Local author brings writing to life at Round Hill Elementary

Round Hill Elementary students got a glimpse into the world of nonfiction writing during a two-day visit from local author Marie-Therese Miller, who shared her expertise with young learners while explaining the process of writing and publishing.

“I’m so excited to be invited here to talk to them,” Miller said. “I think that all children are writers, and they need to have the writing to communicate throughout their lives. I just love to see what they can produce and to get them excited about writing.”

Each grade at Round Hill was treated to a special assembly in the gymnasium, which all started with Miller introducing herself to the audience and explaining what a nonfiction book is. She explained to third graders “Nonfiction means that the books are filled with facts, things that are well-researched and true.” 

The prolific author, who has penned about 60 books, told the audience how she became interested in writing nonfiction books. She started off writing news articles for the Poughkeepsie Journal newspaper before switching gears and writing short, nonfiction stories for the iconic “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. Her passion for writing and love for reading with her young children inspired her to start writing nonfiction books for kids. 

Miller has written stories on a variety of topics including celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Zendaya, as well as books about space, the U.S. Navy and drones. Her first series was a collection of five books about different types of service dogs including police canines and guiding eyes dogs.

The next part of the assembly focused on the research and writing process of creating a nonfiction book. Miller emphasized how she uses real-life experiences and sensory details to make her stories come to life. 

“A nonfiction writer wants to use lots of sensory details to make the readers feel like they are right there in the scene,” Miller said. “We are a visual society and lots of our descriptions are about what we see, but it’s important to include all the senses.”

Miller detailed how she goes about becoming an expert in the topic she is writing about, utilizing books, peer reviewed journals, newspapers, trustworthy websites and magazines as part of her resources during her research. She noted how she used the NASA.org website to help her gather information for her book “34 Amazing Facts About Space.” 

Moving ahead to the writing process, Miller highlighted how she writes the first couple of drafts of her stories with pen and paper rather than on the computer, as research shows that hand writing helps with memory and improves creativity. 

After finishing the handwritten drafts, Miller uses the computer to type her book. Once she is finished, she sends the story to a publishing company and works with an editor to further enhance the story. A fact checker also reviews her writing to ensure that everything is accurate, while the proofreader makes sure there are no grammatical errors. 

“My favorite part of the author visit was when she was explaining how she makes the books,” said third grader Alice Derkach. 

 Miller also read aloud one of her books to the audience. Third graders heard an excerpt from her book “Police Dogs.” The children later engaged in a creative writing activity in which they used their five senses to write about a fun memory or vacation. Many third graders wrote about visiting their grandparents and tasting their delicious cooking. 

Student Bernadette Jean-Baptiste used her senses to write about going to her grandmother’s house in Poland and tasting her pierogi. “I saw my grandma cooking pierogi,” she said. “They smelled delicious and tasted really good.”

Once students completed their writing assignment, they were invited to stand in front of the audience and read what they wrote. The assembly ended with students asking questions about Miller’s writing career and the stories she’s published.