It’s hard to believe that this year is halfway over as we bring you the next installment in our Author Birthday Read Aloud series. If you haven’t been following along, now is a great time to join us as we feature authors born in the month of June. You can check out the library’s Instagram to find all the readings we have done.
Rick Riordan was born on June 5th, 1964. Micah read the chapter titles from The Lightning Thief, which is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, because he remembered how much they made him laugh. Do you ever notice unique and/or funny chapter titles?
June 7th features a double celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks (1917) and Nikki Giovanni (1943). These women are both African American poets with Brooks being highly regarded as the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize. Selected Poems features poems from three of Brooks’ earlier works. Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day is described as one of Giovanni’s more personal collections. Grand Mothers: Poems, Reminiscences, and Short Stories About the Keepers of Our Traditions is a collection that both women worked on.
Andy Weir was born on June 16th, 1972. Darius read a portion of Project Hail Mary. This was previously one of our book club selections. If you’re interested in reading a review of the book, visit this blog. There you will also see some references to The Martian. Even if you haven’t read the book, you might have the seen the 2015 film adaptation starring Matt Damon.
Chris Van Allsburg was born on June 18th, 1949. Jumanji and The Polar Express are two of his more well-known titles. These books share some things in common because Van Allsburg wrote and illustrated them both, and they’ve both been made into film. If you had to choose between having a board game come to life or riding a magical train to the North Pole, which would you choose?
Markus Zusak was born on June 23rd, 1975. If you’re someone that likes historical fiction and being reminded about the power of stories, I recommend reading The Book Thief, which takes place during WWII and follows a young girl named Liesel.
Eric Carle was born on June 25th, 1929. Amber read a portion of The Secret Birthday Message. Have you ever left someone clues to help them find a gift? My (Rachel) grandfather used to do this for us. Solving the clues and going on the hunt almost made it feel like another gift. Once you’ve read that, you should check out some of his other classics like The Mixed-Up Chameleon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or The Tiny Seed.
I hope you enjoyed our focus on authors born in the month of June!
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