By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
wprice@mihomepaper.com
CLARKSTON — Before Rowyn Pettinato and Kellan Hartman finished fourth grade at Bailey Lake Elementary last Friday, the two joined their classmates in the school library and they met a few people from the American Reading Company through a Zoom call, May 20.
The two were recognized for the books they created for the reading/writing unit on Animal Adaptations. They received certificates of achievement for their books “Buzzing About” and “The Amazing Life as a Frog” from American Reading Company. They also received offers from the ARC to publish the books and use it as part of their curriculum.
The two smiled when they found out the news but shared they felt like something was going on.
“I got my report card on the book and it was all Ss,” Hartman said, adding his teacher asked if he could bring back his book “The Amazing Life as a Frog.” “I kind of expected something is going on. Before we came into library, she (my teacher) put me in the front and then I thought something is definitely going on. We have our own Xs (on the floor). My whole family is here.”
“It was still a surprise,” Pettinato added.

“Their job was first to immerse themselves in learning all about animals and reading informational books,” shared Bethany Rocho, fourth grade teacher, who is also piloting a new reading and writing curriculum for Clarkston Community Schools. “Then, they were to pick an animal that interested them most out of a certain number of animals to pick from.”
Once students picked the animal, they read informational books about the animals and took notes.
“After all the notes and graphic organizers, they took it into their draft work then into a final product,” Rocho said. “The final product didn’t have to be a book – that was something I wanted to do with them, that I have done in the past. The curriculum we are using this year is a pilot for Clarkston.”
Pettinato shared she chose bees for her book “Buzzing About” because she has always been calm around bees.
“They have always seemed so fascinating the way they fly around (from) flower to flower,” she said. “They are so local, social and interactive with one another. I decided to write my book about bees.”
Hartman shared he has written about frogs in the past and has personal experiences with them.
“I have frogs in my backyard. I go frog hunting in the summer. Also, I see a lot of frogs up north. That helped me gather some research,” he said.
For the books, they had lists for each chapter including behavior, physical characteristics, food and survival. They also including a glossary, table of contents and their own drawings.
Pettinato shared she was one of the students behind on her book because she was doing as much research as possible.
The pair said yes to the offer to publish their books.
“I am excited to have it out in the world for people to see and learn, and know of its existence,” Pettinato said.
“Most of my family was saying they want to read my book, and if it gets published they want a copy,” Hartman added. “I am excited about that. Also, to inspire other people who love frogs let them know some new facts. This was a really fun project. I did put a lot of effort into this. My sister wrote a lot of books. She wrote one in fourth grade, too. It was really good. I wanted mine to be really good, too. I read through her book multiple times and I wanted one of my own.”
Rocho shared she was proud of Pettinato and Hartman.
“I knew Rowyn is a natural born author,” she shared. “The way she speaks. The way she presents herself – very confident, very unique, opinionated, kind, eager to learn, soaks up information like a sponge and just marches to the beat of her own drum – and that’s what came out in her book, too.
“Kellan is eager to learn, a high achiever across the board, wants to do well, sets a good example for his peers,” Rocho continued. “It was definitely a work of art he was super proud of. It didn’t surprise me – his sister, who I had a couple years ago wrote a book and he wanted to. They are both just role model students to me in the classroom.”
Rocho added it was the first time she submitted books by the students.
“We have done different curriculums over the years and I have done books,” she said. “I live in a tiny bubble in Clarkston and this is a world-wide company. For me to submit their books I didn’t think it was going to be noticed. I thought one if we were lucky, but both was an ‘awe’ moment for me. I told them we have several more we can share. We have more gifted writers. Nobody has made any of my students’ work feel like this. I know I haven’t had a moment like this as an educator – it’s pretty special.
“My strong writers and my writers who don’t like to write as much, by the end of the books everybody is very proud, no matter the skillset they have and whatever strengths or weaknesses,” she added. “Everybody walks away feeling very proud of this. That’s one of the reasons I like to do this every year regardless of their abilities. Everyone is able to do it and these two did it exceptionally well.”
“That’s the best part of this story is Ms. Rocho had a hard decision,” Principal Glenn Gualtieri shared with the students. “She had a lot of them that were awesome to pick from. It wasn’t like here are the two best. She had stacks of books worthy of being sent. It’s a credit to all of you who made the decision really hard. I saw all the books. It’s unbelievable. I have been doing this for awhile, and never, ever has anyone been picked to do something like this. Congratulations!”
Pettinato and Hartman shared their advice for other writers.
“Just try to write about what you love and enjoy,” said Pettinato.
“Write in your own style,” Hartman added. “Write what makes you happy and what facts are interesting to you. Include facts that are interesting and stand out to you.”

  authors, Bailey Lake Elementary, Clarkston Community Schools