Sometimes the greatest ally in getting kids to read is an author. In this month’s Terrific Teacher Local 5’s Brittany Falkers heads to Kiel Middle School for an impactful author visit and introduces us to the teacher who made it happen. 

In today’s world filled with tablets, smartphones, and TVs it can be tough to get kids interested in reading a real book.  However, Literacy Specialist at Kiel Middle School Jennifer Garty is here to help.

Garty knows that no one can get kids excited about a good read better than the author.  

“How can we get kids, especially middle schoolers, to enjoy and love reading? W really wanted to find a way to make that possible for our kids,” Garty said. 

She was inspired to start the Motivational Reading Committee at the middle school. Through two grants, outside fundraising, and a lot of hard work the group was able to bring Children’s Author Sarah Weeks to Kiel. 

“With Kiel, it was the very first author that they were going to have at their school and that’s an exciting thing – to be the first one who breaks the ice that way and I think it went so well, I was so pleased,” Weeks said. 

Weeks’ book So B. It was chosen because Garty says it really resonates with middle school students.

“It has this underlying theme of wanting to find out who you are,” Garty said. 

“I think that kids like to read about kids who are their age and who are thinking about the things that they are thinking about,” Weeks said of her book. “The main character is Heidi and she’s 12-years-old and she has a lot of questions about where she came from.”

Groups of fifth through eighth graders saw Weeks speak at the school and then were able to have their books signed.  A lucky group was even able to enjoy a pizza lunch with the author for a more personal question and answer session. 

So B. It will soon be a motion picture, which had the students at Kiel even more excited to meet Weeks and read her book.

For more information on Sarah Weeks’ work and her novel So B. It visit sarahweeks.com.

If you know a teacher who goes above and beyond in the classroom nominate them to be next month’s Terrific Teacher by emailing Brittany Falkers at brittany.falkers@wearegreenbay.com.