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Published on 10/12/1998 All articles from this issue

Girls just want to have fun - and write about it

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Katie Clarke and Kelsi Okuda know how tough it can be to remedy the doldrums. The two pre-teens teamed up during a summer bout this year and wrote a chapter about having fun to help other girls avoid the onset of boredom.

"How to Have The Best Slumber Party of All Time" was among the 20 chapters published in the book "Girls Know Best 2: Tips On Life And Fun Stuff To Do!" - a book written by girls for girls that hit bookstores nationwide this month. Each chapter was written by girls, ages 7-16, through a national writing contest. The collection of essays includes everything from homework advice and tips to overcome shyness to how to have fun while being grounded. Katie, 11, and Kelsi, 10, were chosen from among 600 entrants for their slumber party theme ideas, which include having an Olympic theme party, an art party and a rainbow theme party.

"We did it for fun," said Katie, who lives in Mountain View and attends King's Academy in Sunnyvale. "We said, 'Who cares if we don't win?' We just wrote down things that sounded fun."

Kelsi, who lives in Los Altos and attends Almond School, said she and Katie were at a summer swim meet waiting their turn to compete when they first got the idea to enter the book contest.

"It was summer and we were trying to think of stuff to do," she said.

Kelsi said the real work began after the two discovered they had won.

"We had to expand our ideas from a paragraph to a long story," she said. "Getting together and finding time to schedule writing was the hardest part. It took a long time."

As members of the year-round Covington Swim Team, the girls said they barely had enough time to squeeze in writing time between swim practice and school.

"We would race, hop out of the water, dry off and work on the book," Kelsi said.

Both authors said the only time writing was completely out of their minds was when they were in the water competing at swim meets.

The book is part of Beyond Words Publishing, Inc.'s "Girls Know Best,"series, which came out last year.

A spokeswoman from Beyond Words said the idea of the series is to encourage girls to speak out and be confident.

Both girls said they enjoy writing. Katie said she wants to be a teacher. Kelsi said she wants to compete in the Olympics as a member of the swim team.

Kelsi and Katie will join three other authors for a book signing at 1 p.m., Oct. 24, at Linden Tree Children's Records and Books in Los Altos.