Janice Campbell May 2026

Clara nodded gloomily. "I want to write something wonderful, Aunt Janice. Something like the books you have downstairs. But I'm just a kid. I don't know how to make words dance."

Janice reached over and tapped Clara’s blank paper. "Close your eyes. Don't think about writing a masterpiece. Just think about a memory that feels like a cookie." janice campbell

475 | Creating a Family Culture of Reading, Writing and Creativity… Clara nodded gloomily

The name is most prominently tied to a real-life author and educator known for the Excellence in Literature curriculum, where she inspires students to read great classics and write beautifully. But I'm just a kid

Clara picked up her pencil. She didn't try to use big, complicated words. Instead, she wrote about the rough bark of the tree against her sneakers. She wrote about the cool, green light filtering through the leaves and the sweet, sticky taste of the summer peach.

The rain drummed a relentless, messy rhythm against the windowpane of the attic room. For ten-year-old Clara, trapped inside on a Saturday afternoon, the grey sky felt like a heavy woolen blanket. She sighed and looked at the small wooden desk her grandmother had given her. On top sat a stack of lined paper and a single, sharp pencil.