September 22, 2023
By MEALAND RAGLAND-HUDGINS
Rutherford County Schools
Roy Waldron third grade student Desiraye Moses and her father Desmond Moses were celebrities of sorts on Friday.
Debbie McClendon, the school’s library media specialist, typically recruits local celebrities for Reading in the Schools Day each fall. An annual literacy effort led by Read To Succeed, the day involves parents, community leaders and others visiting elementary classrooms throughout the county to highlight the importance of reading.
The father-daughter duo published Vroom Vroom: Dust Pan and the Broom in April 2022. The story talks about tools used to clean a house or school. It is available for purchase on Amazon.
“We are going to purchase some copies for our library here. It’s good for students to see their peers do something like this,” McClendon said.
After reading to around 250 students in grades 2-5, the father and daughter talked about the process of writing and editing a book, as well as the importance of believing in one’s dreams.
How did you come up with the idea for the book?
Desiraye: One day we came home and Daddy asked if I wanted to make a book. Daddy came up with the name. We thought about how it could go, and there are affirmations to lead you.
Desmond: I tell her she can do whatever she wants to and what she puts her mind too. Kids are visual learners. I went hands-on with her to show her instead of leading it.
What was the hardest part of the process?
Desmond: When I got to the editing phase, I learned a lot. Page size, font, margins. A lot of times I had to go back fix it. Once I learned what to do, it was pretty cool. I watched a lot of YouTube.
Desiraye: Maybe coming up with the name. We had trouble with the rhyming, so we had to figure that out.
Desmond: I wanted it to be catchy. We went through Fiver to find the illustrator. Desiraye noticed the facial expressions and hair looked the same on every page, so we had to adjust that.
Desiraye: We’re going to do two more books, but one will be for grownups. My dad is going to do that with my granddad. The kids book will be Boy Blue: The Sock and the Shoe and it’ll be about my little brother DJ.
What did you learn about each other while working on this?
Desiraye: I never knew he could make a book. He came up with the idea.
Desmond: I learned if she really focused, she would grasp it. She’s a perfectionist, so that’s a gift and a curse. We talked about beating yourself up and not being so hard on yourself. That’s why the affirmations were important.
What would you tell other students or anyone who wants to write and publish a book?
Desiraye: Maybe you should think of what the name of the book is. If you know how to do the words, you might get somebody to help with the illustration. Is it a joke book? If it is, you want it to be entertaining.
Desmond: Fail forward and get the experience. You’ll know what not to do and eventually get the results you’ve been looking for.