Athena Visits the Marina is the first children’s book written by Gino Cafarelli, a multitalented Italian-American actor and filmmaker from Queens. He was inspired to write the book by his daughter Athena, who was born with a hearing loss and now shares her name with the book’s title character and protagonist.

The book tells the story of Athena, a little girl who was born with a hearing loss and has a daily routine that she follows every day, including putting in her hearing aids. Her routine changes slightly, however, when she takes a trip with her parents to the marina. Athena’s amplified hearing introduces her to a few fun friends by the water, turning the trip into a magical sound adventure.