Shusterman shares love of books with Birchland Park
Date: 11/26/2013
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW – There was a buzz in the hallways of Birchland Park Middle School on Nov. 19, an eagerness and sense of anticipation that was palpable.
As he milled around the stage in the school’s cafeteria setting up for the first of three assemblies with East Longmeadow sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders, students in the hall poked their heads in and out of the doorways to catch even a glimpse of renowned teen author Neal Shusterman, several turning to friends to declare, “It’s him!”
That excitement in literature and those who create it is exactly Shusterman’s goal as he delivers presentations and offers writers’ workshops at schools throughout the country.
“I’m trying to connect [the students] with literature. There’s such a distance between authors and the readers,” he said. “I want to show them that literature is a living thing and there are people out there who are creating this for them and hopefully get them excited about reading and writing.”
Shusterman is a New York Times bestselling author with a multitude of published works, ranging from poems and essays to fictional series, including “Dark Fusion,” “Darkness Creeping, Skinjacker” and “Star Shards” trilogies.
His most recent series, the “UnWind Dystology,” currently consists of three books, plus a “digital novella,” with a fourth book scheduled to be released in 2014. The latest installment, “UnSouled,” hit No. 6 on the New York Times Bestsellers list in October its first week on the shelves after the second book in the series debuted at No. 2 in 2012.
Shusterman’s popularity has extended beyond the United States and around the globe as his works have become published in other languages, prompting him to make trips to England, Spain, Italy and France for his workshops, with more countries soon to be added to that list.
“I’m going to China and Cambodia soon,” he said.
Sharing Shusterman’s goals of boosting students’ interest in reading, East Longmeadow’s middle school became a stop on his latest swing through New England, thanks to the work of the Birchland Park library staff, Principal Timothy Allen said.
“In a lot of years they’ve had an author come in and talk with the kids, so our librarian was able to get in contact with Mr. Shusterman’s rep,” he explained. “We spend the entire school year trying to inspire students to read and trying to inspire students to write as well. We feel bringing in someone like an author gives them a new voice and a new perspective. [Shusterman] goes all over the country working to inspire young readers and writers, so obviously we’re very excited he could join us.”
The program, Allen explained, was funded through multiple sources, including support from the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.
In the morning, each grade had the opportunity for separate assemblies at which Shusterman discussed his process for writing and devising ideas for his books in a question and answer format.
That afternoon, 36 lucky students chosen at random from the three grades were able to sit down with the author for a writing workshop.
“We really pull it out of thin air. I never really know what direction it’s going to take,” Shusterman said of the workshop. “I brainstorm with the kids ideas and concepts and pull them together. From that, we write the first paragraph of the story and many times they have an open paragraph with which they can go off an write themselves.”
According to a study conducted in 2008 by Scholastic Corporation, children’s reading frequency declines by as early as 8 years old. Ensuring that children continue reading can boost their abilities well beyond their next English class, Shusterman said, and that’s why he finds his work in schools so important.
“I try to get kids to think. I try to challenge them to look at things from different perspectives to get not just their imagination going, but their critical thought process going as well,” he said. “By doing that, hopefully it’s going to help them in all aspects of their life.”
