Madison Reporter

A unique initiative at Malcolm Shabazz City High School in Madison has been turning kindergarten students into protagonists of their own stories for nearly three decades. This program, a combined English and art class, results in personalized books crafted by high school students for kindergarteners. Originally started by teachers Colleen Kellogg and Martha Vasquez in the late 1990s, the project continues under the guidance of English teacher Laura Counselman Crouch and art teacher Rachel Schramm.

The process involves high school students visiting Mendota Elementary to interview kindergarteners about their interests. These insights are transformed into tailored stories by the English students, while art students illustrate them using various techniques such as hand-drawing and digital art.

“We discovered that an excited audience of early readers was the best incentive for producing our students' best work,” said Kellogg. “The personalized nature of each book was an incentive for early readers, too.”

In this collaborative effort, writers and illustrators must work together to bring these stories to life. “Artists may have a very creative way they want to go about it, and it may not match what the writer envisions,” Schramm explained.

The stories inspired by kindergartners cover diverse plots, from adventures with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to a comic book fashionista learning about weather-appropriate clothing. These books offer specific representation and valuable lessons for young readers.

Mendota kindergarten teacher Laura Wocelka highlights the joy on her students’ faces upon receiving their books as one of the most rewarding moments of the process. Since its inception, around 500 kindergarteners have received their own personalized books created by approximately 1,000 high school authors and illustrators.

“It is a beautiful thing to be a character in a story and a beautiful thing to cater a story to a particular student's interests,” Counselman Crouch noted. “It's a win-win for all involved.”