Gordon Korman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gordon Korman
Korman at the 2015 Texas Book Festival
Born	1963 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Author
Education	New York University (BFA)
Period	1975–present
Genre	Realistic fiction, adventure fiction, young adult fiction
Notable works	Macdonald Hall Swindle The Toilet Paper Tigers The 39 Clues (contributor) Faker "Operation Do-Over"

Gordon Korman is a famous Canadian author who creates exciting children's stories and thrilling young adult fiction. Over four decades of writing, his fun adventures have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide. Many of his exciting novels have reached the top spot on The New York Times Best Seller list. Young readers enjoy his fast action, humor, and relatable student characters.

The Early Life and School Years of Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman was born in the bustling city of Montreal, Quebec, where he spent his early childhood years. In 1970, his family moved to Thornhill, Ontario, an area located just north of Toronto. He attended elementary classes at German Mills Public School, where he loved reading fun tales. Later, