Back-to-school season has come early this year with the release of the new children’s book, “Brooklyn is the World.” Set in the spring, it follows a butterfly’s journey through Brooklyn on a mission to find real friends.
Attorney, mother of two and author Connie Gibilaro, a Bay Ridge native, wrote the book not only to highlight the borough’s beauty, but also to teach kids not to pine over those who reject them.
“We even learn that lesson too late, people that fly away from us are just not meant for us,” Gibilaro said. “We don’t realize there are already people in our lives.”
The first version of the book featured a butterfly leaving Brooklyn and traveling across the world to find a friend. But after her mother read the draft, Gibilaro realized the butterfly never needed to leave Brooklyn to explore the world.
“My mother read it, and my mother had a very straight face, and she looks at me, and she goes, ‘ Why doesn’t the butterfly fly around Brooklyn, because Brooklyn is the world? ‘” Gibilaro said.
That idea led to a three-year process to get the book published.
To accurately represent the borough, Gibilaro spent significant time researching each neighborhood, allowing the illustrator she worked with to capture them in detail.
“It’s been very gratifying to hear from kids that their environment has been accurately shown in the book,” she said.
As the butterfly explores neighborhoods in search of friends, the pastel-colored illustrations give the backdrop a romantic feel. But Brooklyn itself serves as a silent character in the story, while the real message focuses on friendship.
As a mother of two, Gibilaro drew inspiration from watching her children go out into the world and make friends on their own. And she’s had to watch them face rejection.
“You may put yourself out there, and they might run away from you,” she said. “You have to instill certain confidence in your kids.”
In a proud mommy moment, Gibilaro said she has watched her children navigate the world with confidence in who they are — the very message at the heart of the story, which she describes as a love letter to them.
“I think it was a story worth telling,” she said.
To celebrate the book’s release, Gibilaro hosted a launch party on Saturday, April 11 at Shell’s Loft in Fort Greene.
“Brooklyn is the World” is her first book, and she said she already has two more in mind — both approved by her toughest critics: her children.
