Episcopal High School Writes Children’s Book That Saves Lives

Arden Koschel (Source: Lauren Savoy Olinde Foundation / the Koschel family)

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) — If you were to ask a first, second, or third grader about skin cancer, they probably wouldn’t know much about it. An adorable cartoon Dalmatian named Dottie is about to change that.

Episcopal High School, Arden Koschel, wrote a book with an immediate way into the imagination of a small child. In her book, Arden created a character named Dottie, a Dalmatian dog, who of course has spots.

Throughout the book, Dottie, with the help of various charts, explains that there are “normal” stains and there are unusual ones.

“There are several diagrams of the dog in the book that show you where you should check your moles,” Arden says. “And if you see a funny mole, tell your parents. History also tells you what a dermatologist is.” While realizing that young children may not even know there is a doctor such as a dermatologist, Arden says the book “really emphasizes checking your moles all the time.”

She said kids would probably think it was perfectly normal if they just copied what Dottie was doing from the book and checked those same areas on their own bodies. Dottie serves as a good role model to children for skin cancer awareness.

Arden’s mother, Dr. Julie Tota, a dentist and oral surgeon, said the beginning of this book happened when Arden sought volunteer work as part of her school’s mandatory community service hours.

Tota says that Arden came to see her during her second year and told her that she wanted to do community service, but outside of school. Tota suggested that she volunteer with the Lauren Savoy Olinde Foundation, as she knew the foundation’s founder, Sarah Lomax Gray.

“She went to the Hat Walk, went to the office, decided she wanted to help the foundation,” Tota says.

The idea for the book came after an English project that Arden gave to school. She made a children’s book about Shakespeare’s Hamlet, titled The ABCs of Hamlet.

Tota says Arden went to a website that allows users to find images in the site’s database and put their own text on them. “So when it was printed and ready to go, we thought, ‘Oh, that’s really good,'” the proud mother said.

Arden tries to minimize the effort. “It was a school project. It’s basically a power-point turned into a book.”

Arden’s biggest challenge was to make skin cancer a concept children could understand. She remembers one of the national skin cancer organizations using a giraffe to teach children to study the spots on their bodies.

Arden was convinced that selecting a spotted dog would be even more accessible and popular with children. She already loved Dalmatians. “I actually want one so badly, I tried asking my mom for one and she won’t get me one,” the young author teased. Arden says they already have two other dogs.

Tota says Arden started the book in March 2016 and was initially going to use the foundation’s images and fonts, but then decided to contact several LSU illustrators. After meeting one particular illustrator, they thought she was perfect. “She had the vision for the book just like ours,” Tota says.

Arden’s next hurdle was to publish the book. Her family decided to raise $1,000 and fund about 500 books, but instead they ended up raising $11,000. They printed enough books to give one to every child in grades one through three at Arden School, as well as children from 14 other schools. When asked if there were any other books she planned to write, Arden replied, “Maybe I could write another book. It would still be a children’s book.”

Arden has an interest in medicine, which would make his family proud as his mother is a dental surgeon and his father, Dr. Lee Koschel, is a general dentist. They also hope to see their daughter sign autographs for her book which will hopefully soon save lives.

You can see her in several public appearances. The autograph sessions are as follows:

Monday, October 17, 5-9 p.m. at Settlement of Willow Grove Bistro Byronz
Tuesday, November 1, 5-9 p.m. at the Byronz Government St.
Saturday, October 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Louisiana Book Festival alongside the Capitol Park Museum

Arden will also be hosting an event called “Dottie’s Story Time Supper” at La Divina’s on Perkins Rd. on November 7. There will be two services, one at 5 p.m. and one at 7 p.m.

Through the Sun Safety Education Project, Arden and the Lauren Savoy Olinde Foundation will bring the children’s book to grades one through three classrooms. Classroom visits will include a reading from the book, a “mole hunting” activity and training in sunscreen application.

The hardcover book is on sale on the LSO Foundation website. A list of retailers selling the book will be added to the website as it becomes available.