Best-selling author Kimberla Lawson Roby tells Rockford students about importance of reading
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — New York Times best-selling author Kimberla Lawson Roby sat down with Jackson Charter School students on Friday to deliver a message about the importance of reading and finding your own dream to chase.
Lawson Roby, who has written 29 books that have sold millions of copies, was invited to speak to the kindergarten through fifth graders as part of the school’s monthly initiative to introduce them to successful and inspiring Rockfordians.
“Part of our mission is to inspire our students to become global leaders,” said Emily Wallen, executive director of Jackson Charter School. “We want them to learn about potential careers, but also that they can follow their dreams and they can do anything that they want to do.”
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Previous speakers at the school have included Police Chief Carla Redd and Dr. William Cunningham of UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital. But Friday was for Lawson Roby, who is preparing to reconnect with readers over her first nonfiction book, “The Woman God Created You to Be.” That story of struggle, self-care and success published in 2020, just in time for any in-person promotion and speaking events to be interrupted by the pandemic.
On Friday, her message was catered to the roughly 240 elementary students at Jackson, a tuition-free independent public school.
“No matter what you do, you will want to read as much as you possibly can,” she told the students.
Lawson Roby said her teachers helped encourage her to write from the time she was young, but she wished she had heeded their advice earlier.
“Please listen to your teachers, please listen to your parents, please listen to adults who share with you what you’re good at,” Lawson Roby told the students. “Most importantly, do the very, very best that you can in school: Study hard, make that one of the most important parts of your young life.”
She started writing her first book at age 30 in April 1995, and wrote 29 books over the next 29 years. Her latest work of fiction is called “Sister Friends Forever,” and it was released in 2022.
Lawson Roby also answered students’ questions, telling them about everything from how she gets her ideas for stories to what Rockford schools she attended: Henrietta Elementary School, Stiles Elementary, Eisenhower Middle School and Auburn High School.
She wrote for the school newspaper at Eisenhower, “Writing was always a part of who I was.”
She wrapped up the event by reading the students “Mirette on the High Wire” by Emily Arnold McCully.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
