Sitting in a rocking chair, Amanda Butcher described a "terrifyingly beautiful" dragon to the young audience at Stanley Elementary School.
Butcher, 15, a student at East Longmeadow High School in Springfield, recently self-published her first fantasy novel, "Lark and the Magic Pencil."
At Friday's book signing in the Stanley Elementary School library, Butcher shared the story with students and parents.
"It's about a girl named Lark who finds a magic pencil," she said. "On the way to school her school falls down and then she goes to a fairy world where she's arrested for being human."
Butcher's uncle Joe Gibowicz is a preschool teacher at Stanley Elementary School. When he learned Butcher had written a book, he asked her to speak at the school.
"We're trying to entice kids to read and write," he said. "I thought having someone closer to the children's age would impact the kids more, coming from a 15-year-old rather than a 20-, 30- or 40-year-old."
Gibowicz said he's extremely proud of Butcher and is also a fan of the book.
"I'm very impressed and in awe that my 15-year-old niece is a published author," he said. "If you like fantasy and fairies, which are certainly very popular right now, then you'll like the book."
Butcher said she began writing the book in study hall and after school when she was in seventh grade.
"I just love to write," she said. "I might write my whole life."
The book was printed in Nov. 2007 through AuthorHouse, a self-publishing book company.
Butcher has since been arranging book signings with the help of her parents, who also helped her set up a Web site, www.larkandthemagicpencil.com.
Butcher said the story doesn't end on the final page of the book. She's begun writing a sequel to "Lark and The Magic Pencil" and plans to e-mail representatives from Disney and other literary publications to see if they are interested in her work.
Butcher said she has received positive feedback from her peers.
"The kids at my brother's school have given it good reviews," she said. "A 16-year-old girl who also wrote a book said she started it the day before on a bus trip and didn't want the bus ride to end."
Susan McKinney, president of the Stanley Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, served on an adhoc literacy committee that was partially responsible for bringing Butcher to the school.
"We're promoting literacy because literacy is the foundation that we stand on," she said. "I think books are one of the most important things you can expose a child to."
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.
