Award winning author Julia Cook sits among the first and second grade students at Elida Elementary School reading one of her 134 books.
Dean Brown | The Lima News
ELIDA —J.K. Rowling said, “I believe that something magical can happen when you read a good book.” Students at Elida Elementary school were exposed to 134 good books by nationally recognized author Julia Cook on Wednesday.
Cook, recognized as an award-winning children’s book author and parenting expert, has published 134 children’s books with eight more on the way. Translated into nine languages, her books cover a wide range of characters and social development topics. Her books showcase her innate ability to enter the worldview of children who can then use her storybooks to grow. The goal behind Cook’s work is to actively involve young people in fun, memorable stories and teach them to become lifelong problem solvers.
Cook’s writing career began while teaching in school. “I could not figure out how to teach my kids tattling. The teachers were going crazy because kids didn’t know the difference between tattling and reporting. I had a really good graduate school teacher who told me if you want to get into a kid’s head, write him a story, read them a story. And if the story is good, the good stuff will go into their heads and they can use that.”
She wrote a book about a boy who tattled so much that he grew a tail. The book worked so well that her colleagues encouraged her to have the book published, which she did. Now 134 books later she still enjoys interacting with the students who dearly enjoy her books.
Reading some of her books to the students and getting them involved in various other activities, Cook taught and entertained the students for just under an hour in each of the four presentations she made.
Cook brought a second grade student to the front to use toothpaste to draw the letter “A” on a piece of paper. The student completed the task. Then Cook challenged, “I want you to take this amazing toothpaste “A” and I want you to put it back in the tube. Can you put it back? Does it go back? That’s just like a putdown. If I give a putdown and it comes out of my mouth and it goes into her ear, can I reach in her head and pull it out? When a person hears one putdown, in order to feel good about themselves, they have to hear ten ‘pull-ups.’”
Cook heeds her graduate teacher’s advice with each book that she writes. She identifies an issue in each of her books. Within a seven-minute read, she teaches kids how to be self-reliant by solving their own problems.
Reach Dean Brown at 567-242-0409
