Letty Sustrin launches new picture book on Long Island
"I know she would want me to do it," says author Letty Sustrin, 78, of her twin sister Sheila who died in 2015.
For more than a decade, identical twins Letty and Sheila Sustrin of Deer Park wrote children’s books together about retired schoolteacher Mrs. Belle, who always wears ballet slippers. After Sheila died of cancer in 2015, Letty wasn’t sure whether she would continue the series, but on Oct. 8 she’ll present the sixth and final book: “The Teacher Who Would Not Retire Retires.”
“I know she would want me to do it,” says Sustrin, who is 78. “I felt like she was sitting over my shoulder as I was typing on the computer.”
The launch of the picture book, aimed at ages 4 to 8 and dedicated to Sheila, will happen at the YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 W. Main St., Bay Shore. Doors open at noon with refreshments, and Sustrin will read at 1 p.m. The event is free, and books will be for sale for $17.95.
The final book tells of how the townspeople chip in to send Mrs. Belle on a retirement cruise. Some ports she visits include Hawaii, where she learns to Hula, and Acapulco, where she learns the Mexican Hat Dance.
Letty and Sheila Sustrin worked side by side for 38 years in the Brentwood school district teaching kindergarten and first grade. They were known for dressing identically, but each would wear individual jewelry with her first initial. Neither twin married, and they lived together with their Scottish terrier. Both took early retirement in 1998, and in 2002 they published the first book, called simply “The Teacher Who Would Not Retire.” Subsequent books include “The Teacher Who Would Not Retire Goes to Camp,” “Discovers a New Planet,” “Becomes a Movie Star,” and “Loses her Ballet Slippers.” All are published by Blue Marlin books.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
