Kevin Levatino’s first audience for his finished children’s book was a 3-month-old kitten named Nelly. Now the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES educator hopes The World’s Worst Line Leader will reach children who are learning to see their differences as strengths.

Levatino, a coordinator of special education in the OHM BOCES Bridges Program, drew on his years as a teacher for his first book. He told BOCES that he had seen how much it mattered for children to feel accepted as they were. He wanted to give young readers a story that would help them see what they could bring to a group simply by being themselves.

“I hope children walk away understanding that being different is a superpower,” Levatino told BOCES.

A familiar school routine becomes a story about belonging

For a child, leading the line can be a small moment with a lot of eyes on it. The book’s title takes that familiar classroom job and turns it into a question children can recognize. What happens when the person up front does things a little differently?

The book’s published description emphasizes courage, self-acceptance and kindness. It also asks readers to think about what makes a good leader. A child who worries about fitting in may have the very qualities that help classmates laugh, use their imagination or see something in a new way. Those ideas grew out of Levatino’s work with students, where he saw how recognizing an individual strength could help a child gain confidence.

Getting the book from an idea to a finished copy was a new experience for Levatino. He told BOCES that the process involved more than he had expected and that holding the book felt different from all the time he had spent imagining it. Then came that first reading to Nelly.

Education runs in the family

Levatino’s connection to local schools goes back further than his own career. BOCES reported that his father is a superintendent in Little Falls and his mother formerly taught in New Hartford. His brother Kyle also works at OHM BOCES. Both brothers recently became coordinators of special education, giving them another milestone to share in the profession.

Levatino credited his Bridges colleagues Jessica Tehan, Tim Rowland, Heather Williams and Kyle Levatino for the care they bring to their work with students and staff. He also thanked his fiancée for supporting him as he became an author. Sharing the finished book with people he has worked with in education was one of the rewards of seeing it in print, he told BOCES.

Reaching children beyond the classroom

Levatino is already thinking about other stories for young readers, including ones that explore confidence, kindness and the challenges children face as they grow. He told BOCES he wants to write books that children enjoy reading while giving them something important to think about.

For now, he hopes his debut reaches as many children as possible. It gives him another way to share a lesson he has carried through his work in special education. A child who feels out of place can still have something valuable to offer the group.

The World’s Worst Line Leader was published in October by Get It Write Publishing Company. OHM BOCES reported that it is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Readers can also find the paperback by searching for ISBN 9798999342171.

Sources OHM BOCES interview with Kevin Levatino and paperback listing and book description.