Students, teachers, and staff at Genoa Middle School and Huber Ridge Elementary requested more books per pupil through the Westerville Public Library’s Library Link service than any other school in the district. As a reward, they will receive an author visit from Sharon M. Draper on April 29.
An educator and writer, Draper has received numerous awards and honors, including National Teacher of the Year and five Coretta Scott King Literary Awards. She is an Ohio author, serving as Artist-in-Residence for the Taft Museum in Cincinnati.
Draper writes literature for school-aged children and young adults. Her 2010 book, Out of My Mind, was on the New York Times Best Seller List for almost two years. Copper Sun, Draper’s young adult title from 2006, has been selected for the international reading project Reading Across Continents, and will be read by students in Niger and Ghana.
The Westerville Public Library is sponsoring these visits, providing a rare opportunity for students to be inspired by this celebrated author. Pupils at these schools have come out as winners, in two ways – they will meet a world-class writer, and they have benefited from the many resources of their public library being brought to their classroom on demand.
Draper will speak that same evening at the Westerville Public Library. Tickets are available at the library’s website, www.westervillelibrary.org.