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A guest reader with Atmore ties will be reading to kindergarten and first graders at Rachel Patterson Elementary School this Friday morning.

Alaina Colleen Ewing, the daughter of Atmore native Maria Sutton Ewing, is a self-published author and illustrator with a passion for children’s literature and fairy tales.

Ewing said she believes the written word is magical, and when done right, is the most powerful kind we possess.

Ewing’s first book, “The Sky Has Feelings,” captures such magic. The book is a story that introduces children to the nature of life with no fuss, no muss and all the fun.

“I was admiring a sunrise some years past when it dawned on me that the sky is not just blue,” she said. “To most eyes it appears that way, but even then, it is only from time to time because the sky transforms into all sorts of hues and shades every day. Then I thought that it was kind of like a person flowing through their feelings. In fact, often when the sky is gray and raining, we feel a little down. When it’s a bright and sunny day, we feel better. We’re alike. We’re connected! What a beautiful and magical thing I wish I’d realized when I was young. I never went through my feelings alone, and each one I experienced was – and still is – a natural part of life.”

Ewing will be reading to kindergartners from 8:30 a.m. until 9 a.m., and to first graders from 9 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.