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bookends

TEACHER REVISES ADULT-ED BOOKS FOR REISSUE LIBRARY'S WINTER BOOK SALE STARTS THURSDAY SEMINARY NOVELIST AT CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SUBMISSIONS SOLICITED FOR SPOKEN WORD FESTIVAL LOCAL AUTHORS TO SIGN BOOKS THIS WEEKEND

When Lancaster resident Tana Reiff started teaching adults to read, she struggled to find material for her students.

Her solution was to write chapter books for grown-ups at a very low reading level, and since 1979, more than 80 of her titles have been published and sold internationally.

Now, Grass Roots Press has resurrected nine titles that were out of print, with Reiff doing major rewrites of them.

The set of new editions is called Pathfinders; the books are written at a second-grade reading level, with recognizable words and short sentences.

"My main concern was keeping the language authentic," said Reiff, who is also a correspondent for Lancaster Newspapers. "Dialogue reflects what a character would actually say. That includes incomplete sentences, idioms and humor. It's important to keep it credible."

Titles in the new series are "Change Order," "Chicken by Charlie," "Doors to the Sky," "Just for Today," "Play Money," "A Robot Instead," "The Saw That Talked," "Take Away Three" and "Time to Talk."

According to the publisher's catalog, "In these compelling stories, the main characters have reached a turning point in their lives. Some … take a risk and pursue their dream. Others ... choose their path in life." Some stories are work-oriented; others are about personal dilemmas. All are ones readers can relate to their own lives.

Grass Roots Press, Edmonton, Alberta, is a division of Literacy Services of Canada Ltd. It publishes and distributes adult literacy resources in Canada, the U.S. , the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

The paperbacks, $9.95 each or $89 for the set, are available at grassrootsbooks.net and elsewhere online as e-books. Chapter discussion questions are available as a free download.

The Friends of the Lancaster Public Library will hold their annual Winter Book Sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at The Book ReSort Center, 225 N. Marshall St.

The sale offers 20,000-plus books of varied subject matter. Most items are between 50 cents and $2. Records, DVDs, audiobooks and videos are also for sale. All proceeds benefit the library and play a vital role in its operating budget. More information is available at lancaster.lib.pa.us/booksales.

Author Simeon Harrar will give a creative presentation, including music and storytelling, at a coffeehouse Saturday at Lancaster Christian School, 651 Lampeter Road. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the program starts at 7 p.m.

Harrar is a seminary student who grew up in a missionary family in Senegal, Africa and Papua New Guinea. His newly released novel, "Finding Tom," is about a teen's shattered life and his journey to make sense of it all. Harrar lives in Pittsburgh and has worked in youth ministry. He plans to be a bivocational church planter after finishing his master's degree.

For more information, visit tablechurch.com; call Dan Houck at 431-5061; or email dan@tablechurch.com.

Poets, storytellers, playwrights, performers and other artists are invited to become a part of Word Play XI

Spoken Word Festival. The Theater of the Seventh Sister will hold this 11th annual celebration of the spoken word April 6 and 7.

Participants must commit to both performances. They also will be asked to attend a staging rehearsal March 10, a technical lighting rehearsal March 20, and a dress run-through April 3.

Each poem or piece submitted must include name, phone number and email.Although original work is encouraged, consideration will be given to performers who wish to interpret work by other authors.

Submit no more than 10 pages. Email submissions are preferred. If hard copy is sent, a self-addressed stamped envelope should accompany it.

Audio or video recordings may also be submitted; they should be no longer than 30 minutes and should be cued to the appropriate place.

Submissions are due Feb. 20. For more information on how to send them, contact Marie Winger at 898-0856 or mariew1280@comcast.net.

Harrisburg poet Doris Washington will sign her book "The Joy in the Morning and a New Day Begins" from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 1700-H Fruitville Pike.

The inspiration for Washington's poetry and her advocacy for a statewide special-needs training program for police springs from an incident involving her autistic teenager and two police officers in 1993.

·Julie M. Gotwald, a resident of Lancaster, will sign copies of her book, "Maddy's Journey," from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at OCB Cakes, 601 Beaver Valley Pike.

In "Maddy's Journey," Maddy is worried that things will change when her grandmother moves into an assisted living building.

But on moving day, Maddy sneaks away and finds that Gran's new home may be just as fun as her old one -- and maybe better. n