The collaboration between Jeff Coffin (saxophonist of Dave Matthews Band) and NYC trumpeter Augie Haas happened quite organically. Jeff and Augie had known each other for years, given that they are both musicians. Yet it was not until recently, in the early days of the COVID pandemic that they discovered that the other had written a book for children. Augie soon volunteered himself as illustrator for Jeff. According to Jeff, because of their friendship and shared wacky sense of humor and creativity, they found that they worked really well together. And so the children’s book, The Rabbit, The Carrot, The Crow, And The Quarry was born, and their relationship with Children’s Literacy Initiative began not long after.

“Augie and I discovered CLI online,” Jeff explains as he shares why they chose to donate a portion of every sale to CLI. “We were looking for a great place to donate money from t he sale of our books and wanted a place that was dedicated to literacy and focused on educating young people,” he continues. “I reached out and they told us about what CLI does and their vision for the future...we were in!”

Jeff describes himself as having been a voracious reader as a kid and recalls the excitement of being able to turn a page of EB White’s The Trumpet of the Swan (where he first learned of Louis Armstrong), books about his favorite sports heroes like Bobby Orr, and many others.