Gordon Korman

Biographic Background

Born October 23, 1963 in Montreal, Quebec

Moved to Thornhill, Ontario in 1970 where he grew up

Went to Thornlea Secondary School

Attended and graduated from New York University with a

B.A. in Dramatic and Visual Writing, with a minor in Motion

Picture and Television in 1985

Full time writer

Lives in New York with his wife and three kids

First Book

Wrote his first book, This can’t be happening at Macdonald

Hall!, in Grade 7 because of a language arts assignment

His mom wrote a newspaper column and encouraged him to

publish his first book

Published in 1978 by Scholastic

Became the first book of the Macdonald Hall/Bruno & Boots

series

About two boys, Bruno Walton and Melvin “Boots” O’Neal, at

a boarding school who love to play pranks on everyone

Books

Continued to write books since

Won the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) Air Canada Award

in 1981 for Canadian writers under 30 with potential

Written and published over 70 books

Sold over 15 million copies

Translated into 14 different languages

Most of his earlier works were about Ontario where he grew up

Was nominated for the 2011/2012 Stellar Book Award, which is

BC’s Teen Readers Choice Award for his book, Pop

Inspiration for kids everywhere

Writes mostly adventure and comedy fiction

Suggested Activities

English 8 - Comparison between Son of the Mob and Romeo and

Juliet.

Purposes (Reading and Viewing) B1 read, both collaboratively and independently, to comprehend a variety of literary texts, including – literature reflecting a variety of times, places, and perspectives – literature reflecting a variety of prose forms – poetry in a variety of narrative and lyric forms – significant works of Canadian literature

As part of the Grade 8 English PLOs, students are required to read

Canadian literature as well as those of various times, places and

perspectives. The Grade 8 English classes usually read Romeo and

Juliet by Shakespeare every year. Using Gordon Korman’s Son of

The Mob as a comparison to Romeo and Juliet would generate

lots of interest, especially for boys. Since Korman’s novels are easy

to read and full of action and comedy, it would be a successful

parallel to the classic iambic pentameter.

In class, the students are assigned roles and read the play aloud.

At home, they read the novel and blog about the connections or

variations from the play. They discuss in class their thoughts. At

the end of the unit, they can choose to compare characters,

themes, setting or some aspect and make a glog or prezi to

present to the class.

Language Arts - Grade 7 - creative writing (Can also be applied to

younger or older students as Gordon Korman’s books have a

diverse range)

Purposes (Writing and Representing) C3 write a variety of imaginative writing for a range of purposes and audiences modelled from literature, featuring

– strategically developed ideas by using interesting sensory detail – sentence fluency by using a variety of sentence lengths and patterns, with increasing fluidity

– effective word choice by using purposeful figurative and sensory language with some sophistication and risk-taking

– an engaging and authentic voice

– an organization that includes an enticing opening, followed by a purposeful sequence of well developed ideas that lead to an imaginative or interesting conclusion

Since Gordon Korman started out as a writer at age 12, he would

be a great inspiration for the Grade 7 classes. According to his

website, he does school visits and offers writing workshops to

classes. It would be a great to collaborate with the teacher-

librarian for this activity as the teacher-librarian would have a

budget for author visits.

In preparation for the visit, there could be a small general

introduction to Gordon Korman. Then lit circles can be started

with several of his books based on the different styles of writing

from him (ex. I Want to Go Home, Island Trilogy, This Can’t Be

Happening at MacDonald Hall, Schooled, Son of the Mob). The

students can have a taste of the different types of books he has

written - comedy, action, and adventure. They discuss the books

in their groups and keep a response journal reflecting on what

they liked/disliked and how their own personal experiences are

similar/different. Prepare them for the author visit and then have

them choose which style of book they would like to use to create

their own piece of writing. Give them the choice of either writing a

novel, picture book, graphic novel or whatever form they prefer.

They can use an online book publisher and publish their work in

Youblisher, Issu, Scridb or iBook Author. The teacher/teacher-

librarian can also create a digital anthology for the students and

even publish it in the library for everyone in the school can read.

Bibliography

Korman, G. (1978). This can't be happening at Macdonald Hall!. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1979). Go jump in the pool!. New York: Scholastic Book Services.

Korman, G. (1980). Beware the fish!. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1980). Who is Bugs Potter?. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1981). I want to go home!. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1982). The war with Mr. Wizzle. New York: Scholastic Book Services.

Korman, G. (1982). Our man Weston. Richmond Hill, Ont., Canada: Scholastic-TAB

Publications.

Korman, G. (1983). Bugs Potter live at Nickaninny. Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada:

Scholastic-TAB Publications.

Korman, G. (1984). No coins, please. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1985). Don't Care High. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1986). Son of Interflux. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1987). A semester in the life of a garbage bag. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (1988). The Zucchini Warriors. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (1989). Radio 5th Grade. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (1990). Losing Joe's place. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (1991). Macdonald Hall goes Hollywood. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1992). The Twinkie Squad. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G., & Korman, B. (1992). The D- poems of Jeremy Bloom: a collection of poems

about school, homework, and life (sort of). New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1993). The Toilet Paper Tigers. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1994). Why did the underwear cross the road?. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1995). Something fishy at Macdonald Hall. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G., & Korman, B. (1996). The last-place sports poems of Jeremy Bloom: a

collection of poems about winning, losing, and being a good sport (sometimes). New

York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1996). The chicken doesn't skate. New York: Scholastic Press.

