Writing – Unleashing Readers

Student Voices: Lindsay Currie’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

May 25, 2026May 20, 2026 by Kellee

I am so lucky because my principal began an initiative at my school where we get to have an author visit our school yearly (2026: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2025: George O’Connor, 2024: Jerry Craft, 2023: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2022: Nathan Hale, 2020: Neal Shusterman, 2019: Jennifer A. Nielsen), and this year we ended up having THREE: Mark Oshiro in November, Christina Diaz Gonzalez (whole school) in February, and Lindsay Currie in April!

I was so excited when we were contacted that Lindsay Currie was in town, and we had the opportunity to have her come visit our school. We split the visit with two other schools with two hours at each school. At my school, about 100 kids came to see her speak for a period then they could ask as many questions that they wanted to (she was so gracious about the Q&A!), and then she signed for students. It was truly a wonderful visit!

Here are some reflections from my students after the visit:

How did you like the visit overall?

I loved the visit overall and I thought the Lincoln Park story was extremely interesting.
I LOVED IT!!
i really liked it, she had many interesting things to share.
I really liked it, and I loved the advice she gave in the end.
I thought it was amazing.

What is your biggest educational take away?

For me it would be listening to how she created her book because for other genres you could easily like to get at a restaurant or see it at a park or anywhere for horror you can’t just see that anywhere could you write horror books or that kind of stuff you’re not well hopefully you don’t just see that anywhere so how she had the ideas and all that kind of stuff was probably the biggest education will take away from me.
My biggest take away is the writing techniques she spoke about in her presentation.
I liked learning about the history of her books and the ghost stories.
My take away was when she would talk about how she got her ideas for her books and how she tries new things that led her to being very successful.
The many ghost stories and how the smallest things can spark the biggest ideas/curiosity.
She taught and told us sooo many cool ghost stories that actually were interesting and she also taught us that it’s okay to lose interest easily that all you need is good planning and a story that you can relate to.
Sometimes you find inspiration for stories in random situations.
She gave some things to do like walking different ways, and writing tips and other really cool stuff.
I liked how she told us to be bored to find ideas–I think its a very good tip. And I also learned a bit about how to write characters and settings.
To always just do something and trust your gut.

How did the visit impact you as a student?

How it impacted me as a student would probably be to be able to learn about a new author in all about her in.
It impacted me as a student because it’s my last author visit so it was quite sentimental.
What impacted me the most was how she used interesting real life story’s and made them correlate on the life of a author.
It impacted me as a student by showing me that there can be deeper meanings to a book then you may think.
It reminded me to always be curious and try new things.
It made me realize that even authors lose interest in their own works and that its okay! Things that might help with that is good planning and a story that you can actually relate to and find interesting 🙂
It showed me more books to read.
I think learning about writing from an actual author is such an amazing opportunity and the fact that it happened is already impactful
It made me more aware of my surroundings and it taught me to not really care what others think and I think that’s important for me especially in middle school.

What was your favorite part of the visit (this doesn’t have to necessarily be educational)?

Probably her explaining like the books because like there were like interesting questions while she was explaining her books that could get people thinking that kind of stuff so yeah it probably just being able to be there with my friends for the visit
My favorite part was the Lincoln park story and the paranormal experiences she spoke about.
My favorite part is finding out that she has a short attention spam because I do too so I know her books will keep me interested.
My favorite part of the visit was when she told us about her new trail through Chicago that led her to writing some of her books.
I liked the part when she talked about how she writes her books.
My favorite part was when she told us her main thing that inspired her.
I loved when she was telling us about the history of where she lived because it’s like no one ever thinks of these things.

Why was this visit important? Why is it important and powerful to have an author visit our school?

