Famous kids author visits local schools

By Steph Slater, staff writer

Author Jennifer Ward enjoys writing colorful books about different aspects of nature, especially bugs. She read to the students of the Safford School District last week. Photo by Steph Slater

Safford elementary schools were graced with the creative edge of author and former teacher Jennifer Ward who read some of her stories to students last week.

“She made the books come alive for the children, and she gave writing a purpose,” librarian Sue Rasmussen said.

Ward wrote her first book, “Way Out In the Desert,” seven years ago and has written other works, such as “Over in the Garden,” “Somewhere in the Ocean,” “Forest Bright, Forest Night” and the “Seed and the Giant Saguaro.” Her next work in the making is a cumulative story patterned much like “There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” She called this book ”There Was A Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea.”

Ward said she has a deep connection and curiosity with animals and has written all her books about desert and ocean animals, especially bugs and critters. As a teacher, Ward said she discovered children were also fascinated with animals. It was then she chose to write children's books for a living instead of teaching full-time.

“When an author came to speak at our school, it made me realize that writing for children was something I could do and have fun with,” Ward said.

Ward said teaching immersed her in children's books and reintroduced the world of children all over again. She said she remembered an old love she had for writing as a child when her parents gave her some of her early work. She encouraged the children to read as much as they could to become better writers and to include more creative words by using a thesaurus.

“I hope you go home and write for fun, not just for practice,” Ward said.

She also showed the students sketches the illustrators sent her in their early stages, mainly from Kenneth J. Spengler. She outlined the process of editing and publishing and told the story of her first phone call from publisher Rising Moon.

Principal Naomi Lowery enjoyed watching the magic of Ward and said she was tickled with happiness that she could come to read her stories to students at Ruth Powell Elementary School.

“It was so beneficial to have this author visit our school, especially hearing how she used the Six Traits of Writing when creating her books,” Lowery said. “These are the traits our teachers teach our students.”

Lowery said author visits are a connection with other resources that serve to solidify the hard work done by the school's teachers and students.