Enterprising Edenderry students launch "Boom Book" tonight

Two enterprising Edenderry students will tonight (Wednesday) launch two volumes of self-penned science books aimed at primary school students. The launch will take place in Edenderry library at 7pm, with a number of local representatives expected to be present as well as family, friends and schoolmates of second year student authors Shauna Bannon Ward and Samantha Brennan.

“The Boom Book” comes in two volumes - one with a yellow cover and another with a red cover - and has already been taken on with pleasure by local primary schools. It focusses mainly on scientific experiments and fittingly at tonight’s launch the Oaklands College student authors will demonstrate many of their book’s featured experiments.

Speaking to the Offaly Independent 14 year old co-author Shauna said she and Samantha wrote the books in order to enter the Offaly student enterprise competition, which takes place on March 7 next in Tullamore. The project, which they began to write last September, took some months to get to print stage, with all writing work done by the duo on Shauna’s laptop.

“Shop local” was the motto when it came to printing the book, Shauna explained. “We wanted to keep everything local so we searched local printers and found Eden Print. My nana knew the printer so she phoned him up and he gave us a good price.'

Initially 250 copies of volume one of The Boom Book were printed, and another 150 of the same volume has since been reprinted. In addition some 300 copies of the book’s second volume were also printed, and sales of both have been going well according to the book’s authors. “We keep running out of them,” Shauna said, adding that book sales began last November with a visit to their former primary school St Mary’s.

Thirteen year old Samantha said sales have been going better than they ever expected, and put some of that down to the book’s professional presentation. “We didn’t think it’d be so well presented and turned out,” she said.

Both Shauna and Samantha say the project was “really fun” and they are looking forward to presenting it at the Offaly student enterprise awards in a few weeks. They’ve also noted their thanks for the support shown to them from parents to Eden Print, All Inks that sell the book, Edenderry library, schools that allowed them to present the book and Oaklands College business studies teacher Ms Hynes.

Oaklands principal Gerry Connolly also passed on his congratulations. “It’s an amazing success for the two girls,” he said. “It’s gone way better than we ever thought it would.” Mr Connolly said the response to the book from the area’s primary schools has been “fantastic” and said it has the added benefit of giving primary school students and idea of what’s to come in secondary school.