EDUCATION: AUTHOR STRESSES POWER OF WORDS

Children's author June Rae Wood gave students at Trinity Lutheran School a personal lesson in kindness, tolerance and the power of words during a visit Monday morning.

The themes were familiar territory for Wood, a Versailles, Mo., native who grew up in a family of eight children, one of whom had Down syndrome. Wood has written three young reader novels, two of which are based in part on the life of her brother Richard.

Many schools, including Trinity, list the books as part of their accelerated reader program that combines technology, motivation and individualized instruction to support extensive reading practice in fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. After reading any of the more than 22,000 books used within the program, students' comprehension is confirmed using computer-generated tests.

Wood, who also was scheduled to visit Kelly High School's Family Reading Night Monday, said she hopes children understand the message of tolerance and acceptance she includes in her novels.

"Nowadays, handicapped kids are allowed to go to school so it's not uncommon to see them, but kids can still be unkind," said Wood. "I write about the period in the 1950s when I grew up. We didn't really know what to do with children that had handicaps back then. They definitely didn't go to school."

Wood's presentation included a 13-pound basket of broken crayons and items such as a pair of red Christmas socks and a very small boot that all had belonged to Richard. Students sat quietly as she described the stories behind the items, all of which had been incorporated into her novels.

Students seem to like the fact the stories are based on the lives of real people, said Wood, adding: "The kids are fascinated by this stuff. It really gets their attention. I like to show them this character is a real person, and even though he or she was different, they were still loved."

Wood's characters struggle with major issues, including mental or physical handicaps, alcoholism and parental death.

She said her goal is to provide children's books about strong characters who survive their circumstances, usually for the better. She considers her books "clean, with no sex, cursing or violence" as has become popular today.

"I did write about World War II, but I don't use violence for entertainment," Wood said. "It's there because it's integral to the story and not because that's the only way kids are going to read it."

Wood said, "Kids see too much junk nowadays. Why not give them something wholesome?"