Standing on a small table at Fleetwood Elementary School last Thursday were nearly a dozen children’s historical books. The face of Martin Luther King Jr., Helen Keller, Frederick Douglass, Theodore Roosevelt and others shined brightly on the covers.
Students in grades as young as kindergarten could identify these famous figures and knew about the many important things they did in their life. The students owe part of their knowledge to the author of those books, Doreen Rappaport.
Last Thursday, students at Fleetwood got to meet Rappaport, an award-winning children’s book author, as part of a special event at the school.
Rappaport has nearly written enough books to have her own section at Fleetwood’s library. A native of New York City, Rappaport has had 50 books published including biographies, books on historical events and historical fiction for ages 5 to 17. Rappaport has won multiple awards for her book “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.”
Each year, Fleetwood brings in a children’s author or illustrator who helped create the books they read over the course of the year. Media specialist Tiffany Andrayo reached out to Rappaport because she felt her books had connected with the students in a way no other history book could do.
“Her books are very accessible for the kids,” Andrayo said.
Rappaport said she has spoken to students of all ages at countless schools during her career. She recalls when she began to write at the age of 6 and informed the students at Fleetwood they could do the same.
“It motivates the kids and they learn,” Rappaport said of her visit. “Even in kindergarten and first grade, they learned how a story is made. And it’s sophisticated.”
Many of Rappaport’s books revolve around civil rights, something about which Rappaport is very passionate. She has written books detailing stories about slavery, the Civil War and the Civil Rights rallies in the 1950s and 1960s.
For each story, Rappaport explained she has to do months of reading and research before she starts writing. When explaining her book about Martin Luther King Jr., she read dozens of biographies, history books and two of King’s autobiographies before she wrote a single word.
“There’s a lot of pieces to put these stories together,” Rappaport said.
Rappaport’s stories aren’t just fact-based. The books also include direct quotes from the people in the story to paint a realistic picture for the reader. Andrayo said her books have been the perfect way to introduce direct quotes to the young readers at Fleetwood.
Rappaport’s goal in speaking with the students was to tell them they could also write like she has done for many years. She has already made an impact on students across the country.
“In Utah once, I worked with a girl on a story,” she said. “This was back in the day before email. We went back and forth as she was revising it. I worked with her for about a year. Eight years later, I went back to Utah to give a talk at Brigham Young University. This young woman came up to me and said ‘Ms. Rappaport, do you remember me?’ I knew it was her.”
Rappaport said she had inspired the girl to chase her dreams of becoming a writer. She hopes she also left the Fleetwood students with a touch of inspiration.
“All of you are the future, and we are counting on you to do great things,” Rappaport said to the students.
