Stories they can understand

Danette Goulet

She created the characters, and the students got lost in their lives

for a while.

Marilyn Gould, author of several books about preteens for preteens,

visited Davis Elementary School in Costa Mesa on Monday to share her

experiences with students.

She told the group of sixth-grade girls who sat gathered around her

the good, the bad and the tedious aspects of being an author.

“I told them I’ve had 10 [books] published -- after writing 150,”

Gould said, explaining that she did not relay this to discourage but so

they would understand what went into writing books.

She explained that sometimes making a book work took work.

“I had to go see for myself, so I could pick out the words,” she told

students as she explained her research field trips to the pigeon races in

Mexico and the extravagant Bunker Hills Towers.

The world of an author, as Gould described it, was not quite what the

11-year-old girls were expecting.

But they did appreciate the honesty and reality of Gould’s books.

“She makes it sound just like our lives,” said Marissa Arellano, 11.

One of the student’s favorite books is “Xavier’s Promise,” the story

of a boy from Tijuana who crosses the border without papers and struggles

to get by.

Another popular book, “Graffiti Wipeout,” is set in the garment

district in Los Angeles.

It is a proximity to what they know that is the biggest draw for young

readers.

Much of her books are in Spanish and English -- depending on who is

speaking.

“I think it makes [readers] feel more at home,” said Claudia Campos,

11, of the diversity of the books. “There’s Aztec in [“Xavier’s Promise”]

too. She names an Aztec God. It made me feel at home.”

It was about a world students could relate to.

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education

writer Danette Goulet visits a campus within the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District and writes about her experience.