A Ward Melville High School student is drawing new life into a book that sat on a shelf for years.

Ella Ignacio is a 10th grader at WMHS who resides at Angela’s House III in Stony Brook. Angela’s House is a nonprofit organization that cares for children with special health care needs, while providing supportive services for their families. Tracy Bloom is a Three Village employee who has worked as Ella’s one-to-one school nurse for years. Together, the pair recently completed the children’s book, “Do Skunks Think Skunks Stink?”

Tracy wrote the book with her son many years ago. Her son never illustrated the book, so it sat untouched for a while. When the pandemic hit and students were remote learning, Tracy encouraged Ella to help create illustrations.

“I knew Ella would be the perfect illustrator to bring this story to life,” Tracy said. “She is such a talented artist, and she captures the feelings of characters and delivers the message.”

Ella completed her drawings earlier this fall and the book was finally published. Tracy and Ella decided to sell the books for $25 as a fundraiser to benefit Angela’s House. For those interested in purchasing a book and supporting the cause, please contact Tracy Bloom at tbloom@3villagecsd.org.

Date Added: 1/9/2023