Mason Creek Middle School recently celebrated published authors with ties to the school with a special Author Signing Day event modeled after college athletic signing days.
Mike Owens, an assistant principal at MCMS, P.E. teacher Kelcey Smith and sixth-grader Raine Harris and her mom, Dr. Kia Jackson Harris, all participated in the March 25 signing event, which was held in the school’s media center and live streamed to all classes at the school.
Owens co-wrote “Chickens Lay Eggs… Don’t They???” with his wife Courtney. The couple has a son who was conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF), and Owens said they wrote the book for him.
At the back of the book, there’s an illustration of a couple reading to a little boy.
“First off, it’s a fictional book, but when you get back to the very end you find out it’s not actually fictional because it’s the parents reading to the son,” Owens said. “And that’s actually us with him.”
Smith has authored two books: “Bully Book: Being Nice Always Wins!” and “Different Is Good!”
Smith said she used to work at an elementary school “where kids didn’t understand that being different was actually a good thing, and it turned into bullying.” She said she wrote “Different Is Good!” to help kids understand that “it is OK to be different.” She said she wrote the “Bully Book” to help kids understand that “the bully doesn’t always win.”
Dr. Kia Harris is a former assistant principal, counselor and middle school teacher. She wrote “HELP! I have a Middle Schooler: A Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Middle School Years” with her daughter Raine, who also illustrated the book.
“This book is really all about how to make it through the middle school years,” Dr. Harris said. “We know that sometimes it can be tough, whether it’s academic or whether you’re having issues with friends or social media.”
All four books are available at Amazon.com.