Grants Pass teacher and author releases book for free during 'Stay at Home Order'

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A Grants Pass teacher put out one of her books online for free to give students something to do during the "stay-at-home" order.

Heather Ransom, South Middle School teacher and author, said she wanted to give kids something to do since all schools are closed until at least April 28th because of COVID-19.

"I talked with my publisher and we agreed that it would be a great idea to have that book out there for free. We decided we wanted to make it free for the entire month so I am going to have the book available on my website in both e-book format and as a PDF, Ransom said.

The book, "Going Green" is the first of a trilogy, which will be available through the month of April. The book is science-fiction and deals with a world-spread virus and how it impacts the future.

Ransom explained not only will this give students something to do during the time at home, but teachers as well.

"I wanted to create a novel study that teachers could use in their classroom because even though I taught science for so long, I feel like it's important that students still read in every class. We're also putting that out there for free for teachers to use with this new supplemental education that we're going to be looking at for at least the next month," Ransom said.

Ransom's daughter, Danielle Thorp, saw what her mom was doing and said she had to do what she could to get the word out there.

"She told me that she was releasing the first book for free and that really made me light up. I work with children and I know right now that kids are really really bored at home and probably driving their parents nuts and so I was like this is something that can totally captivate them," Thorp said.

Ransom hopes that by reading the book, it will also inspire students to start doing some writing of their own.

"Right now, all kids could be writing at home. I believe that every person has a story to tell, it doesn't matter how old you are, and no one can tell that story the same way that you can tell it. So this is the perfect time for kids to really take a look at their stories," Ransom said.

Ransom explained that this is a scary time for teachers, and she hopes putting out a resource like her book and novel study will make things a little less stressful for those transitioning to supplemental learning.

"Having something that is tested, that is free, that's ready to go online that is interesting and is timely for students I think is really important. If it can help one person out in this time, if it makes one person's life a little less stressful then it's all worth it," Ransom said.

If you or anyone you know would like to download the book or the novel study if you are a teacher, you can do so by clicking here.

Read more coronavirus coverage here.