West Essex teacher, coach writes children’s book | The Progress Lifestyles | newjerseyhills.com – New Jersey Hills

The book features her 4-year-old son, Colt, and his cousins Kayla, Jake and Nathan as they use their imaginations and their rocket ship to explore outer space. The cousins play their favorite games on each of the eight planets and learn about the solar system while having fun.

Mondadori Llauget, 41, said she came up with the idea for a book when she, Colt and her husband, Mike, a teacher and assistant boys basketball coach at West Essex, were quarantined at home last year during the coronavirus pandemic.

“When quarantine started last March, a lot of parents were frustrated they had to become teachers,” she said. “Even though I’m a teacher, we were in the same boat. I’m not a preschool teacher. That’s when this kind of started. We had to figure out what he knows and what I can connect him with because we wanted to work on his imagination, so we took something that he knew and made a story about something he’d be interested in and factored in a kid game that he knew.”

She started with a toy rocket ship that Colt and his cousins would play with. She made up stories about him and his cousins and let him decide what the next moves would be. For example, she would start the story by asking Colt which planet he wanted to go to in the rocket ship, and he would say Jupiter. She then would ask which game he wanted to play on Jupiter, and because of Jupiter’s giant red spot, he would say hide and seek.

The story resulted in a trip to each planet and a different game being played on each.

On Saturn, the cousins race on the rings, which look like a high school track. On Venus, they play “The Floor is Lava”; on Mercury, they play crater tag; on Mars, they play “Red Rover”; and they play “Marco Polo” on Earth.

Mondadori Llauget said the next book will be about Saturn. If all goes well, more books will follow.

“I did write five of the eight and have the ideas for the others.”

Besides playing games, the cousins learn facts about the planets in the books, which makes then interesting for both children and adults, she said.

Award Winner

Mondadori Llauget has been teaching at West Essex High School for 20 years and is the recipient of the school’s Governor’s Educator of the Year Award for 2020-21.

She has been the head softball coach since 2005, winning numerous Essex County Tournament and state sectional championships. She was the JV softball coach from 2002 to 2004 and also coaches freshman volleyball.

In addition, she is adviser to the student council.

After graduating from Western Connecticut State University in May 2001 with a major in business, she was headed for corporate America and interviewed for jobs at places including the World Trade Center.

Her former softball coach at Rutherford High School, John Arlotta, who then was teaching at West Essex High School, told her that the school was looking for a business teacher.

“I realized (corporate America) was not what I wanted to do,” she said. “I had coached softball at a high school in college in Connecticut. I started to get involved in the school setting and then realized that’s probably something more up my alley instead of the grind of the New York City day-to-day.”

An interview and tour of the school resulted in a job offer that day.

“I watched some classes, stayed outside to watch some sports, and I kind of fell in love with it,” she said. “In college, I was involved in a lot of activities, and in high school, I was involved in student council.

“When I met with the principal, she said she wanted to build a student council and more school spirit, so my (former) coach, who was with me at the interview, said that was my thing and that I can coach multiple sports. So, basically, I left with the job offer and them saying you can go alternate route and teach business classes. It was an unbelievable opportunity.”

What happened next was something that Mondadori Llauget will never forget. “I took the job and started in September, and a week later, 9/11 happened. I realize the magnitude of the way things played out for me. Every day when I drive to West Essex, that crosses my mind – every time.”

She is on the advisory board of angelwish.org, a charity that grants wishes to children living with chronic illnesses around the world.