Teen authors at Tara High create children’s books | Louisiana Inspired

Twelve new children’s books were published this month in Baton Rouge but you won’t find them at Barnes & Noble. Their authors are teenagers, little older than the youngsters for whom they are writing.

These teenage creators showcased their new creative works on Feb. 26 in the library at Tara High School during the school’s “Family Literacy Night.”

Titles include “Esli’s Big Attitude,” “Not So Norman,” “The Glowing Remote,” “The Musical Incident” and “Runaway Robot.” The storylines range from helping an annoying girl find her lost dog, to a boy who gets bullied when he enrolls in a new school, to an adventure tale involving pirates and treasure.

These Tara ninth graders have been working since October on their books, which feature a mix of text and illustrations. 

Jama’rl Crockett served as team manager for the book, “The Musical Incident,” a story about four children getting ready for a battle of the bands competition with a $1,000 prize to the winner. He said his proud parents have been really excited about the project.

“They’re definitely going to staple it on the wall,” Crockett said.

Christopher Gage, father of Lyric Gage, said he has a prominent spot in mind to display his daughter’s book, “Runaway Robot.”

“If she doesn’t want it in her room, we have a centerpiece in the living room where we could put it,” said the father.

It’s the third year in a row that the Baton Rouge high school has turned its Freshman Academy into a mini-publishing company. It’s part of an ongoing collaboration between Tara and the local educational nonprofit Humanities Amped. The nonprofit raised money and dedicated a nonprofit employee to the project.

Principal John Hayman said he’s hoping to train more of his teachers so they incorporate more student projects in their classes.

“It’s not about the content really. It’s about working together, to collaborate as part of a group, because so much of college is about that,” said Hayman said. “So it gives them a little taste, which is good because they are not used to that.”

“I love what we do and how we can support Tara,” said Niagee Butler, classroom program coordinator with Humanities Amped.

Butler’s background is in business and math, not creative writing. She ended up focusing on helping students with their illustrations.

“I have three children so I have some experience,” Butler said, with a laugh. “But it was a little intimidating.”

She said she helped the students but let them take the lead. She said the project took a long time and they were “stretched out of their comfort zones.”

“They were excited to get it done,” Butler said. “They all pitched in to help each other meet the deadline.”

A total of 75 Tara ninth graders participated. Their teacher, Barry Jackson, divided them into teams ranging from four to seven students each. Their roles on the team included serving as author, illustrator, editor or manager of the project.

To get the creative juices flowing, the students gathered in a circle at the outset and shared challenges they have. These challenges became the wellspring of the stories they ended up telling.

“It was a new experience and most, if not all of them, are glad they did it at the end of the day,” said Jackson, who also coaches softball and volleyball at Tara.

Aleia Thomas said it’s hard to keep the story going.

“We do one page, and then I don’t remember what to do for the next or not know what to do,” Thomas said.

Addison Mitchell, who managed the six-person team that created “Not So Norman,” said one student was the main writer, but several team members helped work out the story. It grew out of the story of someone she knew in elementary school who suffered from vitiligo, a depigmenting skin disease. The children’s story focused on a boy with vitiligo who moves from a small town to a big city and gets bullied.

“Then another character in the story stands up for him,” Mitchell said. “And he’s like, ‘Why’d you stand up for me?’ And she’s, like, ‘I remember being new too.’”

Illustrations proved to be perhaps the biggest challenge. The bulk of the images were generated via artificial intelligence. Some tried hand-drawn illustrations but gave up.

“Some of (the students) are really like artists, but then they became a little overwhelmed,” said Butler.

AI, however, posed special challenges. For instance it was hard to achieve consistent results when AI tried to draw characters for stories. Mitchell has regrets about reverting to AI.

“Some of the pages don’t have pictures because we were rushing so much because of that serious backstep,” she said.

Addison’s mom, Jessica Mitchell, is an assistant principal at Tara. She said she’s proud of the growth she’s seen in her daughter.

“Just to see her flourish this year and come out of her shell and take risks, it’s been an honor to watch her,” said the mother.

The final part of the project is still to come. The students take their new books back to their old elementary schools and read them to the children there. Last year, Tara was unable to schedule those elementary school readings due to standardized testing, something Hayman regretted because it’s his favorite part of the project.

“It’s just cool to see them read for little kids,” he said. “Yeah, and kind of be a little kid.”

Crockett went to Audubon Elementary and is anxious to see how the children there react.

“I’m a little bit nervous,” he said, “but I really want to overcome that challenge, and I think I very much could.”