BY JOE SCOTCHIE
jscotchie@antonmediagroup.com
As is the case in many Roslyn households, creativity runs deep in the Miller family. Sheri Miller is an accomplished songwriter with two critically-acclaimed albums on the market. Sheri inherited that creativity. Her mother, Linda, is the author of Unika, The One-of-a-Kind Unicorn, a children’s book on bullying.
Linda Miller worked for many years in the New York City public school system as a speech and language pathologist. The new book, Miller said, was inspired from an experience that took place during her long teaching career,
“[The book] is based on a true incident that occurred in my home school in Brooklyn with a magical unicorn superimposed on the story who promotes kindness and understanding,” she said. “Another theme is that we are all unique, hence the title which flew into my head while working at the school. It is beautifully illustrated and has definitions, suggestions, and situations (What would you do if…..?), plus a black and white picture of Unika for children to color. The children the story is based on were third-and fifth-graders, 8 to 10 years of age.”
According to the publishers, Unika comes to help Juan, a student who has been harassed by local bullies. The unicorn, the publishers added, shows the reader the importance of understanding and kindness.
This Sunday, Nov. 15, from 2 to 4 p.m., Miller will be giving a talk and a book signing appearance at The Dolphin Bookshop 299 Main St., Port Washington.
“I enlarged the picture of Unika and will bring the larger copies of that picture to the crafts/book signing,” Miller added. “Crayons will be supplied for the children who want to color.”
By being a teacher, Miller achieved a lifelong goal. In the early 1970s, she was a part-time lecturer at Queens College CUNY, teaching Argumentation and Advocacy and Voice and Articulation. Miller then became a speech and language pathologist and spent most of her career in the public school system as a teacher of speech improvement. During her long career, Miller based her teaching on the idea that “it is not how rich you are or how famous you are that matters. What is most important is how kind you are.”
Unika is published by Masot Books. It will available to the public at the Dolphin Bookshop signing, and to the general public starting on Dec. 1. However, it has already received positive online reviews.
“This is an important message told in an endearing and charming story,” wrote a reader on the Amazon website. “The book is beautifully illustrated and emphasizes the point that people should be kind to each other and that words are much more important to use than fists in resolving personal issues. It should be part of your child’s bookshelf and discussed for the lesson it teaches.
