Middle School Teacher Inspires Students with Great American Novel

Mr. Emmel's story of Louisa transports you back to colonial American times to witness the terrifying capture and brutal enslavement of Farih Morowa, a Fulani African princess, who is renamed Louisa by her owners. She later amazes the world with her intellect and poetic writing skills. How she was nurtured, educated, and rose to international celebrity as an authoress, before ultimately gaining her freedom from slavery, is a truly inspiring journey for readers of all ages.

Ms. Kathy Hickey, also known as "the Book Lady," a Literacy Specialist with the Arkansas Department of Education, says of Louisa, "The narrative swept me along as I vicariously lived the amazing story of this black woman who rose, despite all odds, to become a famous poet of her day." Dr. Paul J. Smith, a Little Rock educator, says, "Louisa is an excellent book."  

Middle School teachers: Richard Emmel, at Joe T. Robinson Middle School, in western Pulaski County, Arkansas, and Gena McReynolds, at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Bellevue, Washington, have also recently co-authored an excellent resource for middle school teachers based on the novel Louisa, which is available in both hard cover and soft cover editions. The novel is loosely based on the life of colonial African-American poetess, Phillis Wheatley, and The Resource Book for Louisa: A Guide for Teachers provides a wide variety of methods for teaching middle school students such topics as slavery in colonial America, civil and human rights, literature in colonial America, and the influence of religion in colonial America.  

To obtain copies of The Resource Book for Louisa: A Guide for Teachers or the novel, Louisa, ask your local bookstore or library to order it from Ingram Books using ISBN 978-0-9786567-5-1 (for The Resource Book for Louisa) or 978-0-9786567-0-6 (for the novel, Louisa), or you may purchase them directly from the publisher at www.parsonplacepress.com/store. Both titles are also available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and wherever fine books are sold. Just search on the books' ISBN.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Mr. Richard Emmel at

501-551-8644 (CP) or 501-551-8645 (CP)

Email: remmel@aristotle.net

or Ms. Gena McReynolds at

206-963-4994 (CP)

Email: gmcreynolds@sacredheart.org