18
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 8-14, 2022 BXR
BY JASON COHEN
A pair of Bronx teachers
shared a dream of appearing on
the TV show “Wheel of Fortune”
and writing a book. While only
one got to meet Pat Sajak, the
duo recently made the latter a
reality.
On March 26, Barbara Magnotta
and Jade Greene-Grant,
who teach pre-K at P.S. 121, in the
Baychester section of the Bronx,
held a book launch party for “Animals
Eating the Alphabet,” where
all of their friends, family, students
and colleagues offi cially
found out about their book for the
fi rst time.
While they began working on
the children’s book several years
ago, it sat dormant until the pandemic
forced them to fi nish it.
“It was monumental,” Greene-
Grant said to the Bronx Times.
“We couldn’t believe we fi nally
did it.”
Their story began when they
met in 2010 as teachers at P.S. 121.
They instantly bonded and became
close friends.
Magnotta, 42, and Greene-
Grant, 39, would eat lunch together
often and discovered
they loved books, kids, food and
“Wheel of Fortune.” One day they
said, “let’s make a book.”
“We wanted to gear it towards
the children because we saw everyday
what their needs are,”
Magnotta said.
They began writing in 2013
with a goal of teaching kids the alphabet,
the sounds of letters and
what animals coincide with each
letter.
Writing was easy, but fi nding
illustrators and publishers were
an issue, they said.
“We ran into things like give
us $20,000 and we’ll put the book
out for you,” Greene-Grant said.
“We said, ‘we’ll do it one day.’”
So, the book sat on the backburner
for years without much
thought.
Then, in 2016, the teachers auditioned
for “Wheel of Fortune”
during “Best Friends’ Week.”
While they didn’t make the cut,
Greene-Grant was later called to
appear for “Teacher’s Week,” and
Magnotta fl ew across the country
with her for moral support.
Greene-Grant is a fan of “Jeopardy”
and “Wheel of Fortune”
and for years had tried to get on
both shows. “I’m all about letters,
words and vocabulary,” she said.
So, she took advantage of this
once in a lifetime opportunity and
won $86,000, a car and a vacation
to Mexico — the two teachers celebrated
the accomplishment.
“She (Magnotta) gave me a
big congratulatory hug before
my husband did,” Greene-Grant
joked.
The ladies returned from California
and didn’t give “Animals
Eating the Alphabet” any additional
thought until the pandemic
arrived in 2020. Forced to work
from home, with a lot of extra
time on their hands, they decided
to fi nish it — fi ve years later. They
used some of the winnings from
“Wheel of Fortune” to hire an editor,
On March 26, Barbara Magnotta (left) and Jade Greene-Grant, who teach pre-K
at P.S. 121 in the Bronx, held a book launch party for “Animals Eating the Alphabet.”
Photo | Barbara Magnotta and Jade Greene-Grant
illustrator and a relatively
cheap publisher.
While the book published back
on Feb. 14, their March 26 launch
party was the fi rst offi cial announcement
to the public about it.
The book is fi lled with colorful
illustrations that are coupled
with questions like, “Can a lion
lick a lollipop?” or “Can a turtle
taste a taco?” Currently, “Animals
Eating the Alphabet” can be
found on Amazon, but they hope
to get it into classrooms in the future
and make it into a series of 3
to 5 additional books.
“Knowing what we’ve done,
I don’t think we will be able to
stop,” Greene-Grant said. “’Wheel
of Fortune’ you can’t control it,
but the book I know I can put our
best into it.”
Baychester teachers publish book
after ‘Wheel of Fortune’ appearance
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