5th Grader From Maine Writes Book
• To Help Students with School and Life
Apr 7, 2010 – Guaranteed Success for Grade School; 50 Easy Things You Can Do Today!, is a newly published book, written by a ten year old, that will help teach children how to share their feelings with others, know the difference between tattling and telling, be a good sport, respect differences, create their lives, and much more.
Children love to succeed and do well in school. Watch a child being praised, and you will see his or her face light up with pride. Have you noticed when children do good and receive positive feedback, they want to continue to do good? Unfortunately the opposite is true as well. If young children are not consistently reminded of their manners, they often tend to get in trouble, which can lead to feelings of embarrassment and sadness. In a recent survey, more than 70 percent of U.S. adults said they thought people are ruder now than they were 20 years ago. Guaranteed Success for Grade School; 50 Easy Things You Can Do Today! gives hope to this recent concern. The young Maine author, Marrae Kimball, doesn't think that children behave badly on purpose, therefore, she spent a year compiling ideas from family and friends to help her fellow classmates.
Every other page contains a simple, yet important lesson, with explanations and examples on how to achieve grade school success. "Some boys don't know that they should take their baseball hats off inside. And some kids don't know that you should let others exit a room or an elevator first. Because if you don't ride an elevator very much, how would you know? So I put together what I think are the most important things that kids should know, to help them." explained Marrae when asked why she wrote the book.
Marrae Kimball is an honor student and attends the Guy E. Rowe Elementary school in Norway, Maine. She loves helping others and recently donated half of her book earnings ($41.85) to a local animal shelter. Marrae plays the piano, viola, and guitar and enjoys painting, fishing, archery, sailing, rock climbing, roller-coasters, and spending time with her family and friends. Marrae wrote this simple book to help students, parents, and teachers have grade school success.
Marrae obviously has a great future in journalism, following are the interview questions and answers she provided.
Why did you choose to write about grade school success?
I am in grade school so I thought this would be a great time to write it.
What do you like about writing? I have a lot of ideas and I want to share them with people. When I get my thoughts on paper I feel like I have done something, and that makes me feel proud.
How long have you been writing? Ever since I was three, but all of my writing makes more sense now then it did then.
How long did it take you to write this book? I worked on it for over a year, taking a lot of notes and getting ideas from others.
Who helped you along the way?My mom and I had a lot of business meetings that were so much fun because I got to use my briefcase and office supplies. I also got a lot of ideas and suggestions from family members and friends. And I had two teachers look my book over for me which was a big help.
What inspired you to write this book?Grade school was a little scary when I started, and I wanted kids to have a guide to go by to make it easier for them. I have a cousin who will be starting school next year so I was also thinking about her.
Do you have other book ideas?Yes, a lot and I'm really excited about them.
How did you pick the cover for this book? I told a cover-designer what I had for ideas, and she came back with three examples for me to choose from. I printed all three example covers and took them to all my friends and family and had them vote. This cover won the vote and I thought it fit best with the subject.
When do you write? I like to write all the time. Sometimes I will make up writing assignments for myself and pass them into my teacher even though she didn't assign them. That is how much I like to write.
What is your favorite part of this book? There are many parts that I like about this book so it's hard to pick. I like the dedication page. That page is special to me and it has a special meaning. I also like # 19 in my book which is about saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I think a lot of people just say it without knowing that they are making a promise to be good citizens.
What do you like best about being an author?I like strangers telling me that my book has helped them. I recently had a teacher from far away email me and tell me that she really liked my book and was going to share it with her class. It's neat to know that my book will help people I don't even know. I really like helping others and I also hope to be able to donate money to animal shelters like Responsible Pet Care. And I want to help hungry children around the world. It makes me very sad to know there are homeless animals and hungry children out there. It just doesn't seem right.
Do you have any advice for other young writers?Keep writing and don't give up. I picture what I want to write in my head and I don't stop until I get it done.
Who do you think will buy your book?Everybody of course. Students can buy it for themselves, parents can buy it for their children, and grandparents can buy it for their grandchildren. I think it would make a great gift and it can give families something to talk about at dinner time. That is where I had the idea for this book. I was sitting at the dinner table with my family.
Why is it important that kids are good in grade school?I think if we don't learn how to be good it's really not our fault. Everyone is doing their best but everyone is so busy, sometimes they forget. If children are not taught that they should let others exit a room or elevator first, (#38 in my book) then how can they know to do it? If they don't know, then they don't do the right thing and they might get in trouble. When children get in trouble they can become sad and not feel good about themselves. I think when children are sad it is hard for them to focus and do their best. And when children do good, they just can't help but feel good and do good.
Who inspired you? Or inspires you?My dad inspires me. He is fighting for us in Afghanistan and I am fighting here for us grade schoolers. I miss him and pray for him every day. I wanted to get the book done before he got deployed and I am happy to say that I did.
Who are your heroes?My dad because he is being a hero for all of us right now in Afghanistan. Other heroes of mine are people who do good things for others. My gram is an example of this. Her name is Sandy Rice and she lives in South Paris. She once stopped at a strangers house, knocked on their door and talked to them, and then shoveled their roof off just because it needed it. She is always doing things like that.
Can you explain your book in one sentence?It's a book with 50 easy tips that can help students succeed in grade school and life.
If someone reads your book, how will it help them?I hope my book will help others succeed really big! I think it will give students some new ideas to think about. In my book, # 49 is about learning how to create anything you want in your life. It's really easy but many people have never been taught how to do it. Learning and doing each tip will help anyone who reads it.
Where can people get your book?At Books N Things on Main Street in Norway or
online.
