Where did the Whiz Kidz come from?

Main Characters: Musa, Simone, Maria, & Robby

Hello, and welcome to the Whiz Kidz Adventure Book Series blog. My name is Peter Card. I am one of the four authors of the children's book series. The Whiz Kidz were an idea I had many years ago while I was a first grade elementary teacher at Oak Hill Elementary. This was early in our fascination with high stakes testing, and I remember first graders, their parents, and teachers concerned with whether or not our little ones were going to be able to pass the CRCT and move on to second grade. While as an educator I understand the necessity of testing, it just didn't seem right to me that testing should be a major crisis for a first grader. In response, I wanted to create something that reaffirmed to all parties involved that testing was not the measure of our children; nor were they the determinant of success. Character, hard work, and God's plan for our lives are the things I believe determine our future. These beliefs are what eventually led to the creation of the Whiz Kidz.

Nicole Benton, Andrea Dowdy, Peter Card, & Bettina Martin

As is the case in many of our lives, a good idea somehow got sat to the side in a notebook on a shelf. Two years ago, I created a strategic plan for my life where I set goals in all areas of my life. One of those goals was to write a book. At that point, I shared my original ideas with my fifth grade team at Oak Hill. They responded so positively to the idea that we began to meet monthly to make what was once a dream into a reality. Being teammates as well as friends, the time passed quickly and in a matter of months, we had written five manuscripts. Now we just had to figure out a way to get published.