Parents and their children gathered on a bright and cool Saturday morning, February 22nd, at the Carmine Carro Community Center, at 3000 Fillmore Avenue, to see Brooklyn independent children’s author Helen Rogosin introduce the grumpy yet lovable Wuffy, who teaches the importance of friendship and imagination.
Organized by the Marine Park Alliance (MPA), the center was packed as families were entertained by Rogosin as she read the first book in her series, Wuffy & the Magic Lintball. After introducing Wuffy and how he came to be, she showed the audience a song version of the story.
“I was a sickly little kid, and my father brought home this toy from the pharmacy to make me feel better,” Rogosin said. “He had this lintball on his nose, and my brother thought it would be a good idea to say he has a magic lintball and he looks like a Wuffy. From there, Wuffy & the Magic Lintball was born.”
“I thought about all the books I wanted to write as a teacher and put them off for someday. The moment I retired, I knew that was the day I was going to start getting these books in the hands of kids and that Wuffy was going to be the little hero who encouraged them to value friendship and family and creativity and science and all the things that I grew up thinking was important to me.”
After storytelling time, families participated in arts and crafts, creating their own books, even making their own paper bag “Wuffies,” with cut-out construction paper and googly eyes.
“When my wife and I both have off on the weekend, we like to find things to do and not be home, and we noticed the event,” D.B. Grissom said. “We thought it would be a nice opportunity to see something that’s going on in the neighborhood, see and support an independent author. It was a nice arts and craft project.”
At MPA events, families get to engage in projects with each other, and members of the community get to learn and explore new things.
“We’re always trying to expand our Just for Kids series to offer more free programming for parents and families in the neighborhood,” MPA Executive Director Scott Middleton said. “This is our first shot at an indoor Just for Kids event, and I’m very pleased with the turnout and pleased that we are able to promote a local author and illustrator and also invite people to join all of our upcoming Just for Kids programs.
