CAPE MAY – Ava Bohn, a second grader at Cape May City Elementary School, turned her love of sharks and octopuses into a short picture book that has sold more than 400 copies.
Ava wrote the words for her book, “The Story of the Shark,” in the minutes before and after school. Her mother, Tiffany Bohn, is a nurse at her school, which means a lot of office time waiting for Mom to finish up. Rather than spend time on a screen, Ava draws and writes to pass the minutes.
Ava’s mother helped her publish the final product, a collection of what Ava said are three separate stories about a shark and an octopus who form an unexpected friendship.
Ava told the Herald: “People say it’s hard to write a book, I wanted to see if it is that hard. Once I made a book, it felt cool at first! I made another book, but it hasn’t been published yet.”
The book was picked up by an independent publishing company. Her mother wanted to surprise Ava on Christmas with a physical edition of “The Story of the Shark.” The first copy arrived the day after Christmas, and a month later, she worked with her friends at The Mad Batter to host a book signing.
Ava sold 30 books at that first event.
“She had a whole little section of the restaurant dedicated to her,” her mother said. “As people ate brunch, people were so excited to see her there.”
A second book signing took place at A Piece of Cake in Court House, where Ava sold 45 more copies.
She is working on many projects right now: a cardboard dollhouse, drawings of things she loves, and a sequel to “The Story of the Shark.”
Ava said that many of her male classmates do not read much, and that the girls outpace them in reading.
“Most of the boys don’t really like reading,” she said.
Megan Reed, the librarian at Cape May Elementary, worries that the youngest generation of kids, so whipped around by social media and screens, might not discover a love of reading. Students like Ava, who evangelize the acts of reading and writing, help Reed’s students fall in love with the written word.
Reed told the Herald that students are not as naturally drawn to reading as they once were. The competition for their free time is fierce.
“In the past few years, I’ve seen a lot of kids who have no desire to read,” she said. “I pursue them, and it takes a while, but once they start picking up a book, it’s amazing to see how engaged they get.”
Book series like “Dog Man” and novelizations of the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” video games are especially popular right now, Reed said. Lighter fare like this draws students into reading through popular characters and lots of pictures.
“I am hoping that students like Ava will help instill a love of reading and writing for the other children in the school,” Reed said. ‘The Story of the Shark’ especially has Ava’s unique voice. I noticed that Ava in her class is recommending books to her friends, that’s what I want every child to do.”
Contact the author, Collin Hall, at 609-886-8600, ext. 156, or by email at chall@cmcherald.com
