Park University hosted hundreds of fourth- and fifth-grade students from the North Kansas City School District at the River Read Children’s Literature Festival Oct. 14.

The children were given the opportunity to meet and interact with authors and explore Parkville campus.
Local authors were invited to give presentations to the children about literature, the writing process and how to construct their own stories.

The students filled the campus, visited different buildings, walked the halls, sat in college classrooms, explored the underground and lit up when they purchased a can of Coke from the soda machine during lunch.

“Many of the children who attend the River Read Children’s Literature Festival are visiting a college campus for the first time,” said Shannon C. Cuff, assistant professor of Literacy Education.

“They enjoy seeing learning from a different perspective. Additionally, the children learn about the writing process and how to develop ideas into a story, both fiction and non-fiction.”

Christine Taylor-Butler, author of 75 children’s books, led a session titled “Writing Fiction: Turning Your Ideas Into Great Stories,” which gave students the secret formula to successfully writing their own stories.

The children were told to create a unique character, a problem the character must solve and a way to solve it. Hands shot up across the room as the children shared their story lines.

“My character is a popcorn ball in a movie theatre that doesn’t want to be eaten,” one child said as the room erupted in laughter.

“Part of what makes a story work is that you are learning in the process,” Butler told the students.

Butler said she hopes the River Read festival helps children understand that authors are real people, not made up.

“I want to make it fun,” she said. “I want them to say, ‘Wow, I can do this’.”

Alex Hall, a math and science teacher at Oakhill Dayschool, brought his fifth-grade class to the River Read Festival.

A Park University alum, Hall graduated last December with a degree in elementary education and said he enjoyed being back on campus with his own students.

Hall said his students greatly benefited from the hands-on activities offered in the sessions.

“The authors were able to help the students realize the amount of work that goes into writing a book as well as help expand their horizons regarding what they are capable of accomplishing,” he said.

“As a teacher, I hope this experience teaches my students to work hard, appreciate the works of others, and dream big…I would like to see them have an increased appreciation for literature and challenge their own personal boundaries.”