Three young wordsmiths were recognized for their creative flair on a day dedicated to the proliferation of family literacy across the country.
The Family Literacy Day committee awarded a trio of winners for the family story-writing contest at a luncheon held at the Okotoks Public Library on Jan. 27.
10-year-old Jack Ferguson walked away as one of the winners for his humorous illustration based story on the library’s passport to learning mantra. Ferguson said the inspiration for the story was born out of a desire to take the literary road less travelled.
“I just felt like doing something different,” Ferguson said. “Most of the books I read are graphic novels. I like drawing a lot, I like writing a lot and I like graphic novels so it just kind of added up.”
Ferguson, who lists Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling as his favourite author, said creative freedom is what he loves most about the writing process.
“(My favourite aspect) is probably that you can use your imagination and that it’s your input and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” Ferguson said.
Madisen Stuwe’s imagination was on full display in her contest-winning story Emma and the Magical Passport. Stuwe said the short story was a collaborative effort.
“I kind of got started with my mom helping me, giving me an idea and I just started telling her what to write and she printed it off her computer,” she said.
Stuwe said she started writing more last year after a particular book caught her attention.
“I got this book called Don’t Read This Book and it got me interested in writing a book on Do Read This Book and then I got really interested in writing books.”
Chloe Umbach was recognized for her illustrated story titled My Papa Drives a Big Rig. Chloe’s mother Tina said the muse for the content was Chloe’s truck driving great grandfather.
Tina said the competition helped Chloe, a Grade 2 student, improve her literacy skills.
“She really struggled at reading at the beginning of this (school) year, had a really hard time and we were spending like an hour every night at the library practicing our reading and stuff and I think that’s what kicked this off. She wanted to try and get better.”
The luncheon included a special guest speaker who offered advice to the inquiring minds on hand.
Corinne Finnie, a non-fiction author with six published books to her name, was the orator for the committee. She said her primary message to the families was for them to persist with the creative process of writing and illustrating.
“It’s really important that kids continue to do the things they are talented at, like writing and drawing and anything that helps them to build on their self esteem and sees successes in their life,” Finnie said. “And writing stories is one way to do it.”
Finnie’s pearls of wisdom included discussions on her experiences in mapping out a page with both the envisioned illustration and accompanying words one page at a time. She also offered advice to the families on the options in the publishing world as well as the necessary steps in the copyrighting process.
Finally, as a means to mitigate the costs of hiring an illustrator, Finnie encouraged the families to seek help from high school students with creative aptitude.
