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Feeling Grumpy? So Was This Bronxville Woman Until She Wrote A Book

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. -- Two lifelong friends have put their talents together to create a new picture book for kids five to eight.

Susie Slosberg, left, and Phyllis Pacifico, right.

Susie Slosberg, left, and Phyllis Pacifico, right.

Photo Credit: Sara Julianne Cohen
"Maxwelton Got Up On The Wrong Side" is a new picture book by two Westchester women.

"Maxwelton Got Up On The Wrong Side" is a new picture book by two Westchester women.

Photo Credit: Submitted

Susie Slosberg of Bronxville and Phyllis Pacifico-Cohen of Bedford Hills -- they met in seventh grade in New Rochelle -- had long talked about collaborating, but never did.

Now, Westchester residents can see the fruits of their labors in "Maxwelton Got Up On The Wrong Side." The story -- Slosberg is the writer; Pacifico-Cohen the illustrator -- is the first in a series designed to demystify idioms. 

This story, about a.boy who spends the day in a blue mood until his friends bring him out of it with laughter, explores the subject of depression in a way children can understand.

The book was many years in the making --- an idea of Pacifico-Cohen's that the mom of three began and then shelved, later asking Slosberg to collaborate on. 

Both women said teachers have been finding the book helpful in introducing "the grouchy issue" and opening up the conversation surrounding moods. Slosberg said she hopes it will help demystify the stigma surrounding depression.

Next up for the women -- Slosberg is the owner of PinkChairPrints, a photo prints business while Pacifico-Cohen specializes in advertising and design as an art supervisor -- is a book called "Eli's Pie in the Sky" about a little boy with big dreams. 

"He's actually the other boy character pictured in the first book," said Slosberg. The two are also working on continuing the series by featuring one of the girls they've introduced.

"We're trying to get the right idiom to introduce the idea of dealing with bullying," said Slosberg.

Going forward, the two are also thinking about interactive formats online as well as possible animation. 

"Maxwelton Got Up On The Wrong Side," published in hardcover by IngramSpark, is available in Womrath’s in Bronxville and Anderson’s Book Shop in Larchmont. 

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