Revere woman shares love of books with Lynn students

LYNN – Ten years ago, in the library of Harrington Elementary School, local author Nila Webster began her quest to spread her positive energy through books. Today, students throughout the Commonwealth are reaping the benefits of her creativity and generosity.”The magic started right here,” said Webster, who visited Harrington Wednesday to read to students and give away copies of her latest book, titled “The Mystery of the Hidden Room.”She donated 1,300 copies of the book to third-graders in Lynn Public Schools, and is doing the same in school districts in Swampscott, Revere, Boston, Pittsfield, Webster and upstate New York, as well as pediatric care centers. In total, she has donated 41,000 books and hopes to exceed 100,000.Webster first visited Harrington in 2006 at the request of school librarian Carole Shutzer. She has come back annually since then, reading to students and talking about creative writing and poetry.”Carole has been fully supportive of my longing to instill in students a sense of magic and wonderment about creative writing,” said Webster, who lives in Revere. “I have loved every second I have spent at Harrington. It’s an absolute joy spending time with the students. I feel so uplifted every time I visit.”After her mother’s death, and faced with her own mortality when she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2010, Webster decided to donate books as a means of leaving part of herself behind. Lynn was the first district to accept her donation offer.”We are so grateful for her generosity,” said Superintendent Dr. Catherine C. Latham. “She tells a wonderful story, and her vocabulary and descriptions are top-notch. She brings out the best in our students. It’s just an outstanding experience.”The story behind “The Mystery of the Hidden Room” was inspired by a true experience Webster shared with her mother when her hometown librarian brought her to a hidden room in the children’s reading room. The room became a symbol for the magical place inside each person where dreams can come true. She asked students to think about what their hidden room or magical place would be, and challenged them to go home and draw a picture of it.”When you’re the writer, you’re the captain of the ship and the blank page is the great wide open ocean for all your ideas and visions,” she told Harrington students.Webster has written three other books: “The Gift of You, The Gift of Me,” “Remember Rain and Songs of Wonder for the Night Sea Journey” and “Remember Beauty and Songs for a Blue Time,” the latter of which she co-authored with her mother, Jani Johe Webster, a poet from Rochester, N.Y., who died last May. The picture books are for all ages.