By Laura Lane
Kindergartners in North Merrick elementary schools were recently treated to a visit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, author of the Biscuit children's books. The well-loved series includes 50 books about a lovable puppy named Biscuit.
Capucilli was invited to North Merrick as part of a district-wide writer's workshop. Each month children learn about a different genre of writing, including poetry, fiction, non-fiction and personal narratives.
"This is the first year that we've implemented this program across the district," said Stephanie Grossman, a North Merrick literacy coach, adding that last year the program was piloted at Fayette Elementary School. "We're immersing the children in the process of writing in workshops, and exactly what Ms. Capucilli said to the children is what we're trying to teach."
The kindergartners were familiar with the Biscuit books before Capucilli's visit, having read the books in class. When the author arrived, children at Camp and Fayette elementary schools made lists of questions to ask the author, and the children at Old Mill Road listed their favorite parts of the Biscuit books, even writing further adventures for the puppy.
"One of the components of balanced literacy is to have the children read and write in a workshop," Grossman explained. "Three to four days a week teachers immerse the children in literature and writing, and then they conference with the children individually to lift the level of where they are as writers."
At first, the Fayette children from Donna Fox and Sheila Kuschner's kindergarten classes were in awe of Capucilli. But soon they were participating, answering questions and excitedly saying "whoof, whoof" at certain moments in the book, helping to bring the Biscuit books alive.
"A little something silly comes in all of my stories," said Capucilli. "I've been writing, thinking and inventing stories since I was your age."
Capucilli discussed how a book is made, what an illustrator does, how the pages of a book are folded before it is bound and even divulged the secret of how she thought of the idea to write the Biscuit books 10 years ago. "My daughter Laura liked to dog-sit and loves puppies," Capucilli said. "She inspired me."
Children were curious to discover where the author finds her ideas for the many Biscuit books. Capucilli answered that it's easy to get ideas - you take them from your experiences. "Ideas are everywhere," said Capucilli.
Then Biscuit dropped by to visit the children. Much bigger than they'd imagined, they giggled in delight as he waved his paw to say hello.
Capucilli said she was impressed with the North Merrick children and enjoyed her visit. "The children were all so wonderfully prepared and very enthusiastic," said Capucilli. "They are very involved in writing and in the process [of writing], so it was great for me to share my craft with them. The children are fortunate to learn from an author. I never had that chance when I was growing up."
Kindergarten teacher Donna Fox believes that Capucilli's visit will encourage the children to write. "We talk to the children about them being an author and illustrator," Fox said. "It's wonderful for them to see someone who is a successful author and to have their questions answered. Learning what inspired Ms. Capucilli will hopefully inspire them to be writers."
But the children weren't alone in benefiting from a visit by a published author. North Merrick kindergarten teachers and librarians met with Capucilli too. They joined her at lunch, where she shared her writing process with them.
"I wanted to get Ms. Capucilli in not only for the children, but also for our teachers," explained Beth Friedman, the assistant superintendent for personnel and instruction. "I wanted the teachers to learn about the writing component so they could emulate it when they teach the children. They've told me that having Ms. Capucilli was a wonderful experience and hope to experience another visit from an author in the future."
Comments about this story? Llane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
