SPREADING THE BOOK GOSPEL AUTHORS POP IN TO READ TO CALAHAN STUDENTS.

Byline: Mark Kellam Valley News Writer

Calahan Street Elementary in Northridge opened its remodeled library recently with a weeklong celebration that featured a different author each day reading selections from their books.

One of the authors was John Hicks, a firefighter/paramedic with the L.A. Fire Department who has written three children's books and one book for adults.

His children's books are ``My Buddypack,'' ``Divided World'' and ``The Ghost of Fire Company 18.''

``My Buddypack'' tells of a boy and his friends who find a backpack and its contents that thrust them into a world of high intrigue. ``Divided World'' is a futuristic tale about a world torn apart. ``The Ghost of Fire Station 18'' is about a young female firefighter who deals with a ghost in a fire station.

The book for adults is called ``The First Responders' Handbook of Humor,'' which includes anecdotes about how to deal with stress from emergency personnel across the country.

Hicks said reading changed his life and it can change the students' lives, too. ``Being a good reader can make you a good writer,'' he said. ``I want to encourage all of you to read, but even if it's just one of you, that would be great.''

But Hicks said he wasn't always a faithful reader. ``In elementary school, I was a poor student. It wasn't until high school that I started reading and a whole new world opened up to me,'' he said.

Jean Brown, superintendent of District 1 of Los Angeles Unified School District, was visiting Calahan Elementary on March 22 - the day Hicks was the featured author. She spoke to the students before Hicks read from ``Divided World.''

She said she was happy to be there with them as they celebrated their remodeled library and told them that being a good reader as a student is a foundation to being a productive, successful adult.

The library remodeling project began last October. School librarian Teresa Roman kept books available to students by using a mobile library. Every day, she would load a variety of books into crates turned on their sides and place them on a cart. She then pushed the cart from classroom to classroom, allowing students to check out their favorite titles.

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John Hicks, a firefighter/paramedic with the L.A. Fire Department, reads a selection from one of his children's books to students in the newly remodeled library at Calahan Street Elementary School in Northridge.

Mark Kellam/Valley News