Emotional Wellness Is Theme of First Children’s Book by Oneonta Native

By MONICA CALZOLARI
ONEONTA

Haabiba Rothenberg-Whitney, a 1992 graduate of Oneonta High School, has written and illustrated her first children’s book and her first coloring book. Both are titled “Tell Me About Your Happy Place.”

Rothenberg-Whitney said, “This was a unique collaboration. I was asked to write the book as a fundraiser for the Springfield Garden Club.”

The garden club hosted its first-ever Magical Fairy Garden Tour, May 18-27, at the home of Vana Nespor in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Nespor and Rothenberg-Whitney are neighbors who have known each other for seven years. Nespor owned and operated a publishing company with several partners in the past. She had the idea of creating a book with photographs of the beautiful miniature habitats to sell at the garden club event.

“I always dreamed of writing a book,” Rothenberg-Whitney said. “I have written ever since I was a child. I love to write poetry. It is just a passion.”

For the garden tour, artists created 44 miniature garden habitats with natural materials. Some artists created more than one.

Rothenberg-Whitney viewed each of the habitats and created a special story page about 36 of the fairy gardens and featured them in “Tell Me About Your Happy Place.”

She said, “This experience was particularly unique. I wrote the majority of the book in the span of 36 hours, only after I had actually seen the gardens. The story’s theme is about emotional wellness.”

Natalie Fielding photographed the miniature habitats featured in the book.

Rothenberg-Whitney also illustrated the book. She created the main character, which she calls “The Shy Giraffe.”

She said, “There is a little bit of me in this character. I was hesitant to go public with my writing and illustrations.”

The book tells the story of a shy giraffe who explores the tiny world of 36 fairy gardens.

Rothenberg-Whitney said, “I lived in Franklin and attended fourth through eighth grade there. I consider Franklin and Oneonta home.”

She gets home to visit her mother, Monet Rothenberg, about once a month.

After graduating from Oneonta High School, Rothenberg-Whitney earned a bachelor of science in human services from Springfield College in 2001 and settled in Springfield, Massachusetts. She taught middle school in English language arts there for 10 years and now works in youth services.

She said, “I taught sixth through eighth grade. I definitely observed students who are struggling with mental health issues.”

She hopes that her stories may be a way to normalize the topic of emotional wellness.

On an interview with “Mass Appeal,” she said, “I get my inspiration from my life experiences thinking about children. I think about what children enjoy and some of the things that sometimes challenge them and weave that into the story.”

An excerpt from her book reads:

Everyone needs a happy place –
A place to feel joy, a place to escape.
A happy place is a place that you choose.
A place to feel safe just being you.
Stay a short while or stay all day long.
No one can tell you that you don’t belong.
Take a deep breath.
Breathe out, breathe in.
Enjoy your happy place.
Find serenity within.
Even a place that’s an ocean away
Can be your happy place to imagine and play.
You don’t need permission.
You don’t need to drive.
Just imagine yourself there.
So let’s give it a try.

Profits from the Magical Fairy Garden Tour and sales of the limited-edition book and coloring book went to the garden club’s annual scholarship drive. Since 1990, the Springfield Garden Club has raised money from plant sales and special events to award more than $78,000.00 in scholarships to develop future leaders in horticulture.

April 1 was the application deadline for the garden club’s annual scholarship. For 2024, awards totaled $5000.00. Undergraduate, graduate students, and graduating high school seniors were eligible to apply. A full-time plant sciences or environmental studies program must be their intended major.

Rothenberg-Whitney said, “Because of the success of their magical fairy garden tour, in conjunction with the book sale, they will be giving away $8,000.00 to multiple recipients in 2025.”

This event was the Springfield Garden Club’s most successful fundraiser to date according to the author. They printed and sold 300 copies of “Tell Me About Your Happy Place.”

Rothenberg-Whitney said, “We did a small print run and due to popular demand ended up doing a second run and we are currently sold out.”

“It definitely is an honor to collaborate with the Springfield Garden Club in this unique way,” she said.

“Tell Me About Your Happy Place” is a limited-edition publication, not available in any book stores.

For this first publication, Nespor was publisher and editor. Rothenberg-Whitney said, “Vana and I recently became partners of our independent publishing house, called Park Edge Creative, LLC.”

“Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the limited edition, I’m writing a second edition of “Tell Me About Your Happy Place.” I’m creating new illustrations geared toward a young audience. In addition, I have a series of stories in the works, featuring my character, The Shy Giraffe. The stories will continue to highlight themes around emotional wellness.”