Introduction

Authors entertain us with their vivid imagination and their talent for writing. We know most of their popular stories, but what do we really know about them? Where did they come from? What do they look like? How do they come up with the ideas for their wonderful stories? Is the author working on any new stories?

Task

The task is to find out the answers to the five questions listed here about the author. One of these questions will be created by you. The project will need to be put together in a book dedicated to the author. You will need to include:

• A narrative of the author's life. (Answers to the questions.)
• A Venn diagram comparing two books written by the author.
• Design a new cover for your favorite book.
• Provide a list of 6-10 books the author has written.

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Process

You will choose an author from the list in Resources. Visit the author's website and research the author's background and book information. It is best if questions are answered first. Create a list of titles the author has written. Pick two of the stories from the list to read and analyze in a Venn diagram. Pick the story you liked the best and redesign the cover for the book.

-Questions:

1. Where does the author live?

2. When/where was the author born?

3. How do they come up with story ideas? (Are their stories based on real life events or from a creative imagination?)

4. Is the author working on a new piece of literature?

5. ***Come up with your own question about the author.***

-Create a list of the authors work using word processing.

-Venn Diagram (Click to print out copy)

-New book cover

-The cover of your author's presentation will include the name of the author, your name as presentor, and anything creative related to the author. (Ex. A hand drawn picture of the author, pictures of characters from his/her stories, etc.)

Resources

Evaluation

*Rubric

Conclusion

 How was your project? Do you have a better understanding of how authors create their imaginative stories? Did you find that your author wrote in a certain style? Next time you have a writing assignment in class, try to use the writing style of the author you studied. You never know what you could come up with.

*If the author of your favorite story was not here, try and find them on the web. There are many authors who have web pages and you can find out all sorts of information about them. You might even find that they are going to be putting out a new book soon!

Search Engines that might help you with your search:

Ask Jeeves for Kids!

Kids Click!

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