Korman, G. (1997). Running back conversion: I was Barry Sanders. New York: Hyperion

Paperbacks for Children.

Korman, G. (1997). Quarterback exchange, I was John Elway. New York: Hyperion

Paperbacks for Children.

Korman, G. (1997). The Super Bowl switch: I was Dan Marino. New York: Hyperion Books

for Children.

Korman, G. (1997). Heavy artillery: I was Junior Seau. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for

Children.

Korman, G., & Adinolfi, J. (1997). Liar, liar, pants on fire. New York: Scholastic Press.

Korman, G., Buckley, J., & Peterson, B. C. (1998). NFL rules!: bloopers, pranks, upsets,

and touchdowns. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children.

Korman, G. (1998). Ultimate scoring machine: I was Jerry Rice. New York: Hyperion

Paperbacks for Children.

Korman, G. (1998). The 6th grade nickname game. New York: Hyperion Books for

Children.

Korman, G., & Vaccaro, V. (1999). Nose pickers from outer space. New York: Hyperion

Books for Children.

Korman, G. (1999). The stars from Mars. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (1999). All-Mars all-stars. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G., & Vaccaro, V. (2000). Planet of the nose pickers. New York: Hyperion Books

for Children.

Korman, G. (2000). No more dead dogs. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Korman, G. (2000). Slapshots #4: Cup Crazy. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2000). Slapshots #3: The Face-Off Phony:. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G., & Vaccaro, V. (2000). Your mummy is a nose picker. New York: Hyperion

Books for Children.

Korman, G., & Vaccaro, V. (2001). Invasion of the nose pickers. New York: Hyperion

Books For Children.

Korman, G. (2001). Escape: Island. New York: Apple Paperback.

Korman, G. (2001). Island. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2001). Survival. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2002). Son of the mob. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Korman, G. (2002). The contest Book 1. NY: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2002). The climb Book 2. NY: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2002). The summit Book 3. NY: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2003). Dive. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (2003). Dive: book two: the deep. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (2003). Dive book three : the danger. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (2003). Jake, reinvented. New York: Hyperion.

Korman, G. (2003). Maxx Comedy: the funniest kid in America. New York: Hyperion

Books for Children.

Korman, G. (2004). Son of the mob: Hollywood hustle. New York: Hyperion.

Korman, G. (2005). The stowaway solution. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2005). Public enemies. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2005). Now you see them, now you don't. New York: Scholastic Inc..

Korman, G. (2005). The fugitive factor. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2005). Chasing the Falconers. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2006). Born to rock. New York: Hyperion.

Korman, G. (2006). The search. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2006). Hunting the hunter. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2006). The rescue. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2006). The abduction. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2007). Schooled. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Korman, G. (2008). Swindle. New York: Scholastic Press.

Korman, G. (2008). One false note. London: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2008). The Juvie three. New York: Hyperion.

Korman, G. (2009). Pop. New York: Balzer + Bray.

Korman, G. (2009). Zoobreak. New York: Scholastic Press.

Korman, G. (2010). Framed. New York: Scholastic Press.

Korman, G. (2010). The emperor's code. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2011). Collision course. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2011). Unsinkable. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2011). S.O.S.. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2011). The Medusa plot. New York: Scholastic.

Korman, G. (2012). Showoff. New York: Scholastic Press.

Korman, G. (2012). Ungifted. New York: Balzer + Bray.

References

Biography. (2012). Official Gordon Korman Web Site. Retrieved

July 27, 2012, from http://www.gordonkorman.com/

Gordon Korman's Biography. (2012). Scholastic. Retrieved August

6, 2012, from

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/gordon-

korman

Home. (2012). The Stellar Book Award. Retrieved August 6, 2012,

from http://www.stellaraward.ca/2012/index.php

The CAA Air Canada Award | Canadian Authors Association. (2011,

March 30). Canadian Authors Association. Retrieved August

6, 2012, from

http://www.canauthors.org/awards/aircanada.html#about

Photo Credits

CARR McLEAN – Gordon Korman Books. (2011). CARR McLEAN.

Retrieved August 7, 2012, from

http://www.carrmclean.ca/CategoryGroupBrowser.aspx?Cate

goryID=638&GroupNo=7935

Chel1395, M. (2009). Romeo + Juliet. Fanpop. Retrieved August 7,

2012, from http://www.fanpop.com/spots/romeo-and-

juliet/images/5126825/title/romeo-juliet-screencap

Flickr - Photo Sharing. (2012). Flickr. Retrieved August 7, 2012,

from http://www.flickr.com

Slager, C. (2012, January 18). Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman.

The Mad Reviewer. Retrieved August 7, 2012, from

http://carrieslager.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/son-of-the-

mob-by-gordon-korman/