Recently in the reading classrooms at Rainsboro Elementary children listened intently to stories of swimming holes, fishing spots and hiking the hollers during childhood summers in Kentucky.

Author Tim Callahan visited Rainsboro students on Dec 13. It’s his second visit to the school district, though the first to Rainsboro Elementary.

Leading up to Callahan’s visit, the third, fourth, and fifth grade students read Callahan’s “The Cave, The Cabin, and the Tattoo Man”, the first book in his Kentucky Summers series one.

The children heard about Callahan’s childhood and viewed slides of photographs of the author when he was a child and the places he knew as a boy in Kentucky. In seeing these scenes and hearing about the people that have inspired Callahan’s historical fiction novels, the children were able to connect what they had read to where it all came from.

Students eagerly raised their hands, asking Callahan about things like gooseberries, RC Cola and his mamaw and papaw’s store, fishing and swimming, dogs named Leo, and everything else they could think of in their brief time with the author.

Callahan is from Ohio and still lives in the state, though he spent his childhood summers with family in Kentucky. It was a visit back there 18 years ago that spawned his first book.

When he wrote that first book he said it was for himself, something to honor his “mamaw and papaw.” As folks read it though, he said they encouraged him to publish the book, which he eventually did. Eighteen years later there are 23 books, most of which comprise the Kentucky Summers books, series one and two, according to Callahan’s website.

The books include many of his favorite boyhood haunts and with characters bearing the names of those he had his childhood adventures with. But he told the children on his visit that while the places are real and most of the names he used are real, the adventures in the books are a product of his imagination.

During his visit to the reading classes, he read excerpts from his books and upon at least one of those readings became very emotional, stopping several times to compose himself that he might read on. Teacher Angela Johnson remarked to the children after that as a reader herself, you can become quite attached to characters in a book. She asked them to consider how much more attached the creator of those characters becomes.

Callahan told the children that his books all contain four main themes: stupid ideas, overcoming obstacles, good versus evil, and love.

Speaking particularly to that last theme of love, Callahan told the students that it’s important to have friends, but it is very important to be a good friend, to be kind, and to be good.

Callahan visits schools not only to share his works, but to promote reading. He talked about his daughter’s love of reading and how that has helped pave her way to a successful career in her adulthood. “Keep reading,” he said. “ Reading is so important.”

Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, all third, fourth, and fifth graders received a copy of the “The Cave, The Cabin, and the Tattoo Man”, a bit of knowledge that they received with obvious delight upon the conclusion of reading class on Dec. 13.

The Rainsboro library has also received a full set of Callahan’s books so that the children can continue their journey with him through his Kentucky summers.

To find out more about the author and his book titles, you can go to timcallahan.net.

Angela Shepherd is a correspondent for the Greenfield Exempted Village School District.