"I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to start making money," said the 12-year-old seventh-grader. "I took my English teacher's advice and my mom's advice. I believe if you have an opportunity you should take advantage of it."

"They could develop a broader vocabulary and learn new words to replace with the older ones," he said. "When they read my book I just want them to see that anyone can accomplish anything they want to as long as they have the dedication and don't let anything stop them."

"(In school) you have to read really big books and sometimes they have big words that are hard to pronounce and you get frustrated," [Johnson] said. "But these books are easier, there are not as many big words and you do not feel the pressure to pronounce them. It's hard for you to let somebody know that you can't pronounce the word and that you don't like reading out loud. You don't want to be embarrassed."

Reading programs
Student writing