Tommy Andrews, left, watches first-grader Jeremy Bonte show off his book at Almond’s BookWave Blast.

It was not a typical Tuesday evening at Almond School March 29. Rather than watch television, do homework or relax, more than 200 parents and students gathered for the Almond BookWave Blast.

BookWave is an event started by a group of Almond parents to celebrate the joy of writing. Organizers plan to make it an annual event.

“I was inspired watching my daughter write books,” said BookWave founder Steve Andrews. “She is always doodling and writing stories, and she is so proud of herself - but then her stories end up in a big crinkled pile.”

The BookWave committee discovered that by working with a special publisher, each student could write his or her own book and get it individually bound. All of the students at Almond, from kindergarten to sixth grade, were invited to participate, and nearly 140 students wrote their own book.

BookWave Blast marked the unveiling of the creations. Books ranged from cute critter stories such as “The Little Mole and his CD” to clever narrations such as “Manners and Inkblots” and family chronicles such as “A Tribute to Grandpa Barry - 70 Years Young.” After the open house, students were given the opportunity to “show and tell” their books. To wrap up the program, local author Cynthia Chin-Lee spoke to the students about her experiences writing children’s books.

First-grader Jeremy Bonte summed up the evening by saying, “Writing books is cool.”

For more information about BookWave, e-mail Steve Andrews at smcandrews@hotmail.com.