A lesson to teach, a story to tell
Liberty grad pens books on bullying, other topics
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LIBERTY - Francoise Litch, who currently lives in Florida, was a Liberty resident for more than 45 years. Litch, 72, is originally from Montreal, Canada. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in English. After graduation, she attended McGill for teacher training. In 1977, Litch moved to Liberty and married W. Gary Litch. She then attended Youngstown State University and earned her master's degree in education.
Though Litch said, "writing is my passion," she added, "I am a teacher at heart." Litch taught for 30 years at various schools, including Pymatuning, Ashtabula, Springfield Local and Liberty high schools. She taught high school English and French.
After she retired from teaching in 2013, Litch said she sold real estate for nine years. "But," she said the writing was always what I returned to." Litch said, "I actually wrote the draft for my first book, 'Weeper,' 13 years before I decided to publish it."
"Weeper" was published in October, 2025.
She said the inspiration for "Weeper" came to her while her son was in school and being bullied by another student. In the book, Litch describes the bullying and the effect it has on a student and said the book "does not encourage or illustrate retaliation."
She explained that the story deals not just with the effects on the bullied student but also points out some reasons for the bully's behavior. Litch said the story "describes ways for the students to get some understanding and possible underlying reasons for the bullying." She said she wanted to show that "others carry burdens and though you can't see them, it may be weighing them down."
She cited a 2021-2022 study by the Center for Education Statistics that showed "in a survey of students, 12-18 years old, 19% of students had been bullied, but only 40% had reported it." The study also reported that "among students who were bullied, 22% reported that the bullying happened online or by text." (National Center for Education Statistics, July 2024). Litch commented, "It is astounding that only one out of five students who were victims of bullying reported it."
Litch's second book, "Weeper: Brad's Secret," published in May 2026, is a sequel to "Weeper." She noted she wrote the sequel in six months. The book deals with the bully introduced in "Weeper" and highlights some reasons or causes for his bullying.
A theme in Litch's books is respect for each other. She said she hopes that through reading and discussing her books with children, we can change the culture of bullying. Litch lamented, "Do we need to wait until something happens to address the problem of childhood bullying?" She said she likes reading her books to children in classrooms, and she is happy that teachers are reading them to their classes.
Litch speaks at several schools each year and recently spoke to fifth-grade teachers at John F. Kennedy Lower Campus, which includes children in grades Kindergarten through fifth grade. She related that a teacher there said she had "Weeper" as a read-aloud book in her classroom. Litch noted fifth grade "is a grade when children become aware of cliques, and friendships and feeling ostracized." She also added that children often have a lot of unseen stressors that contribute to feelings of loneliness or isolation. According to Litch, the advantage to reading "Weeper" as a group and "sometimes acting out the characters allows the children to become engaged and have meaningful discussions about bullying."
She pointed out that "in the classroom, the bully is part of the audience, so reading the book is a way to talk about what is happening without singling out that person in class."
In another series, Litch introduces the 'USAnts,' a series of six books aimed at children up to eight years old. All the books, explained Litch, "include rhyming, rhythm and reporting" which helps the children acquire reading skills.
Litch said she makes her books "culturally relevant" and the "USAnts" characters are dressed in red and white with stars and stripes. She said, "I want children to understand these colors are for America." She said it took three months to write the first of the series, which was published in February of 2026. She said all the main characters in the series have the word "ant" in main characters' names, like "Queen Antoinette" or "Grandma Antique."
Litch admitted that the "most difficult part of writing is marketing the books." She said that by bringing the stories to the classroom, she can be the "messenger to give kids some ways to deal with bullying." In addition to her writing, Litch has appeared on the podcast "Reading with Your Kids." She also has a blog, franlitch.com/blog, and is on Facebook and Instagram.
When she is not writing, Litch said she enjoys golfing.
"I'm not very good at it, but I like it," she joked.
She said she enjoys traveling and plans to continue that in the future, as well as "more reading and more writing."
Litch and her husband, Gary, moved to Pompano Beach, Florida, in 2018. They have one son, Scott Michael, and a daughter, Christine Litch-Knox. Scott is a graphic artist and illustrated the books she has written. Litch's books are self-published and are available on Amazon.
Though Pompano Beach is their primary home, Litch said, "We still spend our summers in Columbus with our children and grandchildren."