PLACENTIA : Children Put to the Text

When fourth-grade teachers Kelly Spinnler and Becky Smith told their classes at Van Buren Elementary School that each pupil was going to write, illustrate and bind his or her own book, the baffled children protested that they didn’t know anything about publishing.

But after 3 1/2 weeks, the only complaints Smith and Spinnler heard came when the children were told that it was time to stop working on the books.

The end result was on display Tuesday night in the school auditorium: 65 books written, illustrated and hand-bound by the two classes, complete with book jackets with story summaries and author biographies.

Spinnler and Smith will choose the best work to send to a publisher in Missouri for the National Written & Illustrated By . . . Awards Contest. Books will be judged by professional editors, writers and illustrators, along with teachers and school librarians. Winners will receive scholarships.

Regardless of whether any winners come from Van Buren, the children have gained respect for their writing and creative abilities from the publishing lessons, the teachers said.

“When it hit them that they were really making a real book, you could see little lights going off,” Spinnler said.

Both teachers noticed that their pupils were more concerned about the quality of their work on the books than on other writing assignments. Proofreading, once a dreaded aspect of the lessons, was eventually approached with determination, Smith said.

The teachers followed a procedure designed to encourage the children to use both their creative and decision-making skills, Spinnler said.

When they worked on creative aspects of the books, the children were given just enough information to work on that particular aspect. They were asked to make quick decisions, such as coming up with a synopsis, title and medium of illustration in just a few minutes.

“We put them under pressure to help their creativity,” Spinnler said. “We didn’t want them to have too much information, didn’t want them to think too much.”

When it came time to edit, proofread and assemble the books, the teachers took a different tack. To emphasize the importance of thoroughness, they gave directions several times and allowed more time to make decisions.

Getting started was the most difficult aspect, the teachers and several pupils said. Once they had picked a topic, the children said, the writing was fun.

Matt Kubota drew inspiration for his book from the wheelchair athletes who competed in the Los Angeles Marathon.

“Dan’s Challenge to Be a Winner” tells the story of a man who becomes paralyzed after a surfing accident and falls into depression. After seeing wheelchair racers, the hero decides to train for a marathon, which he wins.

Stephanie Herrick, 10, found the entire process both more difficult and more fun than she first imagined.

“It was hard to think about what to put in the book,” Stephanie said. “I had to decide where to put the illustrations.”

Stephanie said she was inspired by her favorite mysteries while she was writing her own suspense thriller, “Mystery of the Party.” Although just 16 pages long, her story has all the elements of a good mystery: murder, several suspects and two diligent detectives.

“I don’t think I’ll win” the national competition, she said, “but I think I’ll write some more books this summer.”