Sept. 12, 2007 — Frustrated by her students' lack of performance in the classroom, Addelita Cancryn Junior High School teacher Wendy-Ann Diaz took it upon herself to come up with a remedy, figuring that a book written by someone familiar could spark their interest in reading.
Diaz's unveiled her book, Claude's Adventure, during a small ceremony Wednesday morning in the library of the St. Thomas school. The book focuses on the misadventures of 14-year-old Claude, a student who travels back in time to learn the importance of reading and writing from his ancestors, Diaz explained after the event.
While inspired by "quite a few" of her students, she said, the character could actually represent any member of the community.
"Though it is technically a children's book, adults can read it as well," Diaz said. "And because of that, I think that Claude, as a character, can represent any one of us. He can be your brother, cousin — anyone who's having some trouble getting focused and learning how to read."
While Diaz is currently working on her first novel, she said Claude would become a regular fixture in a series of children's books, which should be filled with life lessons and adventures in learning. In the meantime she hopes Claude's Adventure will help to foster an interest in reading throughout the local community.
"Regardless of an individual's age, it is never too late to learn how to read and write," she said. "People really need to understand that. The reason I wrote the book in the first place was because I was becoming more and more frustrated in the classroom, seeing that the students were not valuing the opportunities they have to learn how to read and write. And what I really want to get across is that reading is the center of all learning."
Claude's Adventure can be found at Dockside Bookshop on St. Thomas, Teacher's Aide in Lockhart Shopping Plaza, Treasure Attic on St. Croix, Book and Bean on St. John and amazon.com.
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