CHILLICOTHE — When a former Allen Elementary School teacher was preparing to start her family, she instantly knew that she wanted to create something just for them. Finding herself with downtime during the coronavirus pandemic, she set to work.
Roxanne Sams has been working to publish her fourth book since she learned she was pregnant. Once she and husband Christopher learned they were having twins, their focus shifted on preparing for parenthood. Yet she was still determined to create something inspired by her own childhood to share with her children.
"As we were planning for our children, I had a plan to do a picture book," she said. "The idea was to show that generations of people in a family can go and do things together."
Sams became an author after she started her career as a teacher. For three years she worked in the Chillicothe City School District before moving to Canal Winchester. Sams now resides in Amanda. While teaching fifth and sixth grade Sams was looking for a way to get students excited about reading and writing.
At first, she created competitions and incentives for her students. Then, she promised her class that she would write a whole book by the end of the year to model the creative writing process.
She completed her first novel "The Disappearing Act" in 2017 and also published two others before completing "Growing Memories" this year. Sams takes inspiration from her experiences attending the Feast of the Flowering Moon and the Ross County Fair as well as her students when writing stories. She also finds value in using her family history or local and state history to educate readers.
"If we don't share this information with future generations — if we don't record those things they'll be lost," Sams said. "When we pass that on, it makes the past come alive in a way."
"Growing Memories" is a story based on Sams' experiences from her youth gardening. As a child, she worked in her grandmother's vegetable garden and the two would cook and create dishes from the harvest. To this day, she still has fond memories of spending time with her family in that way.
Now as a parent of 5-month-old Amelia and Alexander, Sams hopes to create similar memories with her own kids when they are old enough. For other families, the book can be used as inspiration to get others involved in gardening or other hobbies.
The story of the Sams twins as toddlers. When they visit their grandmother's house, they see strawberries growing. The rest of the book goes through the process of starting a garden with kids and provides information on where food comes from seed to food.
"Of course you're growing food but you are also making so many memories associated with it," she said. "I know if I didn't have those memories I would be different."
The main theme of the book is spending time creating memories as a family. Sams also enlisted the help of Chillicothian author and artist Neal Parks as an illustrator. And there are lesson plans for parents to use with their children to further learning at the end of the book.
Sams believes books such as "Growing Memories" are important as it allows children to find hobbies and develop new skill sets. It also gives parents insight into how to nurture their kids' creativeness. Without doing so, kids may miss out on opportunities if they don't learn what they're good at, according to Sams.
"Growing Memories" is available for purchase from Amazon. Customers looking to shop local can purchase books at the Paperback Exchange in Lancaster or request Wheatberry Books in Chillicothe order books. Sams' books are published under her maiden name as R.L. Walker. Eventually, she hopes to do a book signing when able. To stay up to date with Sams' work, visit https://ift.tt/3f2XFzQ.
"It's kind of nice to grow something together," Sams said.
Have a story tip or comment? Contact Toria at tbarnhart@gannett.com or 740-349-1106. Follow her on Twitter @ToriaBarnhart.
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July 04, 2020 at 07:08PM
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Former Chillicothe City Schools teacher publishes her fourth book 'Growing Memories' - Chillicothe Gazette
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