During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents were searching for ways to educate and entertain their children at home. I had always been part of volunteer programs involved in reading books aloud to children in underserved schools. When I realized that copyright law prevented me from reading-aloud other authors’ books online to children during the pandemic, I decided to create and write my own books about our family dog, Finny, so that I would have something new to read aloud to children online. My art teacher, the renown artist Linda Capello, contributed the beautiful illustrations of Finny to this charitable project. If you would like to purchase a Finny book online, please know that any proceeds, above the publisher’s costs, go to the A-rated charity The United States Fund for Unicef.

Nina Friedberg is a high school student in New York interested in helping to improve literacy and education in underserved communities and countries and who believes that sharing a love of stories, reading and learning is a wonderful way to bring students from all over the world together to create unity.

Linda Capello is a master of figure drawing. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she worked in the NYC fashion industry for over 20 years. She is listed in Who’s Who of American Women.