• October 11, 1999
• Vol. 52
• No. 14

Mister Write

A Philadelphia Teenager's Book Delivers the Word to Young Readers

Maurice Taylor doesn't go out much. For one thing, his neighborhood, in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia, isn't terribly safe. And anyway, Taylor, 15, prefers his art and his computer. It's understandable, since that combination of interests has made him a local hero—thanks to First Words, his recently published 13-page book for beginning readers.

More than 29 schools in Philadelphia and the nearby suburbs have snapped up First Words, and the local prison system is using it to teach inmates. Although Taylor won't get rich off it—textbook authors don't make Grisham-like sums—the 50 cents per copy he earns will certainly pay for a few new games for his PlayStation.

Taylor was an eighth grader at the W.S. Peirce Middle School in the spring of 1998 when English teacher Robert Karl gave the class an optional project: write a book to help kids learn to read. A self-described "average" student who has been creating cartoon characters for as long as he can remember, Taylor set to work on a school computer. "I just drew whatever came into my head," he explains. "And I like colors."

So excited was Karl by Taylor's early efforts that he excused him from all other class projects and let him concentrate on the book. He wasn't the only one who was impressed. "The school principals loved it," says Karl, "so the school district paid for the printing."

For Taylor, who divides his time between his divorced parents, Earl, 43, a hospital employee, and Sharon, 36, a real estate agent, success hasn't changed his life much. He's working on First Words, Vol. II and a second sequel, First Words, Vol. III, Sports. "My friends," he says, "are basically treating me the same—although some are calling me 'author.' "