“Everyone Has a Story to Tell”: How a group of Grantham Academy students became published authors

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Inside the gym at Grantham Academy, giant book displays stood propped on easels like pieces of art in a gallery.

A little dinosaur learning how to face the world.
A shy bunny stepping outside its comfort zone.
A group of ninjas discovering courage and friendship.
A city filled with masked faces hiding who they truly are.

Throughout the morning, students, teachers and family members moved from table to table flipping through pages, asking questions and taking photos while balloons floated overhead and the young authors smiled nervously beside books that, only months earlier, existed as ideas scribbled in notebooks and scattered thoughts in middle school minds. Some students signed autographs for friends while others posed proudly beside their covers as classmates scanned QR codes to order copies of the books online.

Now those stories were real: printed, bound and published through Amazon.

For a moment, the room felt suspended between disbelief and pride. These were not professional authors standing behind those tables, but sixth, seventh and eighth graders who had transformed ideas from notebooks into real books people could hold in their hands.

And somehow, over the course of one school year, a small after-school writing initiative at Grantham Academy had transformed them into published writers.

Behind it all stood Assistant Principal Machelle Brown, who spent months helping students revise stories, communicate with illustrators, navigate Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program and, perhaps most importantly, believe they were capable of doing something extraordinary.

“We started calling it The Lemon Cookie Project,” Brown said. “The goal was simple: everyone has a story to tell.”

What began as a writing initiative eventually became something far more personal, a journey of confidence, creativity and self-discovery that changed not only how students saw themselves, but how their families saw them too.

An idea takes shape

Machelle Brown, assistant principal at Grantham Academy and creator of the Lemon Cookie Project.

The Lemon Cookie Project started with a relatively simple idea. Brown encouraged language arts teachers to get students writing every day, even if it began with journals and short reflections about their lives.

Originally, students were supposed to document their experiences as middle schoolers. Sixth graders would write about their first year on campus while seventh and eighth graders reflected on their own journeys. But as students continued sharing their work, Brown noticed something unexpected happening: some of them were not writing because they had to. They were writing because they genuinely had stories they wanted to tell.

That realization changed the direction of the project.

Brown began meeting with selected students after school, guiding them through brainstorming sessions, revisions, editing and eventually the complicated process of self-publishing. Students learned how to structure books, communicate with illustrators and prepare manuscripts for print through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program.

They even learned something many adults never fully understand: how authors actually make money from books.

Brown taught the students how royalties worked, how pricing affected profit margins and how to calculate what they would earn from each copy sold.

“They weren’t just writing stories,” Brown said. “They were learning how publishing works in the real world.”

The process stretched across months and came with plenty of obstacles. There were formatting issues, illustration revisions, rejected files and stressful last-minute fixes. One illustrated dinosaur accidentally appeared with an extra leg before publication. Another student became discouraged after repeated delays forced major redesigns to her book.

Still, Brown refused to let the students quit.

Late at night, she communicated with parents, illustrators and Amazon publishing support, helping families navigate every obstacle that appeared along the way.

“I told the parents I would stay with them through the whole process,” Brown said. “Whatever hiccup came, I was going to be right there with them.”

Slowly, one by one, the books came to life.

The stories behind the stories

Each student approached the project differently, and each book reflected something deeply personal about the young author behind it.

Sixth grader Andrew Valdez wrote “The Little Dinosaur,” a story about a young dinosaur learning to face the world with courage and the support of family. Standing beside his display during the showcase, Andrew smiled proudly as classmates stopped to look through the pages.

“I feel very accomplished,” Andrew said. “I feel happy and excited.”

Seventh grader Kaitlyn Menard created “The Alphabet Sleepover,” a colorful children’s story where alphabet characters gather for a sleepover filled with games, snacks and surprises. The book quickly became one of the most visited tables as students gathered around its bright illustrations.

Kaitlyn said she already hopes to turn the story into a series.

“It feels really good knowing that I did something to help little kids,” she said.

For her mother, Catherine Menard, the project revealed something she never expected.

Kaitlyn is dyslexic.

“When I read her story, I couldn’t believe she created it on her own,” Menard said. “I honestly didn’t know she had it in her.”

Nearby, seventh grader Natalie Cedillo stood proudly beside “The Little Bunny,” a story inspired by her future niece. The book follows a shy bunny learning to step outside his comfort zone with the support of family and friendship.

“The motivation was my brother having a baby,” Natalie said. “That’s going to be my niece.”

Her smile widened each time another student approached her table to ask about the story.

Eighth grader Victoria Gonzalez brought something especially unique to the project. Not only did she write “The Five Great Ninjas,” but she also illustrated the book herself using her own hand-drawn artwork.

The story follows young ninjas discovering courage, friendship and teamwork while protecting their home. Brown said Victoria originally planned to create all the illustrations herself despite balancing athletics and school activities, determined to make the project feel entirely her own.

Watching Victoria proudly stand beside her finished book became one of the most emotional moments of the showcase for her mother, Victoria Durham.

“She can be very insecure,” Durham said. “Since she started this book, she’s become a lot more open and creative.”

Brown said watching Victoria proudly present her finished book became one of the most emotional moments of the project. Over the course of the school year, Victoria grew noticeably more confident and expressive, transforming from a quiet student into someone excited to share her creativity with classmates and teachers.

Moments like that became the true heart of the project.

Another eighth grader, Yarali Jantes, created “Lila’s Pocketful of Stars,” a story imagining stars that do more than simply shine in the sky. In Yarali’s world, stars guide people and bring joy to others.

“I used to write a lot in my notebook as a kid,” Yarali said. “This is the first time I’m actually publishing something.”

Eighth grader Natalie Rojas took an entirely different creative direction with “Hollow Souls,” a reflective story about identity, conformity and the masks people wear to hide who they truly are.

“My book is about how people around us try to hide themselves,” Natalie explained.

Andrea Monserrat Diaz Avellaneda published “The Colorful World of Feelings,” a bilingual children’s poetry book exploring emotions in both English and Spanish through vibrant illustrations and poems designed for younger readers.

Together, the books formed a collection as diverse as the students themselves. Some stories were playful and imaginative. Others explored insecurity, identity, emotions and courage. Some students wrote for children. Others wrote to express thoughts they had quietly carried for years.

More than published authors

As the morning continued, the nervousness many students carried at the beginning slowly disappeared.

Students who had started the event shyly standing beside their tables were suddenly laughing with classmates, signing books and confidently explaining their stories to visitors. Teachers stopped to congratulate them. Friends asked for photos. Family members proudly filmed videos while students flipped through pages they had once doubted they could finish.

For many parents, the project changed the way they saw their own children.

For Brown, that transformation mattered just as much as the books themselves.

“These students are inspiring not only their peers, but their families too,” Brown said. “They’re doing something many adults have never done.”

Brown hopes students leave the experience understanding that their ideas matter and that creativity can open doors they never imagined for themselves.

“There is no age limit on having a story to tell,” Brown said. “You’re never too young and you’re never too old.”

Then, looking around the gym filled with young authors proudly standing beside books that once existed only in their imaginations, Brown smiled.

“They’re leaving a legacy,” she said. “And now someone else behind them will believe they can do it too.”