‘Schooled' Author Gordon Korman to Visit Seven CA Libraries
RSSBy SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/27/2009
California fans of Gordon Korman are in for a treat next month. The award-winning author is stopping by seven libraries and one middle school in the San Francisco/Sacramento area as part of the Solano County Library’s Kids Read program.
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Gordon Korman's Schooled was chosen by the Solano County Library as its one book, one community project. |
The Solano County Library Foundation spent $9,453 for class sets of the book for 39 schools and also paid for 45 copies to add to the library's collection. Students, mostly in grades five to eight, have been reading and discussing the book since this fall, says Ann Miller, the library’s community relations coordinator.
Korman will speak and sign books at seven Solano County Library locations and one middle school from December 9-11. All these events are free and open to the public. The library system serves five cities, including the bedroom communities for the Bay area and Sacramento.
"Solano Kids Read is a great way for us to connect with our schools. Thanks to our Friends of the Library and Foundation we were able to send class sets, enough for each reader in a class, to local schools,” says Miller.
Korman, author of the second book in the The 39 Clues series, The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note, began his writing career at the age of 12 with a story assignment for his seventh-grade English class. Korman sent his manuscript to Scholastic Canada, and two years later, at the age of 14, he published his first book and first best seller, This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (Scholastic).
After his first book, Korman started publishing books at the rate of about one per year, writing them during summers when he was on vacation from school. At age 18 he was voted the "Most Promising Writer Under 35" by the Canadian Author's Association, and he became a popular kids’ author in Canada and the United States.
“Kids are often running in so many directions, we need to give them a chance to take a break and read," says Miller. Schooled was selected for this year's Solano Kids Read because of its numerous awards, Korman’s reputation for lively, humorous presentations, and his appeal to boys and reluctant readers.
Schooled has been well received by parents, book reviewers, and children, and discussion of the book often leads to topical issues about conformity, peer pressure, and bullying, Miller adds.
Solano Kids Read is sponsored by Solano County Library, Solano County Library Foundation and the Friends of the Library.
