How a Dutch Fork Middle School student published her own book — and what’s next
Most middle school students right now might be focused on what will happen next year in high school. But one Irmo eighth-grader is also thinking about her book sales.
Kylie Pittman, an eighth-grader at Dutch Fork Middle School, has a self-published children’s book available on Amazon.
“Turtle Trouble: A Timmy Turtle Story” tells the story of a sea turtle in the unfortunate position of being afraid of the water.
Pittman originally wrote the book for her little brother, inspired by a project in Leslie Snyder’s seventh-grade English honors class.
“While I was in her class we had to write a book for little kids and that made me want to write more,” Pittman said. “My goal with my book is to help kids learn valuable lessons such as overcoming a fear or being yourself. I hope my books help kids enjoy reading.”
Snyder, a 10-year veteran English teacher at Dutch Fork, was touched her lesson plan from last year inspired one of her students to become an author at such a young age.
“We were studying author’s craft techniques, so they had to craft those techniques into their books for a younger audience,” Snyder said. “Kylie sent me an email basically thanking me for doing the project and let me know that it inspired her to publish her book. It really meant a lot to me to get that email because it validated that what I am doing does have an impact with my students, which sometimes can be hard to gauge in middle school students.”
Dutch Fork Middle School Principal Vernon Sava said the book’s publication shows an “entrepreneurial spirit.”
“It has inspired her peers, but has also inspired our faculty and staff,” Sava said. “We are proud of her accomplishment and are eager to see future publications from her.”
Pittman says she plans to continue the Timmy Turtle series, with her next book focused on first responders.
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