How a CT school became the setting for a children’s book and a creative mother and son connection

The fictional school and teachers are all inspired by a typical day at the Connecticut school.

Kids often imagine they’re racing cars in the next NASCAR cup series or that they’re going to their secret treehouse layer to hide from villains, but 6-year-old Anthony Minutillo dreamed of writing a chapter book.

This recently became a reality when Anthony published his first book “Crabby Goes To First Grade.”

This book, intended to be the first of an upcoming series, follows the experiences of young and energetic Crabby who attends Shiny Shell School. The school and teachers are all inspired by a typical day at East Farms Elementary School in Farmington, which Anthony attends in real life. Many of the characters and events in the book, illustrated by Anthony ’s mother Allison Minutillo, are reflective of his actual classmates and first grade adventures.

“They’re sweet, heartwarming stories, but they always connect back to the bigger picture emotions of a 6-year-old,” said Allison Minutillo.

When Allison Minutillo took a step back to reset her career in the agency world last March, she then began to pick up on activities that she always thought about doing but never seemed to have the time for. One of those being her desire to write a children’s book but thought it never possible to be an author, despite having a knack for creativity.

“Two days after talking this idea through with my leadership coach, my 6-year-old son came up to me out of nowhere and said ‘Mommy, I think we should write a chapter book,’ ” Allison Minutillo said.

“And that was this serendipitous sign from the universe that life was trying to tell me to slow down,” she said.

It was this moment that enabled her to prioritize her health while focusing her energy on the things that truly fuel her. Crabby became far more than a children’s book, but rather, a major life lesson of prioritizing the things that matter most, she said.

From there, the mother and son duo began to plot out their characters, storylines and number of books in the series. With more than 10 book ideas, from Crabby going to the North Pole, to visiting a college, and Crabby having a little brother, the process was never a chore, said Minutillo. It was a way to spend time together and simply be present, she said.

“I love to write at school. But me and mommy write at our kitchen table on the weekends. She calls it Sunday Funday,” said Anthony Minutillo. “Those are my favorite days.”

Besides spending time together and teaching her son new skills such as learning to use Adobe illustrator, Allison Minutillo came to discover minute details about her son’s school and life by the information he wanted to include in the book.

“I was able to uncover so much more about his life than I would have before,” she said. “So, that was the very best part.”

When Anthony was 3 years old during the pandemic, his mother said, a way to channel his energy and emotions was teaching him to draw, by first watching her and then attempting to replicate what she does. Her husband, Chad Minutillo, would make up creative stories every night before bedtime. Since then, Anthony has been practicing his drawing skills, learning to tell stories more deeply and to be more elaborate, and his mom said it has been “incredible to see him grow.”

“I feel proud because I finished a real book,” said Anthony. “When I opened the box from Amazon and saw my books printed for the first time, I was amazed. I really, really wanted to finish it. I was sooooo proud of myself.”

After going chapter by chapter and page by page, Anthony said he would get more and more excited as they were getting closer to finishing the book. The Minutillo team hopes they can continue the series throughout Anthony ’s childhood as he goes through different experiences in life from going on vacation and traveling to being nervous when making new friends. But to Anthony, this book wasn’t just for him, but is rather for a wider audience.

“When I asked my son who he wanted to dedicate this book to he said ‘I want to dedicate it to all kids who want to be authors some day,’” Allison Minutillo said. “All this was just pure from a 6-year old, who is connecting the dots with the big picture that took me 37 years to figure out.”

While Anthony Minutillo and his mom continue to brainstorm new chapter books that mirror Anthony’s life journey through the lens of Crabby the crab, he may have other future plans for when he’s older.

“I want to be a soccer player. I’m only gonna be an author when I’m a kid,” Anthony said.

Wherever Crabby’s adventures take him next, it’s likely to delight and inspire young readers. Anthony ‘s book “Crabby Goes To First Grade” is available now on Amazon.