Former resident’s first book written to improve vocabularies

By Philip Navarrette/reporter@trcle.com

December 21, 2007 07:17 pm

— Former Cleburne resident Josh Burk wants to entertain and educate in one fell swoop with his new book, “The Summer of Saint Nick.”
For Burk, 22, the book, published by Maven of Memory, is his first foray as an author, and he seeks to improve reader’s vocabulary while still delivering a captivating story, he said.
“The concept is just learning vocabulary words through reading,” Burk said. “It’s really hard to study vocabulary words though flash cards or through a book of vocabulary words because they’re out of context. You don’t know how to use them and don’t have any way to remember them. But when vocabulary words are put in the context of a story, it’s easier to remember. You remember the character was doing this, and this is how that word applied to that situation.”
The story focuses on a typical teenage boy who happens upon a large sum of money unexpectedly, Burk said.
“He’s not very popular, and he thinks ‘This money can make me cool,’” he said. “But throughout the summer he realizes that there are so many people in his community that need the money so much more than he does. So he basically spends the summer donating his money to needy causes and people who need it, and through the process learns that what’s more important isn’t necessarily how cool he is but what he can do to help other people.”
Burk’s mother and fellow author, Jean Burk, said she’s proud of her son’s new book and the potential it has to help learning.
“I love it; I love the whole concept,” she said.
Josh, a Hurst resident who lived in Cleburne from 1997 to 2000, was home-schooled and began reading classic literature at a young age, Jean Burk said. But often the Burks would have to look up a word in the dictionary because the language of the past was much more verbose than it is now. That’s why the book is such a great accomplishment, she said.
“I think it’s great that he’s written the book not only in a contemporary setting but also the fact that you can learn these advanced SAT-level vocabulary words by the time you’re through with it,” she said. “It’s very educational.”
The book is also free from questionable content found in more and more modern young-adult literature, Burk said.
For information about Josh Burk or “The Summer of Saint Nick,” visit www.vocabcafe.com
“I’m real excited about it,” Jean Burk said. “I think it’s an ingenious concept and probably long overdue.”