By Lisa Cohn
On Thursday Michael and I had the honor of telling our writing and publishing story to 45 students and the adults who read with them. We did this during a Start Making a Reader Today (SMART) celebration hosted by the Rotary Club of Clackamas.
After sharing our boy-and-dog book trailer, Michael and I told the group that we began our adventure in an effort to overcome grief over the death of our dog, Lucy.
A number of students came forward and told their stories about writing or using art to overcome sadness over the loss of a pet or family member.
We also told the group that students from all over the world gave us ideas for our second book, “Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy,” and how important their input has been to our writing process.
We gave the kids a few of our favorite writing tips, including Michael’s favorite: Be sure that there’s a conflict in your fiction story. Whenever we visit classes, he explains this idea, the way he does during this Skype in the classroom visit:
The Rotary Club of Clackamas presented us with “Make A Difference Awards” for taking part in the SMART celebration. The adults who read weekly with the students as part of the SMART program received “All-Star Reader” awards for participating in SMART.
Start Making a Reader Today is a literacy program that pairs eager adult readers with students. They read together once a week. We’re proud to say that Michael’s older sister, Ally, age 17, takes part in the SMART program, reading weekly with two children.
After our presentation, we autographed the 45 “Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy” books the Rotary Club generously bought for its students. We loved this part of the program; as kids came through the line to meet us, they asked a number of questions.
How long did it take us to write our book? How do we get the words we write into a book format? What is Michael’s role? What’s the process we use to write together? Have we written other books? Where do we get our ideas?
Of course, Michael couldn’t resist acting like a kid, and soon abandoned his autograph role to chase with the other students.
We love to visit with school kids in person and via Skype! Teachers and parents can learn more about our presentations here: Our School Visits Email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com if you’d like us to visit your school!
And if you missed it, don’t forget to check out the boy-and-puppy book trailer we shared during the SMART celebration. We just updated the music, and are proud of the music from Michael’s music teacher and the videography from an award-winning teen and family friend:
As we mentioned during our presentation, our writing and publishing experience wouldn’t have been possible without all the people who have helped us along the way, including Michael’s music teacher, our videographer, Michael’s sister, Ally, his big brother, Travis–and the many students who have given us ideas for our books. They’ve been our readers, advisers, and inspiration!