BROOKSIDE PLACE SCHOOL IGNITES STUDENTS IMAGINATION WITH VISITING AUTHOR SERIES
Pictured: Brookside Place School students listen as well-known children’s author Elizabeth Levy talks about the art of the imagination. Levy, who writes for the popular Amber Brown series, visited Cranford Public Schools as part of a two-part visiting author series arranged and funded by the Brookside PTA.
CRANFORD – Brookside Place School is celebrating the art of imagination with two special visits by well-known children’s authors. First, Elizabeth Levy shared her personal writing inspirations with Brookside’s students in May. The second author will visit the children in June. Known for her work on Scholastic’s popular Amber Brown series, Ms. Levy wrote Amber Brown: Horses Around which was a Book of the Month Club selection and a Junior Literary Club Selection for 2014.
“When you write, you always want to write about bits and pieces of your life,” said Ms. Levy as she showed the children photos of herself with horses and dogs, and immediately afterward displayed covers of her published books that featured similar-looking horses and dogs. “Everything in our life becomes the stories in which we write.”
Levy has worked as a full-time writer for over 40 years, and has published over 100 books with over 6 million sold. She held three separate sessions so that each student from kindergarten through 5th grade had the opportunity to meet with her.
“The children were excited to meet an author who wrote so many stories that are in our library,” said Brookside Principal Michael Klimko. “Ms. Levy’s visit really made her popular books come alive for our students. It’s as if she stepped out of the book herself – and put a real person to the name that appears on the book’s cover.”
Ms. Levy shared words of wisdom from her decades of experience in the literary field. She also discussed the many people who are responsible for publishing the books that the students read, including writers, illustrators, editors, publishers and distributors.
“There are so many people involved in the process. It’s important to take constructive criticism positively,” she advised as she showed her editor’s markings on a draft of Amber Brown. “Even with all these corrections, the story was better for it.”
In early June, author Laura Sassi of Cranford will visit with the students. The two-part series is intended to encourage students to learn more about creative writing. The visiting author series is arranged and funded by the Brookside PTA.
“When I was growing up, some kids loved music and some loved art. I was one of those kids who loved making up stories,” Ms. Levy said in her closing remarks. “If you love what you do, you will find the magic within you.”
Submitted by Marsha McCarthy
