EATEL’s annual book grants turns students into published authors

     EATEL recently delivered books to 11 Ascension Parish primary classes who were recipients of the ninth annual EATEL Imagination Press Book Grants, including Sandi Bourque, a third grade teacher at Lowery Elementary.

     Encouraging creativity and student expression, local teachers and their classes spent several months developing narratives and illustrations for their winning story ideas. EATEL and internet-based photo book publisher, Picaboo transformed the students’ work into hardbound books. Each student received a copy of the book to share with family and friends, and a copy of each class’s finished book has been added to the school’s library. 

     “This is an incredible opportunity for our students to not only think creatively, but also to see that creative work professionally published,” said Patrice Pujol, Ascension Parish School Board Superintendent. “We are grateful to Eatel for partnering with our teachers in a program that very well may inspire the next great literary authors.”

     In addition to becoming published authors and seeing their books for the first time, the students were also surprised when EATEL’s Jenny Heroman Koenig brought along her video camera and interviewed the teachers and several students about their books.           

     Bourque’s two classes wrote  If I Could Travel Anywhere, I Would Travel To…” The book led to worldly thinking and research about places around the globe and different cultures throughout our world.