It’s said that the one of the best ways for a person to kill boredom is to immerse one’s self in a good book.

In the case of Justus Gage fourth-grade student Aidan Springsteen, he did more than just read a book; he created one from scratch.

Springsteen was one of dozens of students from around the area to participate in this year’s annual Young Writer’s Day, which was held at Southwestern Michigan College last week. Organized every year by members of the Lewis Cass ISD, elementary school students from Dowagiac, Cassopolis and Edwardsburg school districts are invited to write their own fiction or nonfiction books for the event, which also features talks by professional authors and illustrators.

Springsteen’s book, entitled “The Crazy Pencil Mystery,” was selected as the book to represent the entire Dowagiac Union Schools district, said his teacher, Ashley Horvath. His book was read in front of the entire assembled group of students at the Young Writer’s event, and was presented with a medal signifying his accomplishment on stage that morning, Horvath said.

“He’s still wearing his medal around school, so I know the achievement has really stuck with him,” Horvath said.

The book tells the story of a student, who, while trying to find his missing pencil, wonders just what hijinks the wooden tool could be up to that could explain its disappearance, Horvath said. The story was inspired by a joke Springsteen shared with his teacher after losing a pencil of his own.

“It was just a really cute idea, inspired off a conversation we had,” Horvath said.

Springsteen and the other kids participating in the Young Writer’s Day event had spent months writing, editing and polishing up their stories before the big day, the teacher said.

“It teaches them a lot about the writing process,” Horvath said. “It shows them you don’t just write your story and you’re done; you have to edit it and re-edit it before its ready to be published.”