Becker Middle School students were recently treated to a day-long visit with young adult author Alan Gratz. 

 

Gratz delivered one hour presentations to each of Becker’s three grade levels in the PAC from 8:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. He then signed books for students over lunches from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and met for a special session with selected student for one hour at 2 p.m. until the end of the day. 

 

“This was exciting for many of our kids as we have been reading many of Alan Gratz's novels over the last few months including Ban This Book, Refugee, and Prisoner B-3087,” said  Holly Wieber, media specialist. “His presentations were very engaging and we had a great day!” 

 

Wieber says Gratz has   a number of other popular titles the kids have been checking out from the media center and ordering online.  

 

“We've also had a number of contests and drawings throughout the last month  where we've given books to kids so they could have them signed by Mr. Gratz on the day of his visit.”

 

Gratz was born and raised in Knoxville, TN, home of the 1982 World’s Fair. After a carefree but humid childhood, Gratz attended the University of Tennessee, where he earned a college scholars degree with a specialization in creative writing. Later, he acquired a master’s degree in English education. 

 

Gratz lives with his wife Wendi and his daughter Jo in the high country of Western North Carolina, where he enjoys playing games, eating pizza, and, perhaps not too surprisingly, reading books.

 

His book, Ban This Book, is about a young girl who discovers she can’t check out her favorite book from the school library because a classmate’s mom thought the book was inappropriate for kids to read. The girl fights back by starting a secret banned book library out of her locker.

 

In Gratz’s book called, Refugee, the story is about a Jewish boy who flees Nazi Germany for Cuba aboard the MS St. Louis in 1939. Also, a Cuban girl escapes Cuba on a raft bound for America in 1994. And finally, a Syrian boy travels from Syria to Germany in the present day. The three different stories are all connected by one word — escape.

 

In Gratz’s book entitled, Prisoner B-3087, another young Jewish boy is taken prisoner during the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1930. His arm is tattooed, P-3087 and he encounters evil he could never have imagined–and yet finds surprising glimpses of hope amid the horror. It’s based on the astonishing true story of one extraordinary boy.

 

Wieber thanks the school’s generous administration and student council for making the author day happen at BMS.