I’ve been at the International Reading Association northern convention this week. I’m learning a ton, which I will blog about shortly, but with a few minutes to spare right now, I thought I’d indulge my favorite part of the conference – meeting famous authors.
On Monday, I met Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak, the first novel I taught while student teaching. It was a great first novel to teach because students really were hooked into the complicated story and could identify with the tragic incidents the protagonist went through. I bought her two latest books, Chains, and Wintergirls. The link will allow you to check out Laurie’s Amazon reader video about her process with this amazing young adult text. By the way, my copy of Chains is signed by Anderson, with the message, “Books will set you free.”
In addition to Laurie, I met Jaime Adoff, author of Names Will Never Hurt Me and The Death of Jayson Porter. He is a very down to earth guy who travels and talks to students around the nation. He really gets what students need to read about and why they like to read. In a session in which I heard him speak, he said something to the likes of, “Writing can heal, and so therefore reading can heal.” He mentioned that although his writing may seem dark and impossible, there is always hope, and that is what kids need to know. Jaime writes poetic novels. I recently had a student tear through The Death of Jayson Porter in a few days. She was very moved by it; she was so engaged that she is choosing to write her final research paper on a topic stemming from her personal life and Adoff’s novel.
