Once upon a time, in the small, beloved Town of Greenfield, New York, two beautiful twin girls were raised with the most love and care.  Their names were Nina and Natalie Gerardi and they were taught, above all else, to be kind. Their mother, artist and Greenfield Elementary Staff member Amy Gerardi,  recently published a picture book to serve an entertaining dose of goodness to all children with its messages of understanding, acceptance and tolerance. 

“In an overgrown garden always in the sunshine, two little grapes grew on the end of a vine,” begins the story  “Please Grow Away!” by Amy Gerardi and her childhood best friend Brenda Umbrianna. The lovely 32-page, rhyming story features two adorable grapes, who as they grew became judged for their sweetness, giggling,  singing and happy dispositions.

Mother Amy Gerardi struggled when the girls entered middle school and were dealing with with the typical tween dilemmas of being left out.  Gerardi always wanted to publish a children’s book and together the best friends developed the idea. The book follows the grapes as they encounter a group of lemons, who are not accepting of the grapes, and their differences. The warm-hearted story permeates a theme of the value of unconditional kindness. This theme is one that is more relevant today than ever, Gerardi said.

“Especially now with social media, there are many opportunities for people to be unkind to each other, ” Gerardi said. “It is important for kids to know that not everyone will always be nice and that doesn’t need to affect who you are as a person or how you treat others. Kindness can spread just as easily and quickly as unkindness.”

Gerardi and her husband of 26 years, Dave, raised their three children in Greenfield for more than 20 years on Goose Hollow Rd. Nina and Natalie are now 25 years old and pursuing careers in education. Younger brother John is a senior at Saratoga High School.

“We picked Greenfield to raise the kids because it was the perfect halfway point between Dave’s family in Stillwater and my family in Amsterdam,” Gerardi said. Gerardi recalled her favorite Greenfield family memories like the Elementary School talent shows, 4H Club, Cub Scouts and the Town Recreation Department’s summer camp program. 

“There is really something special about Greenfield,” she said. “No matter where I live, it will just always feel like home to me.”

Gerardi has worked at Greenfield Elementary School for the past seven years, working currently as a clerk in the library under Librarian Lauren Abad. Co-author Umbrianna is a teacher in Massachusetts. Gerardi is a talented artist who dabbles in just about everything, including oil painting, watercolors, wood art, knitting and crafts. This book was her debut as an illustrator, which had long been an aspiration she wanted to tackle.

The book was published by Saratoga Springs Publishing, owned by Saratoga Springs resident Vicki Dodd, who offers publishing, consulting services and workshops for local authors. Dodd is an award-winning children’s author of many books, most notable the “A Moose in My Stable,”  inspired by the actual appearance of a moose at the Saratoga Race Course in 2009. 

“Vicki was absolutely wonderful to work with,” Gerardi said. “She walked us through an extremely complicated process and has provided us with great ideas. She is one of the kindest, most supportive people I have ever met.”

“Please Grow Away” was published in May of this year and is currently available for $18.99 at several local stores such as Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, The Hitching Post in Lake Luzerne, Cuddlebugs in Wilton and 44 Lakes Custom Gifts & Decor in Gloversville. It is also available for purchase on ducksanddots.com, the authors’ website.

Promotion has just begun and the pair would like to work to get the book distributed in local schools in the coming year. Gerardi has attended local events to showcase the book, including things like Greenfield’s Halloween Bash, the Saratoga Automobile Museum and the Farmer’s Market at Wilton Mall.

Be sure to read more about this heartfelt local book at www.ducksanddots.com and pick up a copy to sweeten someone, big or little, in your life today.

Do you like reading about  Greenfield artists? We’ll continue to feature as many as we can throughout the year. Did you know we have an on-line business directory, so you can choose to support your Greenfield friends? 

Check it out the business directory here.
Check out the nonprofit directory  here.

If you’d like to be included, please email your name, business name, phone number, address, web or social media address and a description of what you do to: info@greenfieldny.org. In addition, any events you are hosting that would open to the entire Greenfield public, can be submitted on our events calendar at the bottom of our homepage. As time allows, we’ll fit in as many profiles like this one as we can!