The folks behind Poetica Grandma-tica have been successfully publishing books for eight years. Using the same format, Jack Blackburn and John R. Thurston recently visited Altoona Middle School and had approximately 100 eighth graders write narratives about their grandmother or another significant adult in their lives. “The students can have an opportunity to write – and very importantly publish something – that would commemorate their grandmothers and perhaps their roles in Altoona’s history,” said Mr. Thurston, who wrote the introduction to this new book. These works were compiled into a separate publication from Grandma-tica, however, five students were chosen to be published into the upcoming eighth edition. Teachers in the area, including Shalyn Gagnon and Teri Cihasky, enthusiastically embraced this idea that also had students determining the book’s title and the design of its cover. This book along with Poetica Grandma-tica can be found at The Local Store.