Students host party strictly by the book

A group of Lecanto Primary School students throw a bash to unveil books they had written and illustrated.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 1, 2000

LECANTO -- Iris Rise's Lecanto Primary School exceptional education students know how to throw a party. First they called the media, then they treated parents and friends to cakes, cookies, punch and entertainment.

Ah, the entertainment. The children had written and illustrated their own books, quite an accomplishment for these special children who are sometimes so afraid to try to meet perceived standards, their teacher said.

"I told them to sit down and write," Rise said, "Write for the love of writing." They could worry about grammar and spelling later, she said. The first goal was to help the children feel free.

Cameron Ingell, a 12-year-old fifth-grader, wroteJohn and His Truck, the story of how a boy who wanted a truck for his birthday went to the junkyard with his dad to see what they could find. They found one, agreed to split the price, fixed it up and "John, his dad and his truck lived happily ever after."

Twelve-year-old fifth grader Joshua Fleming's book was Who Stole the Fish? In the story, Josh caught some fish, took the fish home and put them in the sink. A brown bear cub got in the house, helped himself to the catch and ran off with it. Josh and his grandma tracked him down, but decided he was so cute that he could finish the fish and instead went home for pizza.

Matthew Kestner, an 8-year-old third-grader, wrote Matthew Falls Out of a Tree, the story of a boy who climbed a tree but fell when his hands got sweaty.

Ten-year-old fourth-grader, Brittany Slane's story, Diamond the Missing Dog, was about a lost dog who was found chasing a squirrel down the road. A dog also was lost in 10-year-old fourth-grader Tiffany Kestner's story, The Lost Wolf Dog. That dog was found under the bed.

Eddie Potter, a 10-year-old fourth-grader, wrote The Lion. When the story's namesake gets loose at the zoo, an old lady smacks it with her cane. "The lion got up, CRUNCH, the old lady was hurt badly," Potter wrote. When her husband found her (he had gone to get a hot dog) he said, "Oh, Baby! Why did that lion hurt you?" All was fine, though. The lion was caught, and the woman was taken to the hospital.

Chelsea Deans, a 10-year-old fourth-grader, wrote her story about The Haunted House. A group of friends enter a haunted house and see a ghost. They run home, only to see the brother of one of the girls suspiciously wearing a sheet.

Captain Sparky the Normal Dog, by Ben Wilson, an 11-year-old fourth-grader, seems anything but normal when he goes to the rescue of his owner who was being chased by teenagers.

Shawnee Davis' book was The Little Bus That Could. The 10-year-old fourth-grader wrote about a bus that was very worried about getting the children to school in the rain over a big hill. Don't worry. They made it.

The Runaway Snake by fourth-grader Cory Ayers, 10, was about another escaped zoo critter. Thesnake was hard to catch, but the heroes finally managed to nab him. The snake gladly slithered back into his cage when he saw "a big, juicy rat" in there.

Amber Kestner, an 11-year-old fifth-grader, wrote Amber's Ruined Doll, in which she saw a doll she wanted being advertised on TV. She bought the new doll and put it in her room with the others. She went to dinner and came back to find her new doll ruined! "The Barbies were fighting over Ken," she wrote. So she bought another Ken doll, only "this time she kept it in her brother Matthew's room."

In Attack of the Gorilla fourth-grader Steven Sanders, 9, wrote about a gorilla that escaped from the zoo. He swung through town on light posts and got frustrated with a toy banana that he found in a toy store until he was finally lured back to his cage with a real banana.

Shelby Mills, an 8-year-old second-grader, and her sister Christina, an 11-year-old fourth-grader, enjoyed each other's stories when they learned that they had both written about the other getting into trouble. In Christina's story Little Shelby Disappears, poor Shelby trips into a garbage can and gets mistakenly hauled off to the dump. Her clever family followed the trail of garbage Shelby kicked out of the truck and found her frighteningly close to the "garbage squisher."

In Shelby's story, Hot Sunny Day, the family went to the beach. Some of them played in the sand, others enjoyed the picnic and Christina went swimming. On her way back to the dock, Christina started sinking, but was saved when Shelby alerted a life guard to her plight.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.