Famous Author Shares Writing Tips with Students
Bruce Cameron, author, is most famous for his novel “A Dog’s Purpose,” which spent 19 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and is the basis for the movie starring Dennis Quaid. His favorite topic is dogs. He recently visited Summit Middle School in person to inspire students to write.
The excitement was contagious as Summit Middle School students asked Mr. Cameron questions.
Student: Why are animal stories so sad?
Cameron: Sometimes my stories start with something sad, but in my books it’s always uplifting at the end.
Student: What’s your favorite dog breed?
Cameron: Rescue
The crowd went wild.
“Author visits get everyone pumped about reading, writing, dreaming, and setting goals,” said Summit Middle School Library Information Specialist Rebecca Kaplan, who organized the event. The visits are directly connected to reading and writing curriculum standards.
Education Foundation of the Summit supports the event every year. Karen-Jo Dolamore, Education Foundation of the Summit director, described the scene: “At the end of his presentation to 6th graders, Cameron asked if there were any questions. About 90% of the students raised their hand.”
They learned that Cameron has written 34 books, but his first 7 were never published because they were turned down. “I think that shows something that I always tell my kids, that failure is just another step to success,” said Karen-Jo.
Before the visit, interested students were chosen by their teacher to join Cameron for lunch and receive a signed copy of his latest book, “Lacey’s story: A Puppy Tale.” Students also lined up to have him sign one of his books that they brought or even a piece of paper.
Author Visits, which launched in 2015, are supported by Summit School District, Education Foundation of the Summit and its volunteers, and The Summit Foundation. For more information about Author Visits and how to help support Summit public school teachers and students, please contact us.