A Father-Son Team Publishes a Children's Book

Scarsdale resident Stephen Baer and his son Arlo have published a children's book called "Catastrophe in the City" and it follows the adventures of a curious cat in a series of chaotic situations. You can get your copy here. All profits will be donated to www.spcai.org, supporting animals like our rescue dog who is a pillar of strength for our family.

A 1994 graduate of Scarsdale High School, Stephen Baer moved back to town 20 years later and lives in Edgewood with his wife and 3 children. He is the Chief Creative Officer of ELB Learning, a corporate training and development company. Professionally, he's focused on storytelling and is always looking for ways to extend this skill to his family life.

Two years ago, Stephen and his son Arlo designed and sold a card game called "Feeling Lucky," intended to help kids identify, understand, express and manage a wide range of feelings. This was a great exercise in building a product that is both fun and effective, especially in the middle of the pandemic. It was also a great way to teach Arlo about the creative and business processes of running a business.

A year ago, the two decided to tackle a second project together and "Catastrophe In The City" was born. This children's book follows, Catastrophe, the most curious cat, through a series of chaotic situations. It's designed for young readers (4-8 year-olds) and capitalizes on the humor of Catastrophe's blunders, which are cleverly depicted by contrasting Catastrophe's innocent appraisal of each situation alongside visuals of complete turmoil caused by his decisions.

Arlo is a 5th grader at Green Chimneys School. The book was illustrated by Yeng Yang, a colleague of Stephen's at ELB Learning.