Children's author Diane Stanley inspires young readers at Jerger Elementary

Jan. 19—THOMASVILLE- As a first-grade teacher in the '80s and '90s, Jerger Elementary's June White could only dream of having children's author Diane Stanley visit for the school's annual visiting author series. Today, White is smiling as her wish comes true.

On Wednesday afternoon, Stanley, an author and illustrator of countless children's books, visited the students at Jerger, reading her books to classes and enjoying lunch with some of Jerger's best and brightest.

According to Abbey Watt, a parent at Jerger who helped coordinate Stanley's visit, Stanley was supposed to visit in March 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic put their visiting author series on hold. After numerous years of working to reschedule though, Stanley was able to fly into Thomasville and inspire young readers.

Stanley has written in a variety of genres but is primarily known for her biographies on non-American historical figures. She explained that children in elementary school will learn about American historical figures in class, but they rarely learn about foreign historical icons until middle school. The colorful illustrations and variety of figureheads make them easily accessible to kids of any age. She also has a colorful collection of children's books that are retellings of traditional fairy tales, including Sleeping Ugly, Goldie and the Three Bears, and the Giant and the Beanstalk. Students were eager to hear from Stanley about her life and what inspired her to write these fun-filled tales.

Stanley was the daughter of an author. Her mother, Faye Stanley wrote "Murder Leaves a Ring," published in 1950. Watching her mother inspired a young Stanley to begin writing her own books at the age of 4, where she told the true story of her house in New York City catching on fire.

Since then, Stanley has written or illustrated in various capacities, something that inspires her younger audiences.

"I liked meeting an author because I've read her books before," said fourth-grade fan Mary Watt.

Other students agreed, saying it was neat to have the opportunity to meet an author.

Stanley related to the children, saying how much she enjoys meeting other authors too. She said she previously attended a Literary Festival in Santa Fe, where she was able to meet and listen to authors whose work she had not yet read.

"It really gives you a chance to learn why they wrote what they did and I can't wait to go back to the next one," she told the kids.

When asked who were some of her favorite authors she had come across, Stanley pointed to British-American novelist, Salman Rushdie, who was known for his historic fiction work and combining magical realism. Students were then asked if they had ever attempted to write a book or use illustrations to tell a story. Most of the students responded they had only written for class assignments, but if they could choose any topic they would be more apt to write.

Fourth-grade student Tahj Braswell said he would love to write a fantasy, where he could use his imagination.

"I would probably write about if I was in the future," he said.

Other students said they would love to write about their lives, including their time riding horses and adventures from camping or boating.

"I would want to write about things that happened at school and put some pictures to go with it," said third-grade student Eden Rayburn.

Stanley encouraged the students to write about those topics in their spare time.

"You have to give yourself permission to imagine a life where you could make a living doing something creative," she concluded.

The students thanked Stanley for her words of encouragement and said after speaking with her that the talk inspired them to consider their future in the arts.