LEWISTON — Lewiston students thought they would learn about dogs and the writing process Wednesday from Maine children’s author Lynn Plourde.
Maine author Lynn Plourde reads Wednesday to Farwell Elementary School fifth-graders about the exciting moment a family adopted a puppy in her book, “Maxi’s Secrets.” The author is visiting and teaching at the Lewiston school Wednesday and Thursday. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
They got that, and more.
Plourde, a successful picture book author, visited Farwell Elementary School.
Meeting with fifth-graders in the library, she talked about her first chapter book, “Maxi’s Secrets (Or, What You Can Learn From a Dog),” which came out in 2016 and won the Maine Student Book Award in 2018.
Plourde introduced students to fact-checking, rewriting, “fussy” copy editors and deciding the right cover illustration and book title. She also taught a bit of sign language and “blind talk,” or how to describe scenes to the blind by using the right words.
“Don’t use color,” Plourde said. “They can’t see.”
The characters in “Maxi’s Secret” include a boy who is the shortest in his school, a dog who is deaf and a girl who is blind. The boy gets a puppy after the family moves and he has to go to a new school.
In the story, the beloved dog dies. That is sad, Plourde said.
“But dogs die,” she said.
Reading about it can make dealing with the loss of a pet easier.
Her book’s message is “about these two words,” Plourde said while showing a slide of words with letters missing. Students quickly figured out the words were “fitting in.”
Plourde then asked them to help her with an experiment.
“If I say something that is true for you, stand up,” she said. “Then look around and see who else that’s true for. Then sit back down and we’ll do another one.”
The boy in “Maxi’s Secrets” is shortest at his school.
“If you’ve been called one of the short ones, stand up,” Plourde said.
Several fifth-graders rose.
Another character in the book is the only black child at the school, Plourde said, inviting students who are black, Asian, Hispanic — anything other than white — to stand.
About half the fifth-graders in the room rose.
The book’s character is black and blind. Plourde invited anyone who has a visual challenge and wears contacts or glasses to stand.
Many fifth-graders stood.
Saying she wears contact lenses, Plourde asked, “Should we feel bad because we’re the only couple of ones standing up?”
No, students said. Plourde agreed.
“Sometimes, we don’t feel like we belong, but everyone can fit in,” she said, adding the goal is to discourage bullying. And there is less bullying when kids feel they belong and care about one another.
Plourde told students she wrote “Maxi’s Secrets” after losing her black dog, Maggie, “the canine love of my life.”
While shopping at L.L.Bean, Plourde’s husband met a woman who gushed about her deaf dog.
Plourde asked the students what they thought would be more interesting: A story about a non-deaf dog or a deaf dog?
A deaf dog, students answered.
She agreed, saying how the dog in her book became a Great Pyrenees because those dogs are lightly colored, and deaf dogs are usually white.
Even though she writes fiction, Plourde said she has to do much research and fact-checking before writing. And before her books are published, she shares drafts with experts to verify information she has included.
In a draft of “Maxi’s Secrets,” Plourde wrote how the girl who was blind used her cane to hit a friend to get him to stop doing something. She changed that after her blindness expert said blind people learn early on their cane is never used as a weapon and, therefore, would not hit anyone with it.
In another draft, she described the deaf dog as disabled. Her deafness expert corrected that, saying the deaf who use sign language aren’t disabled. Instead, they use a different language.
Chloe Debois, 10, said she thought the book was about a regular dog, and was surprised to learn Maxi was deaf.
“That made the book a whole lot more interesting,” Debois said.
After hearing Plourde’s presentation, Ruby Ayer, 10, said there is a lot more to dogs than most people think. They share emotions.
“They’re people, too,” Ayer said. “They experience how people live, what they do. They’re really good companions.”
The cover of Lynn Plourde’s chapter book, “Maxi’s Secrets,” along with other picture books she has written are displayed in the library at Lewiston’s Farwell Elementary School. Plourde spoke to students Wednesday about writing and being accepting of others. (Bonnie Washuk/Sun Journal)
Author Lynn Plourde’s tips on how to encourage kids to read:
1. Model reading. When kids see adults reading books, newspapers or magazines, they are more likely to see reading as a good thing to do.
2. Read aloud, even to older kids. Get a chapter book and spend a little bit of time reading it out loud. Adults often think only young children should be read to, Plourde said, but all ages benefit from hearing others read aloud.
3. Let kids pick what to read. Letting youngsters decide what to read will better ensure they will read.
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