DONAHUE SHOW FEATURES CAPE YOUNGSTER

Eleven-year-old author and "whiz kid" Tara Koosak of Cape Girardeau will have an opportunity to show off her talent on the Phil Donahue Show.

The show, airing on Friday at 9 a.m. on WPSD-TV, Channel 6, will feature Koosak talking about her two books of cartoons, "School-Biz Is..." and "Boy Girl Daze Craze."

Taped on June 4, the show is called "Whiz Kids Special" and will feature four gifted children, besides Koosak.

Her mother, Connie, sent a letter about her daughter's talent as an author to several talk shows, and received an invitation from Donahue several months ago.

Koosak said she missed the last two days of school in order to fly to New York for the taping.

"The show was a lot of fun, but it was also scary because there was no rehearsal," Koosak said. "Phil Donahue told us where we were going to sit on the stage, and that was it."

The four other guests included a 4-year-old "walking encyclopedia," an 11-year-old inventor, an 11-year-old boy with a photogenic memory and a 14-year-old talk show host with his own show on cable television in Michigan.

Koosak said she formed a special friendship with Mark, the inventor. "I met him the night before the taping," Koosak said, "and we hit it off. We talked about our interests and talents."

During the show, Donahue first talked with each guest one by one, and then the audience was invited to ask questions.

One of the questions posed to Koosak was, "Did you have a role model who encouraged you to write your books?"

She answered that her second-grade teacher, Betty Chasteen, had been an inspiration. Her teacher had started a school newspaper and asked Koosak to be the cartoonist.

"Mrs. Chasteen encouraged me to do illustrations in the book I had written," Koosak said. "It probably would never have been published without the illustrations."

Koosak said everybody was very friendly at the taping of the Phil Donahue Show. "I was really glad to meet a movie star who wasn't stuck-up," she said. "He was funny on the show and kept making wise cracks."

She said Donahue met with all the kids after the show and spent time getting to know them. She said he tickled her and said, "Now I don't want to hear any giggling."

Koosak said what she liked most about the show was meeting Donahue and Mark.

Besides the Phil Donahue Show, Koosak has also made an appearance on the "To Tell The Truth" game show.

Koosak was in the third grade when she wrote and illustrated her first book of cartoons, "School-Biz Is..." The second edition of that book, published by Stewart Printing and Publishing of Marble Hill, was released during her fourth-grade year.

The second book written and illustrated by Koosak was entitled "Boy Girl Daze Craze." It was released on Feb. 13.

In her second book of cartoons, Koosak talks about why boys and girls do and don't like each other.

"School-Biz Kids," the name of her book series, is a registered trademark and has been listed in the official gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Since she wrote the first book, Koosak has participated in several book exhibitions, workshops and book autographing sessions. She has also been a guest speaker at schools, clubs and libraries.

Koosak said she tentatively will appear on the cover of an international kids magazine this fall.

She is currently working on her third book in the series. "I've always enjoyed writing and reading," she said.

Koosak's other hobbies include running, playing tennis, ice skating, swimming, bowling, shopping and watching movies.

She will be a sixth grader this fall at Alma Schrader Elementary School.