Jackson Free Press

Eight-year-old North Jackson Elementary School 3rd grader Josiah Calvert already has plans to attend the University of Mississippi.

"He says he wants a scholarship for Christmas, " his mother, Dr. Lashunda Calvert, said.

Like many other kids, Josiah likes football, but his literary skills, however, might make him more of a recruit for the university than his athletic aspirations. At 8, Josiah is already a published author and illustrator. He performed a reading of his 2015 book, "The Three Little Monkeys," at The Village Apartments on Raymond Road yesterday as part of a celebration of World Read Aloud Day. Springboard to Opportunities, a nonprofit group that works toward community building and providing resources in Section 8 housing, sponsored the event.

"The Three Little Monkeys" details the story of three elementary school-aged primates who stumble upon a wrecked airplane in the woods in which they normally play. In an enterprising spirit, the monkeys decide to repair the plane, but find their efforts in vain once it mysteriously disappears.

"Why did you decide to write the book?" a child in the audience asked in the question-and-answer period after the reading.

"I read so many that I wanted to make my own," Josiah responded.

His mother says that Josiah was exposed to reading around the age of 3 and that he grew up in a literary household: his father, Maurice Calvert, is an art teacher and published author, as well as his grandmother, Shirley Smith. But she thinks his impetus for writing the book came from the summer reading requirements of North Jackson Elementary School, which encourages its elementary-school students to read three books over the summer. Between Josiah and his little sister, she says, they read ten times as many.

"The (North Jackson Elementary School) principal played a role in encouraging the students to be creative and do innovative things over the summer, and I also think that played a critical role," Calvert said.

George Stewart, a Hinds County School District educator who leads Springboard's Lit Club and is involved with its Pathways to Success program says events like this are important because they provide literary enrichment and leadership-building opportunities for students.

Amanda Lucas, a representative for Springboard, says she was happy with the turnout. "I went around knocking on doors," Lucas said with a laugh.

After the reading, the children in attendance got an opportunity to craft their own books and read them aloud to the attendees. Parents who brought their children were surprised with a Chick-fil-A gift card at the end of the event.

Carlos Carson, who brought his 4-year-old daughter Mylisa, said he was happy to be there. "I'm from out of town, but she wanted to come. As long as she's having fun and learning, I can't refuse that. I'll always be there for my daughter."

"Look at that big D you wrote on the page!" Carson said, looking down at his daughter's butterfly-patterned book. "Does 'D' stand for 'daddy?' All right," he said, laughing.

Sierra Mannie is an education reporting fellow for the Jackson Free Press and The Hechinger Report. Read more at jfp.ms/education.