Bestselling Author Alan Gratz Takes District 30 Students to "Ground Zero"

Bestselling Author Alan Gratz Takes District 30 Students to "Ground Zero"

Bestselling author Alan Gratz was only five years old when he saw the movie “Star Wars” in 1977 in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.  That movie, “blew me away and stirred my imagination to write,” he said to over 550 students and teachers, during a virtual presentation held on February 8. District 30 fourth through eighth-grade students were a part of this audience after Willowbrook School Librarian April Eichmiller arranged for the viewing with Anderson’s Bookshop.

The impact that the movie had on him began his journey as a writer, and at the age of 49, he is a New York Times bestselling author of 17 novels for young readers, including "Refugee, Allies," “Grenade," "Prisoner B-3087," and "Ban this Book." His first book was "Samurai Shortstop."

During his “visit” he discussed and answered questions about his latest book "Ground Zero," which is a "historical but hopeful novel." This year is the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on New York’s Twin Towers, and the author said that he felt it was the right time to publish a book about it. "Ground Zero" focuses on nine-year-old Brandon and his battle between survival and escape, and 11-year-old Rashmina of Afghanistan, who has grown up with war in her backyard.

Gratz explained how the war in Afghanistan, which began after the terrorist attacks, is the longest and most ignored war in history. During his extensive research (always) and writing process, he emphasized that one of his goals is to increase the audience’s understanding of the history and the present through reading and writing.

"I think that if a person is reading about the viewpoint of my character, it can help to build empathy. The ultimate message I want people to glean from ‘Ground Zero' is that to survive, people must work for, not against each other, which can make the earth a better, more positive place,” he reflected.

On 9/11, he was teaching eighth-grade English in Knoxville, Tennessee, when he experienced tremendous shock and a feeling of disbelief at what was happening before the world’s eyes.

"Although there were no social media in those days, my classroom had a blurry television with bad reception, and I will never forget watching the planes crash into the twin towers with my students,” he recounted.

Since that terrible day, Gratz said that he has thought deeply about the changes in America and Afghanistan, and how readers born after 9/11 needed to know more about this shift and its effect on the world.

“We don’t talk a lot about what happened on 9/11. All references to terror and the twin towers have been edited out of almost every movie that was made where the infamous buildings were featured. We have no closure regarding this tragic event in history, even after Osama Bin Laden’s (al-Quaeda terrorist responsible for the 9/11 tragedy) death over 10 years ago,” he lamented.

An important reason that "Ground Zero" was written was to educate the reader, have him/her empathize with people, and to achieve a better understanding of what has happened since 9/11/2001. Gratz mentioned that he also works with UNICEF and educators in Afghanistan via Zoom, which is helping him to better understand the lost generation of children in Afghanistan, and Syria, where there is little schooling and proper nutrition available.  UNICEF communicates these issues worldwide and representatives are focusing on making the lives of these children better. 

An author of 11 historical fiction books, Gratz is working on his next one, which will be set "during this very defining time of COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, the insurrection at the Capitol, and more."  

In his farewell message, he said “Thank you to all of the students, educators, librarians, and Anderson Bookshop! Keep reading, and please stay safe!"

To guarantee a signed copy (bookplate) of any of Alan Gratz's books, please place your order by Tuesday, February 16 using the link provided: http://bit.ly/2YVeFRR Books will be delivered to the school after February 16.

For more information about Alan Gratz go to https://www.alangratz.com/about/

Ground Zero - Named Amazon.com Best of the Month - February 2021 awards