College assignment leads to publishing deal

Sharon, Jhan is stet and I checked the Web site

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

STERLING -- The idea of writing a book crossed Kelli LaRosh's mind while she was growing up on an Osborne County farm, but it took a college class to make it happen.

"When it's an assignment, it's a lot easier to get yourself motivated," she said.

A senior at Sterling College majoring in math education, LaRosh, 23, is snaring attention with her children's book, "What's Math Got to Do with Farming?" The book became available in February.

Written and illustrated by the aspiring educator, the book received an A in her Reading and Writing in the Content Area class at Sterling College.

Kansas Farm Bureau is "talking it up around the state," spokesman Mike Matson said. LaRosh's father, Jhan LaRosh, is a member of the Osborne County Farm Bureau board.

Book signing events are planned Saturday -- 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Broadway Market, a coffee shop in downtown Sterling, and 2 to 4 p.m. at Sterling Public Library. Another signing is 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 28 at Osborne Public Library, during LaRosh's spring break.

"I'm pretty excited about it," she said.

LaRosh's charge from her professor, Terri Gaeddert, was to write a children's book related to her math major. Because she was reared on a farm -- the second of four children -- LaRosh decided to connect math to that profession.

"I had the passion to tell about how math is related to farming. In reality, you have to know math to do a lot of things. You just don't realize it," she said.

A perfect target for the book's main character was older brother Kenton LaRosh. Now 24, he farms with their father.

"When Kenton was young, he didn't know why he had to go to school to learn, especially math. He hated math," LaRosh said.

In her story, young Kenton asks his father why he needs to know math to farm.

"My dad starts to explain some things in the story," LaRosh said. "The only true part is Kenton not liking math."

In the story, the dad shows the son how math is essential to making the farm successful.

The pictures she drew for the book loosely resemble her brother and father "when they were younger," LaRosh said.

She wrote and illustrated the book during two weeks in May, collaborating with her father.

"He said a cow and calf need 10 acres to graze, and if you had 20 pairs, you need like 200 acres for that herd," LaRosh said. "I also did some research on my own."

To show what an acre of land looks like, she compared it to a football field. An acre fills up all the space from the 10-yard-line to the opposite goal line, according to the book.

Jhan LaRosh said the book is "pretty nice," and "pretty accurate."

"She asked how many acres it takes to keep the cows in the summer, and how land is bought and sold," he said.

The goal for the class is to incorporate good writing with your area of interest, Gaeddert said.

"My philosophy in teaching is we learn best by doing. That's why we have the students do this rather than just learn about it," she said.

All of her students' stories were bound together as books. LaRosh's book came together so well that she was encouraged by her mother, Marsha LaRosh, to test the interest of publishers.

"It really came together quite well, and my teacher was impressed with it. I showed it to my mom. It was her idea that I should try to get it published," Kelli LaRosh said.

She sent the book to a Nashville, Tenn., company, which forwarded it to publishers in New York City and Los Angeles. Those publishers rejected the book.

"They said it's about farming, and big cities wouldn't really relate to those types of people," LaRosh said. "They told me to find a different place."

A friend in Osborne told her about Ad Astra Publishing in Osborne. LaRosh sent a copy to co-owner Von Rothenberger.

The pictures first snared his interest. "There are several illustrations that just leaped off the page, to instantly teach what she was conveying to either a child or an adult," Rothenberger said.

The paperback book was made available online at www.adastrallc.com in February, selling for $15 each or $16.67 with sales tax for Kansas residents and $5 for shipping and handling.

"It's just starting to take off now," Rothenberger said.

LaRosh's book has several possibilities, both in personal collections and in the classroom.

She is considering writing a series of "What's Math got to do with ..." books, possibly teaching areas such as nursing, architecture, construction or business. "It can relate to kids, what they're thinking of doing when they grow up and why it might be important for them to know math," she said.

Written for children in the fifth to seventh grades, she said the books could be a classroom resource.

Sterling College teachers intend to promote LaRosh as a possible presenter at the Kansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics meeting this fall, Gaeddert said.

"This book has relevance," she said, and sharing ideas with other math teachers in Kansas "is one way to show the relevance."

LaRosh entered Sterling College in January 2006, after serving a year in Kuwait with the U.S. Army Reserves. She graduates in April and will return this fall as a student teacher, with the goal of teaching math in junior high or high school.

"She's going to be a fabulous teacher," Gaeddert said. "She's just a natural in the classroom as to how to interact with students and get her message across."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

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Rach says....
Your hard work has paid off! I'm so happy for you!
3/13/2009

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Kathy Tucker says....
Way to go Kelli.
3/6/2009

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Just me says....
Farmer or not - everyone can relate to this book. If you enjoy eating thank a farmer and learn more about the farming business. Congrats Kelli on a great book. What's next??
3/6/2009

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