[LM_NET] SHARE: Nancy Yi Fan

["Hassett, Bob E." <Bob.Hassett@FCPS.EDU>]

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of accompanying a dozen of our students to
a "Meet the Author" broadcast with Nancy Yi Fan, the 13-year-old author
of the fantasy novel, Swordbird
(http://www.amazon.com/Swordbird-Nancy-Yi-Fan/dp/0061130990/sr=1-1/qid=1
170958850/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5008706-7523135?ie=UTF8&s=books). I
thought some of you might be interested to hear a bit about her because
she is a remarkable young lady.

I still haven't read the book. The publisher gave us some copies for the
library, so I'm hoping to get to it over the weekend.

But Miss Fan is poised, confident without seeming arrogant, and very,
very well spoken. When asked about how she found time to write her book,
she noted that school work always comes first. And she made a point of
thanking her teachers, particularly an ESL teacher (whom she named) who
taught her when she first immigrated to the U.S. during second grade and
who she said ignited her love for reading. And when asked about what
books had influenced her, she had the most to say about E.B. White,
particularly "Charlotte's Web." She's like a living advertisement for
teen literacy. If her book tour comes nearby, I'd strongly recommend
going to see her (and bringing as many teens as you can fit in your
car). She does get asked the same questions a lot and seems to have some
prepared answers (there was an article about her in the local paper the
day before), so she occasionally repeats herself (which is to be
excused, I think, given her age and relative inexperience dealing with
fame and the media), but she seems genuinely to be trying to say it in a
different way each time. I was completely amazed.

If anybody's interested, tapes of the show are available for about $20
from the Fairfax Network
(http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/mta/fan.htm). Full disclosure: This
is a subsidiary of my employer, but I promise I get absolutely nothing
out of it if you order one.

---Bob.

/************************************************/
/* Bob Hassett, Head Librarian                */
/* Luther Jackson Middle School             */
/* 3020 Gallows Road                            */
/* Falls Church, Virginia  22042              */
/* (703) 204-8133                                  */
/* Bob.Hassett@fcps.edu                      */
/************************************************/


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