Wednesday, December 26, 2001
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Wednesday, December 26, 2001 |
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Children's book by PTC author discusses power of words By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
While helping his mother clean out the attic, Casey finds a giant green shirt with his name on it. The shirt, it turns out, belonged to his grandfather, who was in the army. It is now Casey's shirt but it is missing a patch across from his name. Casey tries to decide what the patch he will put there will say. "Casey and The Amazing, Giant, Green Shirt," written by Peachtree City resident Margaret Ross, is a story that deals with the power of words and the effect that labels can have on a child. Casey chooses words like smart, fast, loved, brave and patriotic to wear on his shirt and weighs how each word makes him feel. In the end, Casey cannot simply choose one word, so all of the words end up on his shirt. Ross is the founder of the Kamaron Institute for Rapid Business Results Inc., whose mission is to positively impact the way the world thinks. Ross has worked for Delta Airlines as general manager for relationship marketing and was the founder of Delta's family travel magazine. She also worked for Cox Communications as director of e-commerce and marketing. Those positions certainly helped her latest venture. The book was written after the events of Sept. 11 and was available as an e-book to military families and schools starting the week of Veteran's Day. "Watching the news coverage after Sept. 11, I knew that I wanted to write a story about labels," said Ross. "I wanted to use words like 'brave' and 'patriotic' and the story came out." Ross sees her story as a bedtime story for America. A good bedtime story should leave the child with a smile on his or her face and a secure feeling. "Casey and the Amazing, Giant, Green Shirt" seems to be leaving its readers with that feeling. The book is already very popular with the local schools. Spring Hill Elementary School had a book fair at Barnes and Noble recently and Ross was the guest. The students got to choose the labels they would like to wear. Braelinn Elementary School became a Casey-free zone, meaning that only positive labels are allowed. Many schools have problems with bullying, and the origin of bullying is name calling, said Ross. The schools are using the book as a tool not only for the younger children but for the older students as well. Twelve-year-olds are going to elementary school classes and reading the book to the students. This was Ross's first book, but it won't be her last. Casey will now be involved in seven other books. The next in the series will be "Casey and the See Through Head" and will deal with the way people are judged. People will be able to see Casey's thoughts and will judge him on them instead of his actions. "Casey and the Amazing Giant, Green Shirt" is available at Omega Book Center in Peachtree City, Olive Branch Christian Book Stores in Peachtree City and Fayetteville and Scott's Book Store in Newnan. It is also available on the Web at www.kamaron.org. Military families and schools can download the story for free. A dollar from each book will benefit the American Red Cross. If your school is interested in becoming a Casey-free zone, visit the Web site.
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