RVC Resident Co-Authors New Children's Book

Yvonne Capitelli’s life is significantly different now than it used to be. The 18-year Rockville Centre resident turned to writing after leaving a job in telecommunications — and she couldn’t be happier.

Capitelli’s second book, I Get It! I Get It! - How John Figures It Out, was released in January and looks to help children diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), an affliction that affects the way children recognize information, according to kidshealth.org.

Capitelli co-authored the book with clinical psychologist Dr. Loraine Alderman.  The two storytellers met at a Long Island Authors Group meeting. After presenting her first book Daria Rose and the Day She Chose to the assembled members, Capitelli was approached by Alderman. 

“She liked my book and said she had an idea,” Capitelli said of Alderman. “(She asked me) if I would be willing to work on a book with her for children that have APD. That’s how it all began.”

Before embarking on the project, Capitelli said she knew little about the disorder, needing to lean on her co-author for that aspect of the story. 

“I didn’t know about it before I started to speak to Loraine,” she said. “I went on the internet, researched it, and then we worked together on the story.”

While Alderman handled much of the APD content, Capitelli worked with illustrator Julia Klimas, making sure the pictures perfectly accented the story. 

“It was a lot of fun,” she said of working with Klimas. “She is an art student in her last year of college. She was very easy to work with.”   

I Get It! stresses the same general themes featured in Capitelli’s first book: self esteem.

“The story flows. It goes from (John) being confused and overwhelmed to him figuring out that he is a smart boy. He just needs accommodations,” Capitelli said. “It’s a book that will inspire children to see that they’re not alone. Children who read this book will realize that they are smart. They (just) need certain things to be changed in order for them to be able to succeed."

Capitelli spends most of her afternoons visiting local elementary schools and talking to students about her first book and engaging them in discussion. 

“I leave the room and I’m just smiling,” she said of her elementary school trips. “It’s so much fun to see them enjoy the story. We have a question and answer time. It seems like (the children) learn so much from the story.”

Capitelli is currently working on her second Daria Rose book. 

For more information and to purchase either of her first two books, click here.