Piedmont participants in the Temple Sinai's People of the Book literacy project made the Tuesday event possible.

A Berkeley resident, Moss, 45, is probably best known for her Amelia series of books in which the main character, Amelia, is based on Moss, and the older sister in the books, Cleo, is modeled after the author's older sister.

Moss says she got the idea for Amelia when she bought a blank composition book and started to write and draw what she remembered from when she was 9 years old.

She talked to the students about writing, editing and illustrating her books, and then invited them to try out a story-writing exercise, asking them to come up with two characters, a plot and three different endings.

During the first assembly, the third-graders decided on a hot dog and a pickle as their main characters, and sent them to a food festival and the park. In the end, the hot dog and pickle married.

Moss illustrated the story on a large pad on an easel.

"I want them to be jazzed about making things happen in stories, because it's the only way a kid can make things happen," she said. "In real life they can't control a lot, but they can control their imagination."

One student asked Moss what was her favorite part about writing books.

"I love the beginning when I first get that idea and I'm really excited about writing it, and I love the middle, when I can see that it's getting better, and I love the end when it's all done," she said. "I love it all."