Local Kids Star In Their Own Stories At Learning Tree

BROOKSVILLE - It's not too often that children pick up books and get to read a personalized story about themselves.

But that's exactly what happened at Learning Tree Daycare Center in Brooksville on Friday morning, when the school's owners presented 54 students with hardcover copies of a children's book.

Only these weren't just any books. Though the title and storyline of each book were the same - "School is Fun" - the main characters of each book were unique, reflecting the name of each child and his or her teacher, school and family members.

Headed by the school's owners, Gloria and Shane Harris, the school's staff collected $600 in donations from community sponsors to have the books made through the Brooksville-based Give-A-Book program; then gave the books to their students free of charge.

"They enjoy reading a lot more when they are part of the story," Shane said. "It reinforces things they should know, such as their address, phone number and what street they live on - and they're the star of the show, which is the best part."

"What they learn first lasts longer, so they're off to a good start," he added.

While toddlers in the school's voluntary pre-kindergarten class were initially perplexed by the gifts, they perked up when teacher Kristen Thomas, 20, read 5-year-old Justin Bartlett's book aloud.

Of course, the most captive listener of all was Justin. Eyes wide, he puffed up his chest and sat proudly at Thomas' feet, transfixed at the sound of a book describing his adventures at school.

"Read mine next!" shrieked 4-year-old Sebastian Conley, barely containing his excitement. The books were assembled by Brooksville bookmaker Marla Banta, who has made more than 1,000 personalized books for children in public schools throughout the area. Many have been created through business sponsorships for children in low-income schools, with business ads featured in the back pages of each book.

"It's a keepsake that's priceless," Banta said. "Some of these kids have never liked reading until they see this, and it's just what they need to (develop an interest). It builds their self-esteem and makes them like reading."

It can also make for some good stories.

She recalled that after making personalized books for first-graders at Chocachatti several years ago, the teacher told her of a curious incident involving a student who developed an overnight interest in books - or so the teacher thought.

"He would go through all the books in the bookshelf, flip through each one and put it back," Banta said. "(The teacher) finally realized he was looking for his name."

Regardless of rationale, Kennedy Trawick, 5, was quite proud of her newest favorite story. She hugged the book tightly to her chest and gave it a loud kiss.

"I'm never, ever going to throw this down," she exclaimed.