On December 5, Ms. Becky Gorman and the Literacy Center students traveled to the Brooklyn Center Library to hear a presentation by Sharon Draper. Ms. Draper has written many novels that are popular with teens: Forged by Fire, Tears of a Tiger, and Darkness Before Dawn have been featured in past RIF distributions. After reading one of her stories, many students wanted to continue reading the other books in the series.

Ms. Draper, a former English teacher and National Teacher of the Year recipient, told the audience that she began writing when one of her students challenged her. The student told Ms. Draper that since she was always asking them to write stories; he thought it was only fair that she write them too. Her first short story was 3 pages long and she sold it for $5,000. “Being an author does not automatically make you rich”, she told the students. She only makes 15 cents for each of her books sold.

At the presentation, Ms. Draper read from several of her books and also got help from audience members to act out various scenes. Park Center students acted out parts from one of her books called Copper Sun. She also gave away some books and autographed them. All in all, it was a fun and entertaining experience.