Gordon Korman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gordon Korman
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Korman at the 2019 Texas Book Festival
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| Born | October 23, 1963 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | Canadian, American |
| Alma mater | New York University (BFA) |
| Period | 1975–present |
| Genre | Realistic fiction, adventure fiction, young adult fiction |
| Notable works |
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Gordon Korman (born October 23, 1963) is a super popular Canadian author. He writes amazing books for kids and young adults. Over his four-decade career, Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide! Many of his stories have even reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Contents
- Gordon Korman's Early Life
- How Gordon Korman Started Writing
- Gordon Korman's Books
- Standalone Books
- Book Series
- Macdonald Hall Series
- Bugs Potter
- Jeremy Bloom
- Monday Night Football Club
- Slapshots Series
- Nose Pickers Series
- Island Series
- Son of the Mob
- Dive Series
- On the Run Series
- Kidnapped Series
- The 39 Clues
- Swindle Series
- Titanic Series
- Ungifted Series
- Everest Series
- Hypnotists Series
- Slacker Series
- Masterminds Series
- Books Turned into Movies and TV Shows
- Awards and Special Recognition
Gordon Korman's Early Life
Gordon Korman was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He lived there until 1970. After that, he grew up in Thornhill, Ontario, which is just north of Toronto. He went to German Mills Public School and Thornlea Secondary School for high school.
Later, he moved to the United States to go to New York University. There, he studied film and how to write for movies. In 1985, Korman earned a special degree called a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). His studies focused on writing for visual stories, like movies and TV shows.
How Gordon Korman Started Writing
Gordon Korman wrote his very first book when he was only 12 years old! It was for an English class project in 7th grade. His teacher was actually a gym teacher, which is pretty cool. This project turned into the book This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. It was the first book in his famous Macdonald Hall series.
Korman was in charge of the Scholastic Arrow Book Club for his class. After finishing his story, he decided to mail his manuscript to Scholastic. Guess what? This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall was published by Scholastic Press in 1978! Korman was only 14 years old at the time. Before he even finished high school, he had already written and published five books!
Gordon Korman has written an incredible 105 books so far. His hundredth book was called The Fort. His books have sold over 35 million copies around the world.
Gordon Korman's Books
Gordon Korman has written many standalone books and several popular series.
Standalone Books
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Book Series
Macdonald Hall Series
This is the series that started it all! It's about the funny adventures at a boarding school.
- This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (1978)
- Go Jump in the Pool (1979)
- Beware the Fish! (1980)
- The Wizzle War (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle) (1982)
- The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
- Lights, Camera, Disaster (formerly Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood) (1991)
- The Joke’s On Us (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall) (1995)
Bugs Potter
- Who is Bugs Potter? (1980)
- Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny (1983)
Jeremy Bloom
- The D− Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
- The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)
Monday Night Football Club
This series lets you imagine being a famous football player!
- The Quarterback Exchange: I Was John Elway (1997)
- Running Back Conversion: I Was Barry Sanders (1997)
- Super Bowl Switch: I Was Dan Marino (1997)
- Heavy Artillery: I Was Junior Seau (1997)
- Ultimate Scoring Machine: I Was Jerry Rice (1998)
Slapshots Series
- The Stars From Mars (1999)
- The Dream Team (1999)
- The Face-off Phony (2000)
- Cup Crazy (2000)
Nose Pickers Series
- Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)
- Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
- Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)
- Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
Island Series
This thrilling series is about survival on a deserted island.
- Shipwreck (2001)
- Survival (2001)
- Escape (2001)
Son of the Mob
- Son of the Mob (2002)
- Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)
Dive Series
- The Discovery (2003)
- The Deep (2003)
- The Danger (2003)
On the Run Series
Follow the exciting adventures of kids on the run!
- Chasing the Falconers (2005)
- The Fugitive Factor (2005)
- Now You See Them, Now You Don't (2005)
- The Stowaway Solution (2005)
- Public Enemies (2005)
- Hunting the Hunter (2006)
Kidnapped Series
- The Abduction (2006)
- The Search (2006)
- The Rescue (2006)
The 39 Clues
Gordon Korman wrote some books in this popular series, which has many different authors.
- One False Note (2008)
- The Emperor's Code (2010)
- Vespers Rising (2011)
- The Medusa Plot (2011)
- Flashpoint (2014)
Swindle Series
This series is full of mystery and adventure!
- Swindle (2008)
- Zoobreak (2009)
- Framed (2010)
- Showoff (2012)
- Hideout (2013)
- Jackpot (2014)
- Unleashed (2015)
- Jingle (2016)
Titanic Series
These books tell a thrilling story set on the famous ship.
- Unsinkable (2011)
- Collision Course (2011)
- S.O.S (2011)
Ungifted Series
- Ungifted (2012)
- Supergifted (2018)
Everest Series
- The Contest (2002)
- The Climb (2002)
- The Summit (2002)
Hypnotists Series
- The Hypnotists (2013)
- Memory Maze (2014)
- The Dragonfly Effect (2015)
Slacker Series
- Slacker (2016)
- Level 13: A Slacker Novel (2019)
Masterminds Series
- Masterminds (2015)
- Masterminds: Criminal Destiny (2016)
- Masterminds: Payback (2017)
Books Turned into Movies and TV Shows
Some of Gordon Korman's books have been made into movies and TV shows!
- The Monday Night Football Club series became the Disney Channel TV show The Jersey. It ran for four years, from 1999 to 2004.
- His book Swindle was made into a movie. It aired on Nickelodeon in 2013.
- Three books from the Macdonald Hall series were turned into a miniseries called "Bruno & Boots." These included Go Jump in the Pool, This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall, and The War with Mr. Wizzle (renamed The Wizzle War). The show starred Jonny Gray, Callan Potter, and Peter Keleghan. It first aired on April 1, 2016, in Canada on the YTV network. The other two parts aired the next year.
Other books that might become movies or shows include No Coins, Please, I Want to Go Home, the Island trilogy, and The Twinkie Squad.
Awards and Special Recognition
Gordon Korman has won many awards for his amazing books:
- He received the Air Canada Award for promising authors in Canada when he was just 17.
- In 1991, he won the Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award for The Zucchini Warriors. Kids in Manitoba chose this award!
- His book The Toilet Paper Tigers was named a Popular Paperback for Young Adults by the American Library Association in 1999.
- In 2003, Son of the Mob was chosen as one of the ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults.
- No More Dead Dogs won the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award in 2003. This award is also chosen by schoolchildren!
- He won the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award twice, for Swindle (2010–2011) and Zoobreak (2011–2012). Kids in Arkansas vote for this award.
- In 2016, he received the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature.
- Restart won the Young Hoosier Book Award (Intermediate) in 2020.
