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Young Adult Lit WebQuests

 

CATALYST
A Webquest

 

About Laurie Halse Anderson
from http://www.childrenslit.com/f_laurieanderson.htm

As a little girl, Laurie Halse Anderson, author of American Girl's new animal adventure series, Wild at Heart, spent hours writing poems, letters, newspaper columns, and stories. Her many pets were a constant source of inspiration. "The first poem I ever wrote was about my kitten, Soot," she says. "I was playing with her on the front porch and she was so cute and wonderful, I just had to write it down."

Anderson spent her senior year of high school abroad, living on a pig farm in Denmark. "I helped with all the farm chores, from working in the fields to capturing runaway ducks," she reports. Upon her return, she attended Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York, then earned a bachelor's degree in Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Anderson has written numerous books for children and young adults. A picture book, Ndito Runs, was a 1996 "Pick of the Lists" from the American Booksellers Association. Her most recent title, Speak, was named a 2000 "Printz Honor Book" by the American Library Association and was a finalist for the 1999 National Book Award.

Although Anderson makes her living as a writer, she was convinced she would be a doctor when she grew up. She tries to incorporate her interest in medicine in her writing. As she says, "One of the things I enjoy about writing for Wild at Heart is learning about the work of veterinarians." Chronicling the adventures of five 11-year-old veterinary clinic volunteers, the series gives Anderson the opportunity to interview veterinarians to learn veterinary procedures and share proper animal care with her readers.

Caring for animals has taught Anderson valuable lessons. She confides, "The animals I have shared my life with have taught me how to love and how to care for something besides myself. They inspire me. They have been, and are, my best friends."

Anderson lives in Ambler, Pennsylvania, with her husband and two children.

For more information visit Laurie Halse Anderson at her own site.

Here are the WebQuest steps: 

1.  Read the Book Summary

2.  Look at the Links, keeping in mind the story's themes, events, and characters

3.  Answer the Quiz Questions in a Word document

4.  Visit the Rubric site to see how you will be graded

 

Email the creator of this webquest: 

Jim Blasingame

 
 
 
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updated: February 14, 2007
December 19, 2005