Writing children's books to inspire
Jenna Grodzicki graduated from 涩里番下载's Lynch School of Education and Human Development with a degree in elementary education. After teaching for a few years, she began to write books, hoping to inspire children to read and reread. Currently an elementary school library media specialist, she continues to produce fiction and nonfiction picture books. She talks about her career and her time at the Heights in this Q&A.聽
Why did you choose to attend 涩里番下载?
I learned that 涩里番下载 had a really good elementary education program, so I took a tour and fell in love. The campus is just gorgeous. I also had a good friend who was a freshman when I was a senior in high school, so I spent a weekend with her. It was so fun. We went to see a play at Robsham Theater, among other things. After that, it was solidified in my mind that I wanted to go to 涩里番下载.
What were you involved in as a 涩里番下载 student?
My freshman year, I went on the 48 Hours retreat and it was a wonderful experience. I met some of my closest friends there. It was a great way to hear from older students about how they settled into 涩里番下载. Being a cheerleader was probably the biggest activity I was involved in. It was a huge part of my 涩里番下载 experience and it took up a lot of time, but I loved it. I loved being on the field for the football games and traveling with the team. My senior year the team played in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas so we flew to Hawaii. It's one of my fondest memories.
How did 涩里番下载 shape your career path?
I had known from the time I was little that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I enjoyed all of my education classes and had some wonderful professors. I think that helped inspire and shape me into the teacher I am today. Several of my roommates and closest friends were also elementary education majors, which I think helped to improve my experience because we would study and do our projects together.
In the fall of my senior year, I was a student teacher, placed at the Franklin School in West Newton. I had an incredible first-grade teacher to work under. Through that experience, I knew I definitely wanted to be a teacher. Even before the full student-teaching experience, I had wonderful experiences in my classes, pre-practicums, and placements.
At that point, I did not know I wanted to be a writer. I had always loved reading, but I only knew I wanted to be a teacher for the rest of my life.
How did you figure out that you wanted to write?
After I graduated, I taught third grade before moving to first. [I found that] my favorite part of teaching first grade was sharing picture books with my students. We did author studies and wrote letters to authors, and it was just amazing. I loved seeing the students鈥� reactions to the books. After a while, I thought that I'd like to write a book that kids are excited to read over and over.
I knew I wanted to try writing, but I did not attempt to write for several years because I was afraid. When I did decide to take that leap, it was one of the best things I ever did.
How did you get your start in writing and what were your subjects?
[After attending a writer's conference in 2015] I started writing fiction picture books. I never thought I would write nonfiction because the nonfiction books we read in school were really dry. I was working on a fiction picture book manuscript and it had a lemon shark as a character. I was researching these types of sharks and I came across an article that had a list of aquatic animals that looked like food. I immediately thought that children would like this, so I wrote a picture book about sea creatures that looked like food, which ended up being my first nonfiction book, . It won the 2020 Connecticut book award for young reader nonfiction. A switch flipped on my thoughts of nonfiction.
My biographies are part of the 鈥淪tory Of鈥� series. It started in early 2021, with a biography about Princess Diana. [Other subjects include Babe Ruth and Henry Ford.] I wanted to make sure the biography subject was relatable to children. The world looked completely different when they lived, so I wanted to make sure I included tidbits of information and anecdotes that kids could relate to
I also wanted the readers to feel inspired by these people. Princess Diana was a princess, but she was kind and cared about other people. Babe Ruth came from nothing. It was also important to me that these subjects were presented as real people, flaws and all. In the story of Princess Diana, I talked about her divorce, but I kept it age-appropriate. The hardest one to do was Henry Ford because of his anti-Semitism and the way he treated his workers. It is important for me to show not only the good things but the bad as well.
How have you stayed connected with 涩里番下载 since graduating?
I've gone to all of our reunions. I have kept in touch with a lot of my friends and plan weekend get-togethers with some of my closest friends. It's amazing that I was only there for four years, but it had such an impact on my life.