Five renowned authors to visit U-46 schools

Elgin Area School District U-46 students who need to raise their reading scores on standardized tests will get some inspiration today and Tuesday, with the visits of five nationally known authors.

Gordon Korman, Chris Crutcher, David Lubar, Josh Elder and Jill Thomson will visit about a dozen schools and libraries as part of the Young Adult Author festival.

The second biannual event is sponsored by the district, the U-46 Educational Foundation, the Bartlett Public Library District, Poplar Creek Public Library District, and the Gail Borden Public Library.

Korman is the author of elementary and teen books "Schooled," "No More Dead Dogs," and "Born to Mock." Known for his realistic fiction, Crutcher's novels include "Chinese Handcuffs," "Stotan" and "The Crazy Horse Electric Game."

David Lubar's latest novel, "The Curse of the Campfire Weenies," was recently released in paperback.

Josh Elder is the author of "Mail Order Ninja," a two volume series based on a graphic short story that won the grand prize in Tokyopop's fifth Rising Stars of Manga contest. "Mail Order Ninja" also runs as a Sunday comic strip in at least 45 newspapers.

Jill Thompson is the author and illustrator of the "Scary Godmother" series of graphic novels and animated television specials.

The festival costs about $18,000, said Larkin librarian and festival organizer Melissa Neace. Because of a $2,000 grant from the U-46 Foundation, the lineup was expanded by two authors.

"We used the money to expand the scope from just prose to graphic novels, which have such a high appeal for students," Neace said.

Authors will each make one-hour stops at four to six schools and libraries.

One of the guidelines of the festival is that every student who meets an author must have read one of his books.

"We want to give students the opportunity to interact," she said.

For a full schedule of the authors' visits, visit u-46.org.