LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — St. Charles students learned what it takes to write a book from a first-time author who created hers to honor her late son.
To help kick off Redwings Reading Roundup Week, students heard from Tammy Gegel. Her children’s book, “The Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Adventures of Austin the Zookeeper,” helps readers learn more about sloths.
Austin was Gegel’s youngest child and passed away nearly four years ago. He went to college to become a zookeeper because he wanted to teach others about animals. Through the book, he is living that dream and bringing his sense of humor to readers.
“It was really cathartic for me, having lost a child was not something you ever anticipate. So, by doing it this way, it feels like he is honestly getting to do what he was meant to do. He loved animals and wanted to share that information so badly. In the book, he is a zookeeper, and they're they're doing one of the sessions where, you know, you go and they talk about that certain animal for like, an hour, which he was so good at,” says Tammy Gegel, Author The Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Adventures of Austin the Zookeeper.
Gegel, who was also a teacher, encouraged students to focus on reading and writing.
“Reading is such an important thing that if we don't read or can't read, we're not going to get anywhere in life, and hopefully any book you pick up can help instill that and at least get you started down that path,” says Gegel.
Gegel’s next book about Austin the Zookeeper will feature the red fox, an animal Austin believed he shared the most characteristics with.
