Teacher jumps at novel idea

Thomas Styles was never one to wait around for his dreams to come true.

So, when he watched a group of fifth-graders jumping rope at St. Helen's School in Niskayuna and got the idea to write a children's book on the subject, he sat down and wrote it -- and then self-published it, created a website around it and scheduled a book signing.

"I firmly believe that little happens by chance," the author wrote on his website, www.racingtherope.com. "You go after what you want."

Plot thickens

In "Racing the Rope," Mr. Styles tells the story of sixth-grade boy Geran Harris (so named for a geranium plant), who becomes so interested in watching the girls in his class jump rope during recess that he tries it himself.

Geran conquers teasing from classmates and his own inexperience at jumping rope, even convincing other boys and girls to join in for a competition to raise money for a sick child.

The author based much of the book on real-life events among his students at St. Helen's School. In his first year of teaching there, he was cajoled by fifth-grade girls to try jumping rope.

Rope divide

Like the children in the book, "the girls were literally on one side of the playground every day, and the boys were on other side, doing their football thing," the teacher explained.

But when the boys saw their teacher jumping rope, they dared to try it, too.

"Toward the end of the year, we saw boys and girls skipping rope and not having a problem with it," Mr. Styles told The Evangelist. "All these ideas started going through my head about a book" on the change.

Do it yourself

Writing was nothing new to the teacher; he has had several articles published in local newspapers and magazines, including an opinion piece in The Evangelist. He had even written ten other manuscripts for children's books, though none were published.

"I wanted to get one of those books out there," Mr. Styles said. "I was anxious to get going!"

When he heard about self-publishing companies, "Racing the Rope" seemed the right book for him to choose to publish. He described its message as "teamwork being more powerful than competition...working together and getting along...finding common ground."

Moving on

Ironically, after "Racing the Rope" was published, Disney announced the release of an upcoming movie called "Jump In" about jumping rope.

That hasn't discouraged Mr. Styles, though: He plans to spend a year or two promoting his book before moving on to other projects.

"I want to sell as many copies as possible, to get reviews on the book, to see it out there," he stated. "It's the culmination of a long journey. I love that [through self-publishing] we have the technology to make a small investment and bring your creation to life."

(A Troy native, Mr. Styles still makes his home there with wife Debbie, eight-year-old daughter Alyssa and five-year-old son Anthony. To purchase "Racing the Rope," go to www.racingtherope.com.)

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