Claremore 4th Grader Writing Book About Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The book cover for "Three Tales" by Edie Ryals is already designed, but the Justus-Tiawah Public Schools student is still filling the pages. Edie works on her chapter book in between schoolwork and gardening.

"It's just so fun and I've never done it before," said Edie.

The 10-year-old says the book is about finding a cure for COVID-19.

"It's about three people. Two kids, and they're twins. And then a teacher and the parents of the twins," Edie said. "And they are all trying to stay calm."

Without giving too much away, Edie said one of the characters will get sick. But she wants to inspire her readers, rather than discourage them.

"I want them not to be nervous or anything about this pandemic," said Edie.

She spends about 30 minutes-1 hour working on the book each day. So far she's written 50 pages.

"I'm thinking it's gonna be a 300-400 page book; so, it's going to be very interesting," Edie said.

While she is busy writing, her teacher is at home reading. Megan Moseley hosted a story time session for her students, reading Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors" on Facebook Live.

"I had some books and so I thought, let's just have a little story time," Moseley said.

She also took the time to send a handwritten letter in the mail to each of her students. They wrote back, sharing moments from spring break. They asked Moseley questions about her time away from school, and one student wondered, 'Am I still going to be Student of the Month?' It was in Edie's letter, where her grandma discovered she was living with a budding author.

"I read it before she mailed it, and it said she wanted to write a book and she had already started it," said Cass Huddleston. "So, that was really exciting!"

Reading and writing have become the tools used to bond this teacher-student relationship. And if writing an entire book sounds intimidating, Edie has some advice.

"If you're feeling stressed or anything, then you can maybe write out your feelings in a journal or a diary," Edie said.

Who knows, Edie's book may be read by future generations, learning about this extraordinary moment in history.