Author Jarrett J Krosoczka standing next to an autographed photo of his superhero lunch lady at PES.

PIERCETON — “New York Times” best-selling author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka spoke to students at Pierceton Elementary School on Tuesday. Krosoczka spent the day sharing with students the importance of perseverance through his own real-life examples, and was quick to point out that success is a process that doesn’t happen overnight. Through his life’s experiences, students discover the creative process that starts in his basement brainstorming and ends up on the editor’s desk, ultimately becoming a finished book.

PES began a relationship with Krosoczka when they adopted his idea for “School Lunch Hero Day.” Last year, the staff and students at PES embraced his ideas with open arms and celebrated their lunch ladies; bestowing them with crowns and special “hero” yellow aprons, but the after effects “lifted the morale of the entire school,” recalls PES Principal Mike McClain.

McClain excitedly shared, “His ideas of perseverance and rising up against life’s struggles are so in line with what we teach here, even down to the way we praise our own team through “energy-giver” awards.”  McClain went on to explain that while they had not initially set out to create an author series at the school, “We are now! The PTO along with the staff have really been instrumental in making this author visit a reality”

Librarian Hilary Stouder commented, “We are so thrilled to be able to host Mr. Krosoczka at PES.  He was inspirational to our aspiring writers and had all students on the edge of their seats.  We would like to thank our PES PTO, DePuy, Hands Foundation and Farmers Insurance for helping us bring him to our school.”

The  school has hosted several authors over the past year, including “Notebook of Doom” series author, Troy Cummings and as a result, teachers have even begun to host local authors like Joni Walker for classroom breakout sessions.  The staff efforts to bring real-life success stories into the classroom experience is inspiring many of PES’ students to want to draw more, write more, and consider, as a possible profession, a career that will allow them to showcase their own creativity.

Looking a month ahead, Krosoczka has a new book, “Naptastrophe” due to the bookstores on May 2 along with two other books scheduled to release yet this summer in July, including “Star Wars Jedi Academy The Force Oversleeps.”