Our first Young Authors book is available for free online for you to read and enjoy!
Gabriela, one of our young authors and “cover girl”
You are invited to read our Young Authors book:
Wishes, Dreams, Gifts & Things
Our first Young Authors book is available for free online for you to read and enjoy! The book is a special thank-you gift to donors. Wishes, Dreams, Gifts & Things is a glimpse, however brief, into the wondrous minds of our community’s children, as well as a few youngsters who happened to be visiting.
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Our young authors story:
K is for Kids® Foundation began inviting children from all around Naples, Florida to become young authors by writing a page in our book in the autumn of 2008 . With the mission of promoting children’s literacy and leadership, the Foundation and its Teen Advisory Team launched a Young Authors program to encourage children to read more books, showing the kids that a book is even more exciting when they help write it! In honor of the Foundation’s Bring a Book, Bring a Friend® for Children’s Literacy Month in October, the Foundation held two literacy events to both launch the month’s activities and to wrap it up with the special celebration of children and books!
K is for Kids ® first “writing extravaganza,” as photographer Haupt would call the event, was held at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, at the Waterside Shops in Naples. The second was held at Karen Walsh Haupt’s former Studio on 5th at the Esplanade on 5th & 5th in downtown Naples. Family fun activities kept everyone busy. The soon-to-be-published-authors set pen to paper by themselves or they could choose to write with their friends. Parents were urged to participate, after all writing is often a family affair and many stories are first shared with moms and dads, brothers and sisters! So that the young authors — and parents were also invited to be photographed with their youngsters — could have their picture accompany their story in the book, our talented photographer, Karen Walsh Haupt of The Studio on 5th in downtown Naples, donated her valuable time and exceptional ‘eye’ to create a “photographic portrait” of each beaming new author. The result? A book whose pages glow with beautiful faces, from toddlers to teens, along with their wonderful “very short” stories.
The title of the book, “Wishes, Dreams, Gifts & Things” is derived from the ‘prompts’ or ideas given to children that they could choose for inspiration. Knowing how powerful wishes can be, K is for Kids® Foundation’s Founder, Karen D. Clawson offered two ideas for inspiration — “If I could have a dream come true….” and “If I could give a gift….” The young authors were asked to describe what would the dream or gift be; and in the case of the gift, who would it be given to and why? Writers could also create their own story, fiction or nonfiction.
Throughout our Young Authors book writing, it was emphasized how writing is such a wonderful family activity and encouraged families to write a book together! It’s true, literacy begins at home, and so the love of reading and writing does too!
“Wishes, Dreams, Gifts & Things” is a glimpse, however brief, into the wondrous minds of children. The events which gather these children and their families, the process of compiling, typing, editing, and publishing their stories and photos is an enriching journey all its own. Our Teen Advisory Team, their families, our volunteers, sponsors and supporters — all have contributed to this joyous journey, and so in the back of our book, we include a special “Back Stage Pass” for readers to see who walked with us as we encouraged children to read more books. The photos collages reflects years of volunteerism, giving and community spirit!
Now, we invite our friends, families, supporters and sponsors to preview our book, before it’s released to the general public on April 11th. Visit our “bookshelf” and read the children’s very short stories. Email us at [email protected] so we can link you up!
For those who would like a printed book of the traditional sort, “Dreams, Wishes, Gifts & Things” will be a gift from us to those who make a donation to our Foundation, beginning April 28th. Both a paperback and hardcover version will be available: a smaller “pocket book” that has a soft cover, and a “classic” hardcover book. Both are absolutely gorgeous and we are confident will our young writers, families, friends and supporters will be thrilled!
*Our sincere apologies for delays in sharing this first book: as publishing efforts began, our Founder’s mother, Patricia Rae Douthitt Dowell, passed away on April 28th, 2009, just 17 days after our Founder’s birthday. An avid reader, Patricia’s legacy lives though her two daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who all inherited her insatiable appetite and passion for books and reading. Patricia’s interests and curiosity in the world she lived in fill the pages of hundreds of books that she left behind from her own extensive personal library.
The love of reading is truly one of the best blessings that a parent can give to their child and our Founder, Karen Dowell Clawson, is grateful for the many blessings her mother, Patty, passed along to her.