Andrew Clements

During Reading Round Up (the annual spring meeting of the Youth Services Section of the Maine Library Association), Andrew Clements provided a presentation for a group of several hundred excited librarians, including yours truly.  He gave a wonderful presentation.  Hearing about his life helped me understand his writing.  During his talk, he tracked his early adventures visiting Maine for the holidays, saying, "the advantage of sitting in the middle during the car ride was that I had bruises on BOTH sides.  It was good to be balanced."  His family encouraged a love of reading.  He bought books and used the library as a "place to test drive new books."  Eventually, he worked for schools and publishers.  His writing recreates the adventures of his early years, his love of a good tale, and his apt understanding of the amusements and frustrations of school life.  Here are a few of his titles.  For a more complete list, click the link below. 

 

 I got to meet him, too!  It was pretty exciting. There's a picture under the link!