AdLit.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers. AdLit.org is an educational initiative of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital, and is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.
Bio
John Green, author and a semi-professional videoblogger, lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with his wife, Sarah and his dog Willy. He was born in Indianapolis in 1977, grew up in Florida and then moved to Alabama where he attended Indian Springs School, a boarding and day school outside of Birmingham. The setting for his first book, Looking for Alaska, which won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award, was largely inspired by his time at Indian Springs School.
John graduated from Kenyon College in 2000 with a double major in English and Religious Studies and then spent six months as a student chaplain at a children's hospital. After that, John started writing about books for Booklist magazine in Chicago. He's also written for National Public Radio's All Things Considered and Chicago's public radio station, WBEZ.
But writing's not his only thing. He actually ceased all text-based communication with his brother Hank in 2007 when he and Hank decided to be in touch instead by video blog. The year-long Brotherhood 2.0 project was wildly popular and the brothers continue vlogging for more than 100,000 subscribers.
In this interview, John talks about thinking critically about what you read and watch and how even the Babysitter's Club books can offer insight.
Selected Books
from John Green
Age Level: 12-14
Nerdy Colin Singleton has been dumped by Katherine. Not just any Katherine though. This is the nineteenth Katherine he's dated and been dumped by. His friend Hassan insists a road trip is in order for his recovery, but their trip ends abruptly in Gutshot, Tennessee where Colin spends his time working on his mathematical theorem for predicting the end result of a romantic relationship with a girl not named Katherine.
Age Level: 12-14
Where is Margo Roth Spiegelman? After Margo takes Quentin Jacobsen on a wild all-night adventure, he thought Margo was back in his life. Instead she disappears completely leaving Quentin to decipher the clues she's left behind and his feelings for her.
Age Level: 12-14
John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle weave each of their stories together in this collection of winter romances. John Green's, "A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle," focuses on three friends who leave their cozy James Bond marathon to trek through a winter storm to check out some stranded cheerleaders at the local Waffle House.
Age Level: 14-16
John Green won the Printz Award for this debut novel that follows the life of Miles "Pudge" Halter during his first year at an elite Alabama boarding school. Dreaming of finding Francois Rabelais' the "Great Perhaps," Pudge learns many life lessons from his new friends, especially the stunning and self-destructive Alaska Young.
Age Level: 12-14
In the suburbs of Chicago, two teens named Will Grayson — one gay, one straight — have lived their lives completely unaware of the other's existence. But that changes one fateful night when their worlds collide. Their lives begin to intertwine and each Will Grayson begins to question who he really is. Their discoveries take them in unexpected directions, building towards romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of an oh-so-fabulous high school musical.
