Augusta and Elliott

My paternal grandmother, Leslie, called the West Indies home from 1948 until she died. We had a house in Antigua, with an open courtyard, that sat right on the beach. When I was little, in the seventies, and Leslie was dying, we spent time down there and I first met her dear friend Amos Morrill and his three kids who took care of me as we played on the beach. Amos, originally a New Yorker, still lives in the Caribbean where he has worked in textiles and furnishings for over sixty years. Creating an island aesthetic of bright batiks in tropical hues, Amos’ fabrics were adored by everyone who had the pleasure of visiting his store, The Coco Shop. I grew up spending time with Amos and always loved his incredible stories and his vivacious charm that are both mirrored in his clothing and furnishings. We would swim in his salt water pool, watching the sunset, as Amos shared tales of the amazing islands he so loved and his concerns regarding their preservation.

Amos, now in his mid-eighties, has written and illustrated a children’s book called Augusta and Elliott. Augusta and Elliott are fish that live in a cluttered Caribbean Sea. They have made it their mission to clean up and try to save the ocean. This simple storybook is filled with colorful drawings to tell the tale. Without harping on negativity, the fish throw a party to drum up support and start implementing change.

The message of the book is clear: to bring awareness to oceanic pollution and how the human world has made a dramatic impact on the sea. The last few pages of the book are for coloring, which children always enjoy. This would be a great gift for anyone with kids. Amos would love to know that future generations will be more conscious of the fragile nature of our ecosystems and our need to minimize human impact. Thanks Amos.