Bet you didn't know . . .

We have two published author/teachers at WV--- Mr. Haderlie and Mrs. Black!

Mr. Haderlie made a goal to write a book and, bingo, two years later A Boy with a Red Parcel was in bookstores. The main character, Jeremy Chase, was loosely patterned after a 6^th grader he

used to teach. Mrs. Haderlie thinks kids will love this book because it’s packed with adventure and

death-defying action. What does Mr. Haderlie like to read? “I love everything by Rick Riordan. I just finished The Maze Runner, by Dashner, and really enjoyed it. I almost never reread books, but I made an exception for the Harry Potter series.”

Mrs. Black got rejection letters for her first four books, but determination kept her writing. At age sixteen she got the idea for The Moas about large extinct birds. She did tons of research and drew all the illustrations in the book. Near the end of her senior year in high school, her book was accepted and published. While promoting the book in schools, she decided to become a teacher. Lucky us!

She is almost finished with a science fiction novel for young adults set in 13^th century England. She said, “It’s a much bigger job than writing a picture book. My students are some of my greatest sources of motivation because of their enthusiastic feedback and suggestions.

The Boy With a Red Parcel and The Moas are both available in the media center.

Keep “turning pages.”