Keith Country Day third graders help Rockford firefighter write children’s book

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) – A Rockford firefighter known for writing children's books has a new book coming out, and he's not the only author.

Bo Chaney's latest book in his "Literacy Alive!" series is about fire safety and was written with the help of third graders at Keith County Day School in Rockford.

"I'll do a presentation in front of a group of students. And as we summarize the presentation, we all create a book," Chaney said. "The kids can actually see the book being made as we are going through the presentation.

Chaney's books feature characters he created, Rob and Rocky. They're illustrated by Tyrus Goshay , who makes the characters come to life on the screen and the printed page.

"We actually go through and put the pictures up and they'll create the sentences for the book," Chaney said. "So, every school will have a different storyline for their book."

The book authored by Keith students will be sold on Amazon and will serve as a fundraiser for the school.

"It's very important," said third grade teacher Emily Whittaker. "We are a private school, so we don't get state funding. So, any kind of fundraiser we can do is beneficial to the school."

Whittaker says the project was also something special for her students.

"It was really cool to work with Mr. Chaney and his team and work with my students and help them to do something that I don't think most third graders get an opportunity to do," she said.

There are currently two books in the "Literacy Alive!" series. Chaney and Goshay created the first installment with students at Christian Academy in Chicago. Chaney has written a total of five children's books.