Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman visited the Chicago area last week and I had the pleasure of hearing him speak about his books. Not only was it inspiring, he was funny! Humor is a common thread through most of Korman's books, and that is what makes them so popular among middle school students.

Mr. Korman shared how he got his start in writing. During his second semester of seventh grade English in a Canadian school, he was told to write whatever he wanted and he had a semester to work on it. This piece turned into his first book titled This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall. Korman had his book published by the time he was a freshman in high school. Since then he has written over 55 books!

No More Dead Dogs has been a popular choice with our middle school students. Wallace Wallace, the main character, expressed his honest opinion about the book he was assigned to read. He writes, "Old Shep, My Pal by Zach Paris is the most boring book I've read in my entire life. I did not have a favorite character. I hated everybody equally..." He goes on to tell his teacher that any book studied in school with a dog in it has the dog dying in the end. This lands Wallace Wallace in detention to rewrite his review. It just so happens that Wallace's detention was held where the school play rehearsals were occurring and the play chosen was Old Shep, My Pal. Wallace can't help himself; he finds himself as the director making drastic changes to the plot.

Korman's latest titles: Schooled, Swindle, The 39 Clues: One False Note

Soon to be released: Zoobreak - a sequel to Swindle

Pop - a young adult novel

"Unlocking the Writer Within You"

Have you ever daydreamed about becoming a writer one day? Are you searching for a way to start? Read Ralph Fletcher's book, A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You, for a simple suggestion on how to get your creative juices flowing. Something as simple as keeping a writer's notebook, a place to jot down things you wonder about, snatches of dialogue you overhear, memories from when you were young or thoughts about other writing you read may be just the springboard you need to writing your own pieces. Mr. Fletcher offers practical advice and backs up his suggestions with student writings as well as famous author's tips on how they use a writing notebook. Although Mr. Fletcher states that authors use just bits of ideas written in their notebooks, I was left with the feeling that keeping a writer's notebook is a very fulfilling personal experience. You are creating something that contains important "stuff" to you. Whether it is a drawing, photo, article, artifact, list, poem, saying or quote, all contents reflect you. How can you beat that?