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Roxboro Middle Teacher Publishes Children's Book "Lotus the Vice POTUS"
May 12, 2021 -- Roxboro Middle School teacher Anna Gregory has been busy this year. Inspired by the incredible accomplishment of Kamala Harris becoming the first female, first African American, and first South Asian vice president, Ms. Gregory tapped into her love for children’s stories and recently published the picture book Lotus the Vice POTUS: Inspired by the true story of Vice President Kamala D. Harris

“A heartwarming story of a little brown girl with big dreams,” Ms. Gregory hopes her debut work will remind young people that even powerful adults were once children. “I thought about little brown girls and I wanted kids to connect and relate to her,” says Ms. Gregory who began working on the book shortly after the November election. 

She needed the inspiration of another significant woman in her life to make the leap to actual publication: Her daughter Randall Simone Gregory, who recently published a poetry memoir, “Chasing the Roots of my Heritage: An Ode to HBCUs,” provided that final push. “She said, ‘Mom, you’ve spoken to me for years about wanting to publish a book. Let’s do this together.’”

Ms. Gregory, who uses the pen name Nikki, has two more books in the works: Bronze Majesty and The Beautiful Colored Bird, about embracing and celebrating your differences.

Ms. Gregory is the Lead Literacy teacher at Roxboro Middle School and says that teaching in the Cleveland Heights community is her “love and passion. I want to share this news with the district first as it’s been an integral part of my life.” She hopes to see the book in CH-UH school libraries and is eager to engage with elementary students, welcoming any opportunity to meet with classes and share her work. “I want children to understand that being an author doesn't mean being  a perfect writer. It just means you’re willing to do the work.”

Illustrated by Dessiree Perez, whose first language was Spanish, Ms. Gregory decided to offer a Spanish language version of her story as well. She is now working through the friend of a friend to get a copy of the “storybook for all ages” into the hands of Madam Vice President Kamala Harris.
 
 
May 12, 2021 -- Roxboro Middle School teacher Anna Gregory has been busy this year. Inspired by the incredible accomplishment of Kamala Harris becoming the first female, first African American, and first South Asian vice president, Ms. Gregory tapped into her love for children’s stories and recently published the picture book Lotus the Vice POTUS: Inspired by the true story of Vice President Kamala D. Harris. 
May 12, 2021 -- Roxboro Middle School teacher Anna Gregory has been busy this year. Inspired by the incredible accomplishment of Kamala Harris becoming the first female, first African American, and first South Asian vice president, Ms. Gregory tapped into her love for children’s stories and recently published the picture book Lotus the Vice POTUS: Inspired by the true story of Vice President Kamala D. Harris.