AUTHOR Priscilla Cummings spent a day at Linton Springs Elementary School telling pupils how an idea can become a book.
It's a process that can take years, she explained Friday during the school's Visiting Author Day.
Pupils were divided by grades to make the presentations appropriate to their age. Kindergarten classes were treated to a reading of Chadwick the Crab, Cummings' first book, rather than hearing her describe how to create a book. She made six presentations that day.
Her first group consisted of first- and second-graders. She began by asking them what they thought creating a book might entail. She explained that a book started with an idea, which could "come from anywhere," she said, such as listening to conversations at lunch, reading other books or listening to the news.
She described her childhood on a farm in Massachusetts, where she would climb into the barn loft and write stories about the cats that lived there. These cats became characters for her stories. Choosing characters is the next step in the process, she said.
When asked why she chose a crab for her main character, she told the story of her first summer in Maryland with her husband, John, in 1983. They had moved to Annapolis, where Cummings discovered Maryland blue crabs. She became fascinated with them. Her first summer in Maryland also coincided with the opening of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, where she learned about many aquatic creatures.
When Cummings learned that male crabs spend the winter sleeping in the mud at the bottom of the bay, while the females swim south to warmer waters, she had an idea for a story. A young male crab she named Chadwick did not want to spend the winter sleeping in the mud at the bottom of the bay. Instead, he wanted to be a star at the aquarium.
The story was funny and interesting to the pupils who had been reading Cummings' books in their school library. She has written a series of books around the characters in her original book. She introduced all the characters to the pupils on an overhead screen and talked about how she named each of the animals or birds.
In addition to discussing writing, she led the pupils through the difficulties of finding a publisher (her first manuscripts were rejected 16 times), illustrations and printing. Pupils were later allowed to purchase autographed copies of her books, which were distributed that day.
Lynda Stimely and Sue Pluta, co-chairwomen of the PTA's Literacy Committee, organized the visit. It is one of many events the two have planned for the school's 740 pupils this year to help boost interest in reading and writing. One popular scenario takes place all year long, where each pupil is given 10 minutes to read something of interest to school Principal Deborah C. Bunker. The pupil then receives a certificate for the achievement.
Other events described by Stimely include: literacy night, a book fair where children are encouraged to read with their Dads, and a contest called Million Minutes of Reading, in which the whole school participates to reach a goal of 1 million minutes. The class with the greatest number of reading minutes gets a pizza or ice cream party, and the principal will run one mile wearing green hair if the school reaches its goal.
In the birthday book club, each pupil receives a book on his or her birthday (summer birthdays are awarded books the last week of school).
Stimely and Pluta have other events planned and said pupils are very enthusiastic about participating. "We stay very busy," said Stimely about the two-person committee.
Stimely said Cummings' visit to the school was a big success. Her two children spent the ride home from school Friday enthusiastically reading their new books about Chadwick the crab.
Tree of Life grows
The Tree of Life Drama Troupe is growing more popular among local actors of all ages. Each year, the troupe adds new members. Some young members have performed in as many as six productions.
With all the interested members, the troupe tries to involve as many people as possible in various aspects of a production, splitting the cast into two sets of performers who alternate performance nights, as they have done in the past.
Director Clydia Koch said, "The double cast also gives us automatic backup understudies." She also said she is very happy to work with so many talented people, including those behind the scenes.
This year's fall production of Little Women opened last week and will continue this week at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Faith Lutheran Church.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for students and seniors, with a family maximum of $20. A canned good donation is requested for the Neighbors in Need project.
Advance tickets: 301-829-0358 or 410-549-0918.
Debra Taylor Young's neighborhood column appears each Tuesday in the Carroll County edition of The Sun.