Children’s Author Shares New Book With South Whitley Elementary Students
Children’s Author Shares New Book With South Whitley Elementary Students
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Staff Report-
Children’s Author Shares New Book With South Whitley Elementary StudentsSOUTH WHITLEY – “Can I Be Your Dog?" is the ever growing question on the tongue of the lovable Arfy in Troy Cummings’ newest book.
On March 5, Cummings visited the Maker's Space at South Whitley Elementary to deliver a private reading to students in kindergarten to second grade.
He began each 45-minute experience by saying, "My favorite part of my job is when I get to come and visit other authors and illustrators." Then he sprinkled pieces of advice from his own life experiences throughout the presentation. In doing so, he helped the children to identify how the writing process and perseverance go hand-in-hand, especially when writing and illustrating a book.
According to Cummings, getting a book to its final stage in the writing process so that it can be published can take a long time; and he is no novice to the writing process. Some of his books have taken years to complete when measured from the moment his idea was conceptualized until it resulted in being on a shelf in a bookstore or library. His newest book has been a long awaited reveal for Whitko's students. Cummings previously had been only able to preview "Can I Be Your Dog" in small snippets during other visits to the school, but never had students been able to view it in full.
Throughout the event, Cummings was fond of bringing a volunteer up to assist him in drawing one of his villainous creatures from his "Notebook of Doom" series, and at other times, he would rely on the audience's participation in the brainstorming process. Along the way, he continued to reinforce his ideology that anyone could become a writer or an illustrator, or both.
“We are so lucky to have a friend in Troy,” said Whitko's elementary teacher/librarian Hilary Stouder. Stouder has been instrumental in collaborating with the South Whitley Community Public Library in years past to bring authors like Cummings, JD Anderson and Jarrett J. Krosoczka.
Logan Brown from South Whitley Community Public Library said, "We love the strong partnership that we have with the school and are excited to bring Troy back for another visit to keep students excited about reading." Reading is where Cummings encouraged all of the students to find their inspiration and admitted it was certainly where he found most of his own.
Fourteen students were nominated by teachers based on their interest in Cummings’ presentation, their creativity and their own behavior in the classroom to enjoy a luncheon with Cummings. Placemats in the shapes of dog bones hinting at Cummings’ newest book, “Can I Be Your Dog,” decorated the lunch table. Milk cartons created by the students prior to his visit had also been transformed to resemble dog houses for the character Arfy.
As another activity before his arrival, students wrote letters to Cummings mimicking the style of Arfy in Cummings book, and the letters were dropped off in a special mailbox created by kindergarten teacher Krista Busz. From the letters written by each class, Cummings drew out several lucky winners to receive a signed copy of another school favorite written by him, "Mighty Truck."
