PIERCETON - Author and illustrator Claire Ewart interacted with Pierceton Elementary School students Monday and Tuesday.
Ewart spoke to every grade level and talked to them about the joys of reading and writing.
From Fort Wayne, Ewart wrote and illustrated "The Giant," "Fossil" and "One Cold Night." She also has illustrated seven other books with more on the way.The Dekko Foundation funded a "big chunk" of Ewart's two-day visit at Pierceton with a grant, according to teacher Mary Helen Gensch.
Tuesday at 2 p.m., parents joined students to listen to them read their own published works. The Pierceton students wrote and published their books in hardback before Ewart's visit. Gensch said students' work ranged from fiction to non-fiction, including their own memoirs.
Writing is a big part of Pierceton Elementary's curriculum. For 40 minutes every day, students write at school.
Gensch said it is important for students to see writing is not just a prompt, but a lifelong skill.
"We've enjoyed having Claire," Gensch said. Her visit shows the students that a person from Indiana, from a rural area, can be a published author.
Ewart said the students are enthusiastic about writing and attributed that to the educators at Pierceton who are doing a great job.
Ewart said the passion for reading and writing in teachers at Pierceton, like Gensch, is commendable and rare to find.
For more about Ewart, visit at www.claireewart.com
