The classroom at St. Thomas More Elementary School in Bethel Park was strangely quiet, considering more than 25 third-graders were assembled there Monday.

The children sat cross-legged on carpet squares as Christopher Nye, 71, softly read "The Old Shepherd's Tale." The children's picture book was written by Dr. Nye and is based on a fable. It retells the Nativity story through the eyes of three animals in the stable.

"It was a story originally told for adults, but I thought it had a lot of relevance for children about how we should treat animals," Dr. Nye, of Sheffield, Mass., said.

The author hopes that message gets through during author visits he offered, free of charge, to area parochial schools.

In addition to St. Thomas More, students at St. Gabriel Elementary in Whitehall, Our Lady of Grace Elementary in Scott and St. Bede Elementary in Point Breeze welcomed Dr. Nye to their schools.

In small group settings, Dr. Nye provided students at all grade levels with insight about the writing process and the importance of revision. Older students discussed how the story would change if told from the perspective of King Herod or other central figures. And they discussed the steps to getting a book published.

Terry Farnsworth and Lisa Bell are third-grade teachers at St. Thomas More. They were pleased when Dr. Nye elaborated on the importance of revision in the writing process.

"Revision is one of the hardest concepts to teach," Ms. Farnsworth said. "The children think its 1-2-3 and you're finished."

Third-grader Marco Stracci, of Peters, listened intently.

"I learned it's kind of hard to write a book," he said.

If he ever does, the 9-year-old predicted his book would be about animals. "I have a frog, named Ribbit," he said.

According to school administrators, the visits were well-timed.

Sunday marked the beginning of the Advent season, a period of preparation for marking Jesus Christ's birth on Christmas Day.

Dr. Nye paused often to display his book's colorful illustrations, created by Danish artist Henri Sorensen. In addition to sharing some of the numerous revisions of the text, Dr. Nye gave them insight about the artist and his illustrations.

Because the book was published by Housatonic Press, a small company located in Great Barrington, Mass., Dr. Nye was given the opportunity to select the illustrator. Larger publishers typically take complete control of those decisions.

"I really wanted someone who had a feeling for animals. I think that getting the right illustrations can make or break a book," Dr. Nye said.

He discovered Mr. Sorenson's work in another children's book and those illustrations "really struck me."

After a lengthy search, Dr. Nye found Mr. Sorenson in Denmark, and he agreed to work on the project.

Dr. Nye explained to the children that even the illustrator went through many versions, pointing to a drawing in the book.

"At first, the expression on [baby] Jesus' face looked like he had a terrible case of indigestion," he said, as students roared with laughter.

Dr. Nye traveled to Pittsburgh from his home in Massachusetts to visit friends and offer the author visits.

Housatonic Press is offering a fundraising opportunity for each school, with a 40 percent donation for each book sold. The full price is $17.95, resulting in a $7 donation.

St. Gabriel Elementary has sold more than 75 copies of the book to date. The school welcomed Dr. Nye for a two-day visit earlier this week, which allowed him to meet with each class individually.

St. Gabriel has 406 students. "But [Dr. Nye] wanted a smaller-scale presentation, because he wanted to have a more intimate exchange with the students," Principal Barbara Sawyer said.

Ms. Sawyer is a big fan of author visits, in general. Prior to becoming a principal, Ms. Sawyer spent many years teaching and 12 years as a consultant with Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, one of the largest publishers of educational textbooks.

"It's such a dynamic experience for children to have an actual author share his time with us," Ms. Sawyer said.

She believes emphasis on traditional books and reading for pleasure is still an important part of education.

"I think we're losing sight of the written word because we're going more toward an electronic rendering of books," she said.

Dr. Nye is a retired college administrator with a passion for promoting responsible stewardship of environmental resources and humane treatment of animals. He primarily writes poetry.

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