BROOKINGS – More than a dozen Medary Elementary first-graders have become published authors, and the group celebrated the feat Feb. 14 with a book publishing party at the school.

The authors are all students in Alec Johnson’s class, and the celebration included their parents, plus individuals who became part of the book “Brookings ABCs.” The book is a look at organizations, businesses and other features of the community, from A to Z. Johnson, shown above, read the book to the crowd last week, and the group posed for photos and enjoyed treats afterward.

Each student took on the job of writing about at least one letter of the alphabet, with entries including B for Bobcat, C for cars (featuring local dealerships), D for Daktronics, E for EdgeBrook, F for the fire department, H for the Hobo Day parade, K for Kidoodle, L for the library, M for the museum, N for the nature park, and more.

A copy of the book is staying in Johnson’s classroom, and the students’ parents had the opportunity to order their own. Johnson said the students started working on the book several months ago, writing and editing their entries and drawing pictures to accompany them before they were sent off to the publisher. Johnson decided to try the project for the first time after seeing it used in other classrooms, and it doesn’t cost the school any money. Parents simply order and pay for a copy of the book if they want one.