Scholastic.com: Teachers: Online Activities: ClassroomsCare Author of the Month

Each month, an author shares his or her thoughts about reading and the ClassroomsCare mission—to share the joy of books with America’s neediest children. These author messages for your students are a great way to inspire them to read and get involved.

		Kathryn Lasky is the Newbery Honor author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books for children and adults. Amazingly, she was designated a "reluctant reader" as a child growing up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Kathy explains, "I didn't really like the kind of books they had you reading at school—but I loved the books my mom was reading to me—Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Kathy developed a great ability to create her own stories. Today her published stories include the best-selling Guardians of Ga'Hoole series; several titles in the Dear America, Royal Diaries, My America, and My Name Is America book series; individual titles such as Blood Secret, Broken Song, and Star Split; as well as the newly released Camp Princess series. You can learn more about Kathryn Lasky at www.kathrynlasky.com

Kathryn Lasky’s ClassroomsCare Reading Playlist! *The Secret Garden* by Frances Hodgson Burnett *Peter Pan* by J.M. Barrie *The Wizard of Oz* (all of them!) by L. Frank Baum *Winnie-the-Pooh* by A.A. Milne *The Martian Chronicles* by Ray Bradbury *To Kill a Mockingbird* by Harper Lee *Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH* by Robert C. O’Brien *Tuck Everlasting* by Natalie Babbitt *The Giver* by Lois Lowry *A Long Way from Chicago* by Richard Peck

A Special Message from Kathryn Lasky! Reading to me is important because it helps me make sense out of a world that often seems nonsensical. But maybe my greatest pleasure in reading is the feeling of companionship, and friendship I can have with people I never knew or met. It is a way of touching another person, real or fictional, that bridges time and place. A very famous critic once said that to read well is to make oneself vulnerable. I think he said this because reading with your whole heart and mind is ultimately a daring act.