Youth pen tales
By Amy Batista, Special Writer
MANSFIELD — Young writers have taken flight.
Mansfield Township Elementary third-graders penned and illustrated novice books of their own this spring.
These creative books — ranging from heartfelt tales to self-help genres — were presented during the third grade Author Night on June 4, held inside the school gym.
”The highlight is the beautiful and creative work,” said Gina Gibbons, of Columbus. “The kids were very excited to put their best forward, and their passion for writing came through.”
A group of approximately 60 third-graders participated in the book-writing class project, which was optional for students.
The event has changed over the years from being a mandated class project to an optional take-home project, according to Shannon Brown, a third-grade teacher.
The Columbus Home and School Association helped organized the event and ordered the books, according to Ms. Brown.
Ms. Brown is the teacher liaison between CHAS and the faculty.
Each book was required to be 26 pages, which included a table of contents. At the back of their books, each student included a brief author biography, a comment section and a place for people to sign after reading the works.
Throughout the year, the students complete narrative and persuasive units, and all of those writings get sent home, according to Ms. Brown.
”I like to see how proud all of the students are of themselves and how mature and how much they have grown up since September,” Ms. Brown added.
Ms. Brown said she wanted people to realize these third-grade students were accomplishing today what she hadn’t achieved until middle school.
Daria Zola, of Columbus, was reading a book, “My Summer Adventure,” to her daughter, Leah, 5. Her son, Evan, 8, was participating in the event.
”The kids did put a lot of work into it,” Ms. Zola said. “It’s just really nice to come here and see all their hard efforts.”
Sara Pospischil, 9, of Columbus, is the author of “My Summer Adventure” about her adventures and cruises from the summer.
”I was kind of proud of me, and I think I did really good,” Sara said.
Sara said it took her around two weeks to write the book.
”My favorite it part was I got to draw and actually write,” Sara said.
The students presented their books to parents and friends, who gathered at the school to read about their stories.
Heather Russell, 8, of Mansfield, is the author of “My Life as a Third Grader!” Her book is a collection of her writings throughout the year that her teacher “helped her with.”
”This really was a collection of Heather’s life as a third-grader, and they are stories from different times in the school year and different events that she went through, and it depicts the whole year,” said mom, Michele Russell, of Mansfield.
Heather dedicated her book to her older sister, Danielle, who is 16.
”I really look up to her a lot,” Heather said.
The experience inspired Heather to want to become an author writing mystery novels.
”It was really fun doing it,” Heather said. “I really hope to be an author when I grow up.”
For Heather, the most challenging part of the process was typing up all the stories on the computer.
For Abigail Guenther, 9, of Columbus, the most challenging part of writing her book — “Abigail’s Awesome Adventure” — was inventing the stories. Abigail had a total of 17 stories in her book.
”I think this is wonderful for the kids,” Ms. Russell said. “It really showcases their writing ability. And there really are a lot of good authors and lot of a nice stories.”
Florence resident Eileen Wise said, “I love reading all their stories.”
Wanda Franklin Hunter, of Columbus, said the young writers all did a “fantastic job.”
”They have all clearly put a lot of thought into everything they have put together, and they are proud to show it off,” said Jim Sandor, of Columbus.
Writer Shaun Hunter, 9, recommended upcoming third-graders “try it.”
”It was a fun experience,” Sean added.
Katia Graziosi, 8, of Hedding, recommended, “Do your best and have fun.”
Parent Bhavesh Bambhrolia, of Columbus, said, “It truly represents the school’s mission and dedication to learning.”
Parent Elena Graziosi, of Hedding, was “impressed” by all the authors.
”I think that they will have something to look back on and enjoy,” Ms. Graziosi said.
Students have the option of taking their handmade books home or leaving it at the school library — for now.
For the authors who lend their books to the library, “When the students graduate from sixth grade, they get the book to take home and keep forever,” Ms. Brown said.

