Janice Campbell May 2026

"I did it," Clara said breathlessly. "I wrote a story about a girl who lives in a giant tree and talks to the birds." "And how does it feel?" Janice asked.

"Good," Janice said softly. "Now open your eyes and tell me about it on the paper. Don't worry about spelling. Don't worry about being perfect. Just let the lion out of its cage and see where it runs."

"Yes," Janice said, her eyes twinkling. "You just need to give people a little bit of sugar, and they will keep coming back for more. You don't need fancy, fifty-cent words to tell a beautiful story. You just need to look at the world around you and write down the small, sweet things that matter." janice campbell

An hour later, the rain had finally stopped, and a weak beam of afternoon sunlight broke through the attic window. Clara put her pencil down and looked up at her aunt, her eyes glowing. She had filled two whole pages.

As she wrote, the pencil began to move faster. The blank white paper didn't look scary anymore. It looked like an open door. "I did it," Clara said breathlessly

475 | Creating a Family Culture of Reading, Writing and Creativity…

The rain drummed a relentless, messy rhythm against the windowpane of the attic room. For ten-year-old Clara, trapped inside on a Saturday afternoon, the grey sky felt like a heavy woolen blanket. She sighed and looked at the small wooden desk her grandmother had given her. On top sat a stack of lined paper and a single, sharp pencil. "Now open your eyes and tell me about it on the paper

The name is most prominently tied to a real-life author and educator known for the Excellence in Literature curriculum, where she inspires students to read great classics and write beautifully.