A lesson in reading, writing from a well-known (at her school) author

Dunwiddie Elementary School in Port Washington recently held a reading celebration that included a talk by an author who is no stranger to the school. Tylar Merrill, a first-grade teacher at Dunwiddie Elementary (top right photo), spoke with students about how she conceived the idea for her children’s book “The Coffee Monster,” the process of writing it and how she worked with artist Morgan Baldwin to illustrate it before reading them the story of what happens to a teacher when she misplaces her morning cup of coffee. The presentation was interrupted briefly by the Coffee Monster, known without her wig as Food Service Supr. Carol Injeski (above left). Students then had the opportunity to write their own stories (above right).   Photos by Bill Schanen IV