Children's Author Sharon Draper at UT

The Center for Children’s and Young Adult’s Literature hosts Sharon Draper, author and 1997 National Teacher of the Year, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in the University Center’s Shiloh Room at 7 pm on October 17.

Draper’s visit, part of the center’s annual speaker series, will focus on reading, the writing process, and the joy of finding a good book.

Students, faculty, and the general public are invited to this free event.

Posts on Draper’s Web site give clues to Draper’s abilities. One teacher had this to say: “I was on the edge of my seat the whole night.” Another teacher claimed, “I was very impressed with you [Draper] and your books and look forward to buying class sets of your work so that my entire class can have that pleasure also.”

Draper’s best-known books are Tears of a Tiger (American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults), Forged by Fire (1997 Coretta Scott King Award), and Darkness Before Dawn (ALA Top Ten Quick Pick). All three are part of the Hazelwood High Trilogy.

Other honors Draper has received include Ohio Teacher of the Year, the Milken Family Foundation Award, and the Duncanson Artist-in-Residence for the Taft Museum. Draper was also one of the first teachers to achieve National Board Certification in English/Language Arts

For information on Draper’s visit contact Ken Wise, 974-2359, at Hodges Library. Visit Draper’s Web site at http://sharondraper.com/index.asp for information about her and on booking her for an event. For more information about the Center for Children’s and Young Adult’s Literature, visit http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/ccyal/.