Student Work at SUNY Plattsburgh's Research Institute Results in Children's Book

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Book Cover for "Adventures of Captain Fishhook Waterflea: The Invasion of Lake Champlain"

PLATTSBURGH, NY (12/21/2009)(readMedia)-- Two SUNY Plattsburgh graduates and one Harvard student are trying to teach children about invasive species through a new children's book.

The book, "Adventures of Captain Fishhook Waterflea: The Invasion of Lake Champlain," was written and illustrated by Carrianne Pershyn, a 2007 graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh; Casey Binggeli, a 2009 graduate of the college; and Alexandra Mihalek, who is now at Harvard. They wrote the book while working at SUNY Plattsburgh's Lake Champlain Research Institute.

"There were battles in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812," wrote the authors in the preface. "The brave soldiers on both fronts, though, were humans. They used boats and cannons, bayonets and forts to protect their land and fight for the country. But now, there is a new battle being fought under the surface of these lakes. Not with cannons or 'soldiers,' but between the different parts of the lake itself."

The authors illustrate this battle through the fictional story of Casey Copepod and his friends, Carrie Ceratium and Alex Asterionella. The friends battle against the Pirates Waterflea. To help children understand vocabulary like "copepod," "ceratium," "asterionella" and "water flea," the book includes fact boxes, explaining the terminology.