This visit is important because it allowed us to learn more about an author’s writing process. Also it’ important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it allows a face to face chance to learn in person about a an author and have better interactions than on a zoom or teams call.
It was important because it was a main point for people to look around more, or else she wouldn’t have written that book. it is important because they teach lessons, and are entertaining, and some people may really already like that author.
it was important for me because i could relate to her in certain things.
This visit was important because as we read more books in this genre, we can relate to how we read other books in that same area from the actual author’s perspective. It is important and powerful because when we meet these author’s, we learn further more about her books and how it really is to be an author.
I think this was important because it talked about finding writing ideas which could be very important for (future) writers and it is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because:
– students could more relate to the author’s books or be exposed to them (which could lead us to read more).
– students may be able to learn more based on an author’s perspective and learn about the writing process itself.
– students would have the opportunity to ask questions to authors (which they may not be able to do other times).
To show and motivate us (kids/teens) that even big successful authors have their own struggles and how to help/solve those problems. For me, them visiting also gives many pointers to writing and reading 🙂
It brought us advice for what we can do with our imagination
It was important because it showed how we can use actual things to write books.
This visit was important because it showcased a different, sometimes less talked about genre of book. It is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it offers an enhanced educational experience that you wouldn’t be able to get from a normal day of school, and it also could inspire someone to become an author or writer.
Because we can hear about their writing process first hand and we are able to hear different perspectives and experiences from what being and author may be
It was important because a lot of people like to read her books and she taught a very good lesson. It’s important and powerful to have an author visit our school because they can change some students minds with their success, like if a student is afraid of trying something.
Authors visiting makes stories come alive and shows me how books are created. It’s powerful because it inspires me to read more and even write my own stories.

As you can see from the comments and love, my students (and I) would highly recommend an author visit and specifically Lindsay!

Author Guest Post: “Why Middle Grade Readers Need Gothic Stories” by Melanie Dale, Author of Girl of Lore

April 5, 2026 by Kellee

“Why Middle Grade Readers Need Gothic Stories”

In second grade I discovered a new book in my school’s library, In a Dark, Dark Room. Inside this little book was a story of Jenny, who always wore a green ribbon around her neck, and spoiler alert, it ended with her taking off the ribbon. I felt a delicious shiver down my spine at the last line: “and Jenny’s head fell off.”

WHAT!

In a world of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Carolyn Keene, and The Babysitter’s Club, this was new for me, and I knew I needed more. I immediately retold the story to my friends, one of whom was named Jenny and didn’t appreciate the nightmares. I couldn’t get enough.

Through stories with ghosts and candlesticks and billowy nightgowns and grand staircases and cobwebs dangling from chandeliers I discovered the power of gothic tales to delight and terrify. While the monsters are fun and fantastical, the themes are deadly serious.

The first time I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula I remember setting down the book and wondering how his original audience, who knew nothing of vampires, would have reacted. The story had a seemingly innocent core wrapped in gore: nineteenth-century propriety blushing at the intimacy of a bedside vigil. I was mesmerized by the gruesome terror juxtaposed with the purity of good versus evil. I rooted for the heroes to work together to defeat the demon.

When my son was in middle school I gave him a copy and he gamely tried to plow through but petered off when Jonathan Harker was still trapped in the castle in Transylvania. I thought, “What if I could make this story more accessible for him? What if these characters were teens living in Georgia?” So I did. Girl of Lore introduces my favorite gothic characters to the group of readers who maybe need them most of all.

Middle grade readers need gothic stories. Perhaps no other type of story resonates more with the unease and turbulence of burgeoning adolescence, a time when the world feels strange, we question our sanity, and we struggle with the creeping suspicion that something is wrong with us. Characters in gothic literature deal with outside forces like ghosts and the undead while battling inside struggles like “what if I’m crazy” and “what if things aren’t okay.” Through the pages of gothic books, readers can process death, mortality, and the darker side of human nature in a safe, healthy way.

Gothic literature creates an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, a threatening feeling, and fear of the unknown. You know, kind of like navigating friend group drama, changing schools, test anxiety, and unrest at home. Often there’s a feeling of isolation, maybe physical isolation or internal isolation. In Girl of Lore, my main character, Mina, struggles with maintaining friendships, feeling different, and the longing to connect with family. She processes all of this in the mysterious, spooky, gothic setting of her hometown.

I had a blast creating Mina’s town of London, Georgia, and now it’s your turn!

Gothic writing exercise: turn your hometown into a gothic setting

Step one: Pick a building or area of your town and describe it like a gothic novel would.

Often you’ll hear that in gothic literature, the setting is a character in the story. The places the characters live and work can feel alive and menacing. They often are filled with decay, overgrown cemeteries, crumbling castles or estates. Architecture details are important, with gables, eaves, maybe even a turret or gargoyle. Secret passageways abound.

When I created my fictional town of London, Georgia, I spent time in the communities around where I lived, exploring cemeteries, walking around lakes and town squares, and touring Victorian houses with sprawling porches, gingerbread trim, and dormer windows. As I began to describe the setting for Girl of Lore, I pulled in shadows, draped cobwebs, and enhanced the spooky details to give London a Southern gothic feel.

“They stared at [SPOILER ALERT] from a safe distance, noticing its peeling paint and steep roof plunging down. The rickety porch looked rotted through, with weeds growing up between the spaces of the boards. The house was dark, but Mina thought she saw a curtain flutter.”

Step two: Picture the flora and fauna in your town.

Describe how the animals creep or slither, how the plants and trees decay. In what ways are they sinister or threatening?

My London for Girl of Lore is set in Georgia where I live, so I thought about how my own backyard spills into a marsh filled with wildlife like snakes and armadillos. I noticed the way vines entangle the trees, choking them. Where I live is lovely, but when I saw it through a gothic lens, it became the perfect setting for a ghoulish tale, with skittering, creeping animals and arachnids.

“Arthur let out a whimper when he nearly walked into the three-dimensional web of a massive Joro spider, her delicate legs perched in the middle of her creation, waiting for dinner.”

Step three: Add a supernatural or psychological element.

Is there a ghost lurking somewhere? A town legend? A tragic element? Is someone wailing?

Supernatural elements like ghosts, family curses, and shadowy monsters often show up in gothic stories. Sometimes the power of nature itself threatens danger. The monsters aren’t always vampires or creatures of the night. They can also come in the form of psychological trauma like mental illness, obsession, and manipulation.

“As she hurried home past the church, past the cemetery, she heard a growl in the bushes along the sidewalk. Mina turned on her phone flashlight and shined it toward the growl. Three shadows loomed in the cemetery, watching her. The hair on the back of Mina’s neck stood up.”

The concept for Girl of Lore began when I wondered what it would be like if characters from Bram Stoker’s Dracula went to high school in small town Georgia. Make your own gothic story. Turn your town into a gothic setting, add the monsters of your choice…and see what happens!

Publishing April 21st, 2026 by Aladdin

About the Book: A girl who’s used to battling the monster of her own mind discovers there’s a sinister evil lurking in her small town in this atmospheric paranormal novel that’s perfect for fans of Tracy Wolff and Maggie Stiefvater.

Stories of dark magic and even darker creatures have always swirled about Mina Murray’s town of London, Georgia. Mina knows they aren’t true—and are likely perpetuated only to drive the quirky tourist-trap ghost tours of downtown—but that doesn’t stop her from collecting the stories and drawing them in her sketchbook. Something about the possibility of real monsters helps her deal with the monster in her own head: her OCD, which convinces her danger lurks everywhere.

But when a body is found drained of blood and a classmate goes missing, Mina is thrust into a tangled web of London secrets…that she seems to be at the center of.

About the Author: Before embracing her love of monsters and sneaking into Mina’s fictional world, Melanie Dale published a bunch of nonfiction books, shambled around as a zombie on TV, and survived cancer. She’s written episodes for the anthology horror television series Creepshow and over a decade of essays for Coffee + Crumbs. While she has won no awards for literature, she won a Halloween costume contest one time and still feels pretty stoked about it. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching yoga or battling her own brain. She lives in the Atlanta area.

Thank you, Melanie, for this wonderful writing activity as well as the plea for middle school dark(er) books–I know many of my middle schoolers would agree with you!

Student Voices: Christina Diaz Gonzalez’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

March 25, 2026 by Kellee

I am so lucky because my principal began an initiative at my school where we get to have an author visit our school yearly (2025: George O’Connor, 2024: Jerry Craft, 2023: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2022: Nathan Hale, 2020: Neal Shusterman, 2019: Jennifer A. Nielsen). The author sees all students in the school, so it is a great community literacy event for my school, and I love being able to bring this experience to all of my students each year!

This year, we hosted Award-Winning Author Christina Diaz Gonzalez again!

We are so thankful to Christina Diaz Gonzalez for being with us all day. Not only did she present to over 900 students about her books and writing life, she did a signing time for any student who wanted his autograph, she did a special presentation for our newer enrolled ELL Spanish-Speaking students, and she stayed after to sign books for teachers & bookmarks for our Literacy Night 2026: A Night of Christina Diaz Gonzalez participants! It was such a wonderful day!

Here are some reflections from my students after the visit. I asked them to think about what they learned, what they enjoyed, how they were impacted, or anything else they wanted to share:

I got to see how she comes up with book ideas which makes me wanna write my own books more.
My biggest take away was how Christina gets her ideas and how she was inspired by some daily things like getting coffee at a coffee shop.
I really liked the day. Christina’s presentation was very interesting.
It is important so that we can promote reading from ALL backgrounds.
My biggest takeaway is that being different is OKAY and not having everything all together is okay as well! (I got this second part from when she was explaining how she does her writing processes.)
The visit helps me understand the books I’ve read from her and the motivation and inspiration for them.
I really enjoyed it and I liked Christina. I loved how she made sure everyone understood by switching languages and how she made people feel comfortable to ask questions.
The day overall was an amazing day, and when I went to the visit it was fantastic. It was very interesting and fun
It’s important to have an author visit the school because it allows kids to learn about how books come to life and where the ideas started. Plus it can get kids into reading since they’re hearing what a book is about directly from the author and they can get in better detail than with google.
My biggest takeaway is that you can become an author and write books no matter where you grew up and no matter what your first language is.
Author visits are important because it allows for many different author to tell their stories to the next generation of kids so that they can pass on the message and hopefully, be the next generation of authors.
I loved learning more about her, and I think its very interesting to know the process of making her books.
An author visit, to me, means that Ms. Moye, Ms. H, and the other staff care about us gaining knowledge based on other peoples experiences, and the author helping us understand ourselves and what we are interested in.

I loved the day! I enjoyed the presentation and the signing, and I heard there was a presentation in Spanish, and I just felt glad there was an option for many to feel included.
My biggest take away is that most of the time Christina Diaz Gonzalez creates ideas for her books in public places which I think could help me too if I want to become an author.
It’s exciting to have people inspire you, and an author visit gives you something to be excited for each year.
My biggest take away was that anyone can be an author.
This visit was important because it taught me more about Christina Diaz Gonzalez and she also talked about her writing process and how she came up with ideas. It is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because then kids have the opportunity to learn about different authors and they could possibly find out about new books they may like, whereas if we didn’t have these visits, students may not learn about new authors and find new books to read.
I think its important to have an author visit for us to know more about some of these books and engage with them.
The visit impacted me in a way which showed me that confidence and taking risks is okay and this really helped me realize that not getting things on the first try is GREAT and not a bad thing.
The biggest take away was we can become a storyteller, too, and reading and writing can open doors to imagination and understanding.
The visit impacted me in a positive way since I got to learn more about an author which I enjoy doing.
A yearly author visit means that every year there is a new fun experience for me and my friends.
The visit impacted me by now when I read her books, I love how I can see the resemblance between her side and how the book was written.
This author visit is important because it emphasizes the ability for people to make stories in any environment.
Not every school gets author visits, but our school does, and it is a gift.
Author visits mean memories, and they are just a fun way to learn more about authors and their writing process.
An author visit makes reading and writing exciting. It shows us anyone can write a book and inspires us to be creative. We learn how stories are made and enjoy books more.

Author visits are really fun and a fun time to meet authors, and it means I get to meet people who live out my dream of being an author.
It impacted me by showing me that it is okay to change your career and you can still be successful.
Anyone can become an author, no matter where they were born or if something interesting happens to them.
You can do anything you put your mind to.
This visit was important because since Christina Diaz Gonzalez is a Spanish speaker, it allowed students who only speak Spanish to learn about writing. It is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it may inspire students.
It helped me to think more and be aware, like memorizing what happened in a day to be able to make a story out of it or help myself in a way.
The visit made me realise that any person is capable of thinking up stories and becoming a successful author.
Having a visiting author yearly experiencing (new) exciting authors and learning about their works.
Remember to always revise your work.
It impacts me by making me realize that there are much more books than just manga and graphic novels.
Author visits show me that my school is very fortunate, and I am very fortunate to be able to meet these authors who have won awards and left their mark on the literacy world.
Yearly author visits show that our school cares about literacy, and it’s always interesting to learn about an author especially if I’ve read their books.

As you can see from the comments and love, my students and I would highly recommend a yearly schoolwide author visit and specifically Christina for a school visit!

Educators’ Guide for Dream by Barbara O’Connor

February 11, 2026 by Kellee

Dream
Author: Barbara O’Connor
Published: August 26, 2025 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Summary: Dream follows a small town girl with big aspirations of becoming a songwriter. Turns out anything is possible with your best friends and an adorable pup by your side!

The sky is the limit.

Idalee Lovett is content with her life in small-town Colby, North Carolina, living in her family’s huge house with rooms for rent. But she has big dreams, just like her mama. While Mama is on tour for the summer with her cover band, Lovey Lovett and the Junkyard Dogs, Idalee decides to hone her craft as a songwriter—since her truest wish is to hear her country songs on the radio one day.

When the local radio station announces a songwriting contest with the winning song being recorded by an up-and-coming singer, Idalee is determined to win. It would definitely be possible if only she could buy the shiny blue guitar in Asheville’s music shop. Idalee doesn’t have much money, but she knows exactly how to get it—the long-lost treasure her late granddaddy hid somewhere in their house. With the help of her friends Odell, Howard, Charlie, and an adorable little dog named Wishbone, Idalee is going to search in every nook and cranny until she finds it. But little does she know, the biggest treasure of all is only discovered when you believe in yourself with your whole heart.

In this standalone companion to the #1 New York Times bestseller Wish, nothing is impossible as Idalee learns the power of chasing your dreams one guitar strum at a time.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Dream:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about Dream on its MacKids page.

Recommended For:

Student Voices: Mark Oshiro’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

December 10, 2025December 10, 2025 by Kellee

This year, in addition to our yearly author visit that we’ll have in February (2026: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2025: George O’Connor, 2024: Jerry Craft, 2023: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2022: Nathan Hale, 2020: Neal Shusterman, 2019: Jennifer A. Nielsen), a colleague and I were lucky enough to win an auction for a full day visit from Mark Oshiro!

Mark spoke to students about being an author, writing for the Percy Jackson universe, hints and tricks for writing better dialogue, and hosted a Q&A session. Students in one presentation were even given a sneak peek of an upcoming novel!

Here are some reflections from my students after the visit.

How did the author visit impact you as a student & what was your biggest educational takeaway?

The visit motivated and inspired me to put my mind to my goals, because I got to see Mark as a kid wanting to be an author, and being a New York Times bestselling author.
It impacted me as a student by allowing me to get introduced into a new type of writing style and allow me to learn more aspects to the book writing process.
It made me want to go for my dreams.
It made feel confident about reading.
I learned more about writing that I didn’t know before.
Being able to meet and talk to someone as famous (and has worked with famous authors like Rick Riordan) one on one and learn from them as to what they do to be successful.
it made me realize how long it takes to write books and also two people can make a book together and how they make the book
I just feel as though I learned a lot and they were informative and helpful to me as a younger kid (like 8) who all I wanted to be was an author.
I think the author visit impacted me by teaching me there are always more options and it’s never to late to change and do your passion
I learned that if I chose to write or do anything in life you can’t just always blindly follow the rules and it’s important to always push boundaries
That it doesn’t matter where you start as long as you start somewhere.
what ever you dream is do it like when mark wrote a book when he was 11 and he is still writing books
Being able to learn how to properly make characters talk and also a lot of writing tips.
Everyone writes differently and there’s no specific set of rules
That it is ok to write about anything that represents you.
That writing a book is a long process and you can’t just sit down and write a good book in a day.

Why was this visit important? Why is it important and powerful to have an author visit our school?

For kids who may want to be authors to get inspiration.
The visit was important because because it can motivate kids dreams and a really fun thing to do. Overall, that day really made my month.
i personally think it is interesting to meet authors and hear about the reasons why they do what they do, and i often end up reading many more of their books after the visit
This visit was important because it helps to teach kids that things about being an author. Its powerful to have an author visit our school because it can help inspire kids that are doubting their talents and their ability to pursue a career in it. Seeing the perspective of someone who had a childhood dream to be an author, and ended up being successful gives students motivation and hope for their futures.
This visit was important because it allowed us to hear the background behind their stories. It’s important to have an author visit our school because it gives us that educational experience you wouldn’t normally get in class plus it comes with a long lasting memory.
It’s important because many students get inspired by authors and it gives students an understanding about the author’s books. Author visits encourage and influence kids.
It was important for inspiration and was also important for the author promote their book.
It was important to me because it can help make people feel better when their writing about something.
This visit was important because it allows us to learn about different perspectives and about things that we may have not heard of before. Having author visits at our school can be powerful because it could maybe allow someone to find out that they want to write or be an author.
To be able to hopefully inspire the kids to continue to read and write their way through life.
This visit was important because learning more about writing and being an author can inspire other kids to peruse with their older. It is very powerful to have an author visit our school because it inspires and it’s fun and different from every other day in the school year. I am so happy that our school does this!
Because it makes us understand why books are still important and because its so fun to be with a famous author and getting to know them.
it is a rare occasion and a great gift for authors to come to our school and trach us some stuff about writing books.
It is important to have an author visit because it encourages kids to learn about new authors they may like and encourages reading. It also is good for the author because they can possibly get good feedback from their own readers, especially younger people. I think it is important to have a STRONG author too, because then kids don’t get bored as easily, and it is more fun and exciting to come see this author, especially if they write books that are more common for middle schoolers to read, ex: Mark Oshiro.
I think the reason author visits are important because it shows that you have more options in life then you think and you don’t always have to go work an office job and it shows us that with hard work you can make your dreams come true.

What was your favorite part of the visit?

The Q & A part because Mark interacted with us in a way that was very nice!
My favorite part was when they talked about how they, with Rick Riordan, ended up writing the Nico series together.
Being able to see an authors perspective in general, and when they read us a part of new book that’s not published yet.
Mark was really funny.
I love being able to get to talk and get to know someone who has worked with someone as well known as Rick Riordan and also get a sneak peek into what secret projects their working on.
My favorite part was learning interesting facts about Mark because they are a cool and funny person.
Hearing Mark Oshiro talk about their experiences.

How did you like the visit overall?

Honestly I thought it was really fun and I had such a good time with my friends and listening to Mark Oshiro talk
I enjoyed it a lot and they were funny and relatable in some ways
i loved it, i learned a lot about Greek mythology and Percy Jackson. I loved Mark’s energy and the way they interacted.
It was really fun and I’m so grateful that I got to meet Mark Oshiro and get my book signed.
I really liked the visit it was very fun and interesting.
IT WAS AMAZINGG
I LOVED it! They were such a kind and relatable person.
I really liked the visit I think this is my favorite author visit I’ve been to.

As you can see from the comments and love, my students and I would highly recommend Mark for a school visit!

Educators’ Guide for A Universe of Wishes Edited by Dhonielle Clayton

October 29, 2025 by Kellee

A Universe of Wishes
Editor: Dhonielle Clayton
Authors: Tara Sim, Natalie C. Parker, Libba Bray, Anna-Marie Mclemore, Kwame Mbalia, V.E. Schwab, Rebecca Roadhouse, Nic Stone, Jenni Balch, Dhonielle Clayton, Mark Oshiro, Samira Ahmed, Tessa Gratton, Zoraida Cordova, Tochi Onyebuchi
Published: December 8th, 2020 by Random House Children’s Books

Summary: From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best children’s authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), V. E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).

In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for We Need Diverse Books for A Universe of Wishes:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about A Universe of Wishes on We Need Diverse Book’s page.

Recommended For:

Author Guest Post: “Asking ‘What If’ About Our Real-Life Experiences” by Kevin Garone, Author of Night of the Living Toilet Paper

October 5, 2025 by Kellee

“Asking ‘What If’ About Our Real Life Experiences”

Attempting to float a mattress across a pond sounds like the kind of thing that could only happen in fiction. But it happened in real life.

I would know, since I was one of the few to watch as three of my friends attempted to sail a queen-sized mattress across a local pond on a cold December night. I’d helped haul the thing through the dark, but I was at least smart enough to not try to float alongside them in the freezing pond water.

As it turns out, mattresses aren’t the best flotation devices. About halfway across the pond, the mattress began to sink, and my friends had to abandon ship and swim back to shore. The mattress stayed visible below the surface for about a week before it finally sank to the bottom.

Now, hopefully most students aren’t going to get involved in activities like that. But ideally, they still have plenty of everyday experiences that they can use as the basis for their own stories.

This can be a helpful way to adjust the often-repeated writing advice to “write what you know.” When trying to get students interested in writing their own stories, this advice can feel incredibly vague, and even overwhelming.

After all, when you’re a kid, what do you really know? If you feel like you don’t truly “know” a lot about anything, it could intimidate you from writing anything.

That’s why I feel it’s important to take this advice a step further. Saying to “write what you know” can feel like you need to know a lot about history, science, or some other subject. On the other hand, reframing that in the lens of your real-life experiences can suddenly make writing a lot less intimidating. After all, storytelling is a natural part of our day and how we relate events, even if we don’t usually think of it in that sense.

By reframing the mindset, students can find stories just about anywhere. Inspiration could come from:

Participating on a sports team
Clubs and other activities
Playing in a band
Working a summer job
An incident that took place on a family trip
People-watching at a park or mall
Activities with friends
Classmates
Stories they’ve heard from friends or family

Of course, there are a few caveats to go along with this. For one, kids can’t just write down what happened to them in real life; not if we’re trying to help them truly flex their creative muscles. This is where asking “what if?” comes in.

An attempt to float a mattress across a pond serves as the opening of my book Night of the Living Toilet Paper, the second in my middle grade comedy horror series. The incident in the book certainly has a lot of similarities to real life, but it is firmly grounded in the world of the story.

In real life, floating a mattress happened on a whim (teenage boys can be dumb like that). In the book, Marv, who is obsessed with preparing for an alien invasion, does this as an experiment to see if a mattress could be used as a means of transportation after ETs take over. That simple change in the who and why helps take things in a different direction.

The main threat that Marv faces in this book (a giant toilet paper monster) is also very loosely adapted from a high school friend’s plan to toilet paper our school. His plan never came to fruition, but it was definitely the kind of thing that felt like it belonged in a story somewhere.

Bringing these real-life incidents into the book required looking at them through the lens of “what if?” For me, asking “what if?” usually means taking something loosely connected from my real life experiences and placing it in a more paranormal setting. It also helps to have read (and watched) plenty of spooky stories for inspiration.

Young writers might need some prompts to get the “what if” mindset going. But with the right nudge, they can start reframing their experiences in a way that helps them rethink how they can be creative and come up with their own stories.

Some example prompts could include:

What if one of your experiences happened to your favorite movie/video game/book character? How would it happen differently?
If you had done X instead of Y, what would have happened?
Put your real-life experience into the world of your favorite book, movie, or video game. How would this different setting change things?
What if you had a parent with you instead of your friends — or vice versa?

Hopefully, by helping kids see that there is potential for interesting stories anywhere, they can become more interested in storytelling themselves — and more interested in getting out and living life so they can have those experiences to draw from.

Published September 23, 2025 by Temor Press

About the Book: In the sequel to I Know What UFO Did Last Summer, a few months have passed since Marv and his friends stopped what he believes was an extraterrestrial plot to take over the planet. But he’s not letting his guard down. If there’s one thing Marv knows, it’s that aliens could attempt another invasion at any time.

So when he spots an unmanned motorcycle racing into the woods, pursued by a paranormal investigator, Marv’s instincts scream that something very weird is going on. Marv tracks down the bike and hauls it to his fort for closer inspection. That’s when he sees it: a Sleech—one of the creatures he encountered last summer—slithering out of the motorcycle’s tailpipe.

But when Marv returns to show his discovery to his friends, they find the fort completely destroyed. The only thing left is his emergency stockpile of toilet paper.

And it’s alive.

Now Marv and his friends must unravel the mystery of the Sleech before their entire town is overrun by a monstrous swarm of toilet paper. Because if they don’t stop it in time…

It’s going to wipe them out.

About the Author: Kevin Garone is the author of I Know What UFO Did Last Summer and its sequel, Night of the Living Toilet Paper. He lives with his wife and sons in Arizona. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him reading, playing video games, hiking, or cheering on his favorite sports teams. Visit him online at https://www.kevingarone.com/

Thank you, Kevin, for pushing us to push our writers by using their experiences and a dash of imagination!