High Tech alumni aim to shift the social paradigm of environmental issues with a children’s book

Roxy Hreb and Zach Fieldman were attending High Tech High School when they came up with the idea for their new self-published book, “Eco the Elephant Saves the Jungle.”

Hreb, a Jersey City resident, and Fieldman, a Hoboken resident, hope their new children’s book will make kids more conscientious about climate change. The main message is about action, recognizing a problem, and learning how to solve it.

“By shifting the social paradigm surrounding environmental issues starting at an early age, we hope to make a more widespread change through the lessons voiced in Eco the Elephant,” said the authors.

Feeling that there were no business outlets at the school, they started a business club to get people interested in building a business. Hreb and Fieldman were both environmental majors at Hi Tech, which contributed to the environmental theme of the book.

“I always wanted to write books that would get published,” said Hreb. “I thought it would be with novels, but we’ve started out with a children’s book. It came from both business interests and environmental interests.”

Hreb and Fieldman also found inspiration for the book from the Peppa Pig series and Dr. Seuss books such as The Lorax. Neither of them have younger siblings for inspiration, so both of them had to dive into some summer reading with both children’s and science books.

“We wanted an animal that would be recognizable to kids so modeled it after a character that kids could put their shoes in,” says Hreb. “We came up with the name Eco first and then took the alliteration from there.”

Through the process of creating and managing an LLC committed to sustainable business practices, the High Tech alumni made sure the Eco book was printed on recycled cardstock and uses environmentally friendly inks. The book was illustrated by New York City-based artist Zelda Jones.

The authors plan to create a series of Eco the Elephant books and are looking to eventually develop a line of toys, clothing, and television episodes surrounding the their title character, Eco.

Hreb and Fieldman both graduated from High Tech this year. In the future, Zach wants to pursue a career as an environmental entrepreneur, while Roxy will pursue a career in environmental start-ups that focus on renewable energy.

Next fall, Zach will be attending San Diego State University concentrating in Business and Entrepreneurship. Roxy will be attending Harvard University concentrating in Environmental Studies or Economics.

You can order a physical or digital copy of “Eco the Elephant” by visiting www.ecotheelephant.com; you can also find copies at local bookstores in Hudson County, including Little City Books, 100 Bloomfield St., Hoboken, and Little Boho Bookshop, 164A Broadway, Bayonne.