CAZENOVIA — This summer, Cazenovia Public Library Museum Educator Julia Shotzberger published her first juvenile nonfiction book, “Justice: The Story of a Bald Eagle.”
Co-written by Shotzberger and her sister-in-law Ruth Fenn, the story follows Justice, a bald eagle who shares his development from eaglet through fledging and his eventual departure from the nest.
The book features 66 photographs taken by Fenn, who lives along the Kootenai River in Libby, Montana.
According to Shotzberger, Fenn’s hometown is also home to a large population of bald eagles, including an eaglet she named Justice.
“Her passion is wildlife photography,” Shotzberger said. “In 2017, her telephoto lens picked out a tiny eaglet peeking over the edge of a nest. For the next three-plus months, she documented the eaglet’s development [and posted] pictures on Facebook. Her followers loved it, and I had the idea to write a book using her photos. About six months after her retirement, we began collaborating to produce a children’s book about Justice.”
While Fenn sorted through hundreds of her photographs, Shotzberger began researching eagle facts, using the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and “Majestic Eagles” by Stan Tekiela as her primary resources.
“We wanted to create a book that would be more than just a children’s story — one that would be engaging and informative and appeal to a wide age range,” Shotzberger explained.
The pair put together a ‘mock up’ using Shutterfly to share with children and gauge their reactions. After researching different self-publishing companies, Shotzberger and Fenn decided on IngramSpark.
At that point, Shotzberger enlisted her daughter, Aileen Shotzberger O’Dowd, a graphic design major, to help with the book layout and formatting.
“Months of edits, photo changes and fantastic input from family and friends with writing experience had us ready to purchase our ISBN and hit print in June,” Shotzberger recalled. “We are thrilled with the result and the response to the book.”
Shotzberger and Fenn said their dream is to someday have their book in libraries, elementary classrooms, and children’s rooms across the country.
“Justice: The Story of a Bald Eagle” is currently on the shelves at the Cazenovia Public Library. Online, the book is available via retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Personalized books are available for purchase through Shotzberger ([email protected]) directly. Signed copies will also be sold at Carriage Barn Books.
