You know you're not-so-young when...

you go to visit your old grad school advisor during his West Coast book tour and you find that next to your old grad school advisor, you are easily the most senior alum in the group. Gack. I graduated from the Science Journalism program at Boston University in 1997. There aren't too many BU alums out here on the West Coast. Honestly, I was surprised that there were about a dozen of us and several work for the very same institution that employs me. Still, the oldest of them probably graduated in 2005.But it was so very nice to see Doug Starr again. He's one of those very rare people with an infectious fascination with just about everything. By science journalism standards, I consider my life pretty dull, but he never makes anyone feel dull and even seemed thrilled that one of the grads is now a massage therapist.

His new book The Killer of Little Shepherds has been getting some great reviews. His previous one won an L.A. Times book award. Apparently, his kind of unbridled curiosity, combined with a knack for incredibly detailed and engaging writing, has some advantages!

My Author

In both first and second grades at my kids' school, a big component of the curriculum is something called "Writer's Workshop". It's a writing program that goes on throughout the year. This year, Smunch's class had it on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the teacher requested four parent volunteers for each day. I was there at least every other week. The program concludes at the end of the year with an Author's Breakfast where parents bring in food and each of the kids reads his or her favorite piece of work to an audience.

I'm always a little nervous for Smunch. His speech has been poor of late and his ability to organize and write a story is...well...it's probably second-grade appropriate, but it's not excellent. I ended up working with Smunch much of the time I was in the classroom because I realized that he was never asking for help from anyone else and needed it.

Still, he's always proud of his work and despite the stutter, I think he enjoys being the center of attention for a little while.It was hardly a flawless reading. He had trouble speaking, even though reading is usually easier than speaking off the cuff for him. In his previous presentations to the class, I noticed some stuttering, but it wasn't very noticeable unless you listened for it. This time, it was very obvious. But he didn't stop, didn't give up. He made it through his story...one about two boys who find a pirate ship on the beach and go home with pockets full of gold...and was proud of himself.And I was proud of him too!

An Author in our Midst

One of the most anticipated events of the year in first grade at Smunch's school is the Author's Breakfast. See, prior to this day, the kids work really hard to write a few stories. They outline, they write, they edit. When the story is approved by the teacher, it goes "to the publisher"...which is a really exciting way of saying that the teacher gives it to one of the moms to type up. Then it comes back from the publisher and needs to be illustrated and have a cover designed before the whole thing is bound.

Smunch wrote three "books". His first was called "How Martin Luther King, Jr. Changed America". Kinda serious stuff, that. He chose the topic himself. Huh. The second was called "Me and the Rocket Ship" (no accounting for grammar there) and the final story, which he chose to read during the Author's breakfast, was "The Little Boy and the Baseball Player".It was a short story, with an emphasis on short. But this was the first time he'd been asked to get up in front of an audience and read. It may not be that big a deal for a lot of kids, but for kids who stutter, it can be absolute torture. He did a great job! He started off nice and slowly, reading very clearly. Like most people who are a little nervous, he kind of rushed towards the end, but the stuttering was barely noticeable. We were such proud parents. The kids have to write a dedication page for each of their books. Smunch dedicated his book to his grandpa because he had helped coach his baseball team. So sweet. And my dad was even there to be appreciative. I was a little surprised that he came, so I was thrilled when he got sole billing in the dedication.

Smunch's time in the spotlight was short and he was first, we we still had to sit through the remaining 17 students' books. Turns out, the dedication surprises weren't over. It wasn't shocking to hear the girls dedicating their stories to all their friends "because they believe in fairies too" or whatever. And it wasn't unusual for a couple of kids to dedicate stories to their teacher or to to their siblings. But the boys generally didn't mention their friends. Only two of them did, including this one:and a second one from one of the more "popular" kids in class that said "This book is dedicated to my friend Gavin because he is nice to me." Geez. Who knew?

As much as I was proud of Smunch's reading job, I was thrilled to find out how well-liked he is. There are so, so many things about his personality that are really encouraging. Having seen how stuttering can make kids too scared to speak or turn them into social outcasts, I'm relieved and excited to see that he doesn't seem to be heading in that direction.

He may not be an angel at home, but apparently, we've actually managed to produce a nice kid!

My son is a freakin' genius!

We'd all like our kids to communicate a little better though, wouldn't we? My son is in kindergarten. He can read (a little), he can write and now he can communicate his innermost thoughts...on paper...in beautifully constructed sentences with perfect spelling. Can I tell you how AWESOME I think this is??? I'm so proud.