Lots of people think they have a book in them. But few get around to getting the words”or pictures”down on paper.
For recent Roosevelt Middle School graduate Grace Kraft of River Forest, however, being a published author is now a matter of “been there, done that.” And done it well.
Kraft, the daughter of Frances and Jeff Kraft, was named one of 27 winners out of more than a million students who entered the 2006 Nationwide Learning National Book Challenge sponsored by StudenTales®, a division of Nationwide Learning, Inc., located in Topeka, Kan.
Kraft was “pretty amazed” when she learned she’d won an award.
“I didn’t expect that I’d get as far as a finalist,” she said Thursday. “Because we’d been given such a short time.”
The StudenTales project is designed to motivate students to learn through publishing by providing the opportunity for students to write, illustrate, and publish a full-color, hardbound book. Supervised by Roosevelt teachers Kate Rehfield and Joy Evans, Kraft and the rest of her classmates at Roosevelt had less than three weeks to chose a topic for a work of historical fiction, research it, write a narrative and produce the illustrations.
Kraft’s product was Here Is My Hand and Here Is My Heart, which profiles suffragist Alice Paul’s efforts to pass the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.
Kraft’s book was selected for its “research content, noteworthy storyline, and colorful illustrations,” said Kathryn Sagar, Nationwide Learning’s national marketing manager.
“This is an exemplary example of great writing and illustrations,” Sagar wrote in a press release. Reached Thursday by phone, Sagar was even more complimentary.
“She’s a very talented young lady,” said Sagar. “She wrote a wonderful story, and her illustrations were fantastic.”
Kraft’s success is no surprise to Roosevelt art teacher Sally McPartlin, who taught her in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
“She totally deserves it. She’s a phenomenal young artist,” said McPartlin, who called Kraft someone “beyond her years as an artist; someone who is always willing to do new things in art.”
“I don’t come across kids like [Grace] very often,” McPartlin said. “This girl will go far.”
Kraft’s father Jeff said that he and Grace’s mother were delighted, but not surprised by their daughter’s accomplishment. She’s been around writing and illustration since she was a baby.
“Both her parents are marketing people, so we’re always doing annual reports and brochures,” said Jeff Kraft. “You’d put her in a high chair with a crayon and she’d be good for three hours.”
“The visual arts are my hobby,” Grace said. “It comes easy.” Writing, she added, is also a passion.
But while she has always liked to both write and draw, Kraft admits she wasn’t quite sure she’d given her best effort in the brief time allotted to submit her work.
“I didn’t know if it was my best or not,” she said. After a moment of silence, she added, “I guess it was.”
Kraft said the award has made her more confident in her talents and skills, saying, “Maybe I can make it as an author.”
But while she may have the talent to join the company of such illustrious local authors as Ernest Hemingway, Jane Hamilton and Carol Sheilds, it’s illustration”particularly cartooning”that has captured Kraft’s imagination. The book features two of her stylish, whimsical and hip cartoon illustrations.
Kraft’s next stop is high school, where she said she’ll continue to write and develop her artistic talents. And where she also plans to study Japanese. That’s not surprising, as her illustration appears to be heavily influenced by Japanese cartoon art.
“I’m looking forward to that,” she said brightly.