Young Authors of "Our Friend Mikayla" Honored By Clay

Several weeks ago, CDD had an article about a book called "Our Friend Mikayla," which was written and illustrated by a third grade class about a fellow student in their class with disabilities. The book, for which BAF paid the cost of printing, is available for purchase at The Bubel Aiken Foundation website for $14.95.

Today, between concerts, Clay went to greet and honor these students at their local high school for the work they had done. According to Mcall.com, the students knew why they were being brought to the high school, but they didn't find out until they arrived that they would be honored by Clay himself. Mcall says,

Busloads of children -- the entire elementary school in fact -- filled the auditorium, and they listened attentively as Aiken read the book that tells the story of Mikayla Resh, a girl who loves lollipops and cheerleading and American Idol..."This is a prime example of what we want to do … spreading the word of inclusion" said Aiken. The fifth graders, he said, were perfect messengers.

And listen to what else Clay did for these young authors. "After the assembly, Aiken hosted a private question-and-answer session with the authors that concluded with yet another treat: The singer had arranged for the children to return to the elementary school in limousines."

I can only imagine how excited all of these children were to be able to ride back to the school in limousines! Clay is such a great example of reaching out and doing something special for these students who first did something special in writing the book. This is something I'm sure they will never forget.

Read the whole article at Mcall.com.

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