BY SOPHIA GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
Published March 26, 2008

Stories are everywhere.

At least that’s what award-winning author Cynthia DeFelice told students during a March 18 visit to the Harrington Park Public School.

DeFelice, 57, is the author of 16 novels and 12 picture books for young readers. The former elementary school librarian from New York is best known for published works titled "Devil’s Bridge," "Nowhere to Call Home" and "Mule Eggs."

For DeFelice, inspiration might come in the form of an encounter with a crow that has an eye for shiny trinkets or a gooey green bath gel with enormous bubble potential.

"You never know when something might happen to pop an idea into your head," she said to a floor packed audience of kindergartners, first- and second-graders.

Armed with a collection of her printed works, DeFelice recounted the story of an unwilling bath taker named Casey who quickly revels in his personal hygiene thanks to a green bottle of "ooey, gooey" bubble bath.

"Could I interest you in buying some of our amazing, new bath soap?" said DeFelice, as she pretended to be a bald, curly-mustached salesman with star-shaped glasses.

"It’s guaranteed to make taking a bath a thrilling experience," she continued again in a clumsy voice.

The author flipped through the pages of her picture book titled "Casey in the Bath." The students stifled their laughter as they leaned in to hear the rest of the story.

After Casey squirted three globs of green goo in the tub, giant green bubbles began to form. But as Casey moved to pop the bubbles, said DeFelice, little green creatures would come out to play.

In "Old Granny and the Bean Thief," the author used the help of her young listeners to retell the story.

The students raised their hands mid-air and repeated after DeFelice: "Guh, guh, guh, shaaah." Granny would say this whenever she thought someone said something silly or ridiculous, said the author.

After a masked raccoon steals the old woman’s beans, Granny must make the long trek from the countryside to tell the town sheriff.

"Madder than a pussycat thrown into a pot," granny meets a talking snake, a pecan, a prickly cactus, an alligator and a smelly cow patty along the way, recounts the author. They each ask Granny to be scooped up and placed in her sack on her way home.

"Hey granny, on your way home put me in your sack," said DeFelice, pretending to be the talking water snake. "You’ll be glad you did."

Pretending to be Granny, the author and students repeated, "Guh, guh, guh, shaaah."

Little did Granny know that her unusual friends would rid her of the three-time bean thief and provide her company as a lonely old woman

After finishing her last story, DeFelice described the process of publishing novels and picture books.

While a novel may take one year to complete, storybooks may require up to three years, she said.

From a drafted story to a dummy book, DeFelice said that she is proud each time her story gets published.

Putting her story samples away, DeFelice the confessed to the crowd: "I have a few wishes."

The first wish was that the students become authors. Her second wish was that they become illustrators. And her third wish was that the students become storytellers.

"And I know you can because you helped me tell the story," said DeFelice.

She then paused.

"But I think the cow patty story [should] be told at a time other than at the dinner table."