WATERVILLE — Demetrius Ramirez, normally shy, stood in front of the entire school and read aloud a short essay he had written about his name:

“My name is Demetrius. The reason I have my name is my Mom found it in a baby book. It’s a Greek name but I’m not Greek.”

“ I’m half Mexican, so I have a Spanish last name. It’s Ramirez, like Manny Ramirez, but I don’t like the Red Sox. I have many nicknames. My family calls me ‘Metri.’ Teachers that I really know call me ‘Demetrius.’”

The 9-year-old had just taken part Friday in a writing exercise at Albert S. Hall School where author Ralph Fletcher was attending Junior Writers Day. He had asked the fourth and fifth-graders and their parents who had gathered for a 7:30 a.m. literary breakfast to take six minutes to write about their names.

They could write about their first or last name, using any idea they wanted, such as who they were named after, how they felt about their name, and whether they liked it.

“Whatever pops up in your mind — just write it down,” Fletcher said.

An genial man with a sharp sense of humor and a happy face, Fletcher drew his audience in with stories about his own life, about growing up in Massachusetts, the oldest of nine children. He asked family members to read their essays aloud to one another. Ramirez said he really liked the exercise.

“I wanted to keep writing because I thought it was kind of fun,” he confessed.

Fletcher, author of popular children’s books such as “Fig Pudding” and “Flying Solo,” also writes poetry, novels, and books for teachers and presents at conferences all over the country.