b'A Childrens BookTakes FlightA South Orange resident brings his inspiration to lifeBY ELLEN DONKERI nspirationoftenstrikesunex- talcommunicationsforKIPPPublicprogress each week. pectedly and South Orange res- Schools, a network of charter schools,This past March, Ciabattoni released Finchs identSteveCiabattoniscamehe never seemed to have the time.First Flight, with illustrations by Annie Wilkin-at an airport where he observedDeterminedtofinallybringhisson. The book tells the story of a bird who was a bird hopping around in theidea to life, Ciabattoni signed up forafraid to fly until he meets a young boy at the terminal,ratherthanflying.aclassattheSouthOrange-Maple- airport who is also nervous about flying for the That gave him the idea to writewood Adult School last spring, calledfirst time. Together, they help each other over-a childrens book about a bird who isCreate a Childrens Book. Taught bycome their fears to see amazing sights and fly anxious about flying, something withDuncanEwald,Ciabattonisaysthehigher than ever before. whichCiabattonihasalsostruggled.instructor encouraged writers to figureGivenCiabattonisworkwithKIPP,heAuthor Steve Ciabattoni re-He took a picture of the birdthisout how to shape a story, think aboutlooks forward to doing some readalongs withleased his first childrens book.was 2012and the image stayed onthe ages to write for and determine thethe students.his phone as a visual reminder.type of illustrations to use. CiabattoniSinceCiabattoniself-publishedhisbook Ciabattoni had long wanted to writesays, It demystified the process a littlewith Amazon, he has been reaching out to book publishers and agents to learn a childrens book, but as a former mu- bit. The class also provided account- how to get his next book picked up. He says hes in the middle of a draft and this sic journalist who now works in digi- ability since students had to share theirtime its about a leaf. Finchs First Flight is available at amazon.com. feature story /25'