kozlowski was a vocational and fine arts teacher at Henry Ford II High School and later became involved at the administrative building, which included a principal internship prior to her retirement.
Dr. Jarkey began her career with UCS as an English teacher at Jeannette Junior High, she later taught English and journalism at Stevenson High School before she was became the assistant principal at Shelby Junior High School and, eventually, principal at Davis Junior High.
“Linda always wanted to write about books,” Jarkey-Kozlowski said. “When she began thinking about writing for children, her focus was on teachable concepts and accessibility as well as good storytelling.”
Dr. Jarkey was the visionary behind the book, Sadie Sees Trouble, writing the story with great thought and intention.
“Linda knew that rhyming helped children with comprehension, and the lyricism and cadence of the words helped move the story along,” said Jarkey-Kozlowski.
She also knew the children’s story would require complimentary illustrations, to which she enlisted her sister’s help. However, when the call for artistic aid was made, Jarkey-Kozlowski didn’t have her normal art supplies on hand.
“When Linda first approached me to do the drawings I was out of town, but she wanted a yellow dog for the main character of Sadie, so I used mustard to get the idea across for the publisher,” Jarkey-Kozlowski said.
What began as a scramble to make art with the materials on hand became part of the books charm, as the color throughout the book was produced with items typically found in a family’s kitchen.
“Hence the use of blueberries and strawberries, tea, Worcestershire sauce and food coloring in lieu of paint, or any other typical medium,” said Jarkey-Kozlowski.
Sadie Sees Trouble was supposed to be the first in a series of children’s books based around the main canine character, Sadie. Although Dr. Jarkey’s literary work was kept to the single title due to her death in 2020, her life’s biggest accomplishment had been realized through her collaboration with her sister.
“It was one of her last, and lasting, acts as a writer,” Jarkey-Kozlowski said. “And I was just blessed to be able to translate her visions onto paper.”
To honor Dr. Jarkey’s legacy, Jarkey-Kozlowski chose to donate books to libraries in Oakland and Macomb Counties. The book was also donated to area elementary schools, including a soft and hard-copy to all 25 UCS elementary school libraries.
In the book, after Sadie’s human, Penny, gets a tablet for her birthday, it becomes Sadie’s mission to regain Penny’s love and attention and convince her to play around the home with Sadie, rather than focusing all her attention on her tablet.
“The focus of Sadie Sees Trouble is to pay more attention to your friends and family and the importance of human interaction,” Jarkey-Kozlowski said.
“Through the donation, I hope to get the book and it’s message out to our youth and their families.”

Source: Utica Community Schools

Robert S. Monroe, Superintendent of Schools

Http://www.uticak12.org