MARYSVILLE — It started out as a department project two years ago, and on Sept. 18, it became the subject of an assembly for first and second-grade students at Quil Ceda Elementary, as Marysville School District custodians showed off the fruits of their labors.

“The Happy Custodian” was written by Tulalip Elementary Lead Custodian Frank Rivas, illustrated by MSD Custodial Manager Joanne Limb and MSD Service Center Lead Custodian Sue Holland, and edited by Cedarcrest Middle School day custodian Dwayne Paull, Totem Middle School Lead Custodian Richard Belisle, Cedarcrest Middle School custodian Dale Soden, Quil Ceda Elementary Lead Custodian Becky Taylor, Marysville Secondary Campus Lead Custodian Matt Edgerton, Marshall Elementary Lead Custodian Nicole Fagerlie and Totem Middle School custodian Joyce Burling. Taylor read the book to students at her school Sept. 18, and assemblies for first and second-graders followed at Marshall Elementary Sept. 21 and Allen Creek Elementary Sept. 22.

Limb explained that the project began when the Marysville Custodial Department Committee was formed from volunteers “at all levels” of the MSD Custodial Department, including a variety of work shifts at elementary and middle schools, to brainstorm ways of promoting positive awareness of the custodians’ role, and how they contribute to the educational process, since “so much of what they do is behind the scenes.” As the committee met and solicited input from the custodians’ respective schools, what had begun as a skit became a book, as Limb recalled Rivas mentioning that he’d already written drafts of a few children’s books.

Rivas had previously written books about his daughter, who was born with spina bifida, and his son, who “does so much” for his sister, to tell the story of children whose siblings have handicaps. His inspiration for “The Happy Custodian” came in the fall of 2007, when the loss of his parents and other events had put him in “a deep state of depression.” After reading a book titled “Mr. Grump” to a kindergarten class, Rivas realized the students and staff at his school “must look at me like I’m kind of grumpy all the time.” He decided to counter this bad mood by jotting down notes about all the aspects of his job as a custodian that he enjoyed, and he applied lessons that he’d learned from his wife, a reading coach with the Marysville School District, to turn it into a rough draft for a book.

“I figured this was therapy, to bring myself out of my depression,” Rivas said. “The only thing that made me happy was going to work and seeing those kids every day.”

Limb saw the book as an opportunity to contribute to MSD Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland’s district-wide focus on literacy, but she knew that it would require a great deal of effort to go from a rough draft to a final product. She praised Rivas for being “a great trouper” during the committee’s group editing process, since “it’s a difficult thing to see somebody actually critiquing your work.”

From there, Limb initially thought of taking photos and using them as the basis for children’s style crayon drawings, but when that idea proved too time-consuming and unworkable, she switched to scrap-booking, albeit not without some prompting.

“The custodians kept asking, ‘Where’s our book?'” Limb said. “They were so excited that I couldn’t let it die. I made sure to move forward for them, because they’d put so much time and effort into it. It was important to show that I believed in what they were doing.”

Limb hit a wall when she needed an illustration of a custodian’s card, but then she remembered Holland, who draws messages on the MSD Service Center board every week to remind the maintenance crew to put the chairs up on the tables. Holland helped Limb illustrate the remaining three pages of the book, which were finally completed when Limb took one of the custodian-editors’ suggestions, by placing an American flag on the school building.

To obtain funding the publish the book, another custodian suggested seeking the aid of Heidi Johnsen, director of categorical programs for the school district.

“I was absolutely thrilled that an entire department had come together to create a children’s book,” Johnsen said. “I was also excited about this book because I remembered the difference that custodians made in my life as a child. Part of the book talks about a girl being sad. The custodian talks to that student, and the student is happy, I remember those times. Those aren’t in the job description of a custodian, but they’re just as big a part of what the custodians do for our kids in school. As a teacher, as a counselor and as a principal, I’ve witnessed it.”

Johnsen, a member of the Marysville Noon Rotary, felt that the book complimented Rotary’s “huge emphasis” on supporting literacy, and wrote the application for a $4,000 grant from the Rotary’s Pumpkins for Literacy Committee. This funded the printing of nearly 200 books, enough for each first and-second grade classroom in the school district.

“This project is unprecedented,” Johnsen said. “There aren’t many books out there for children that talk about what a custodian does, and to have one that’s actually written by the Marysville custodial team … well, how cool is that?”

“I have about 15 children’s books that I’m playing with, but I’m just excited that this one took off,” Rivas said. “I’m honored to have worked with each and every one of these custodians here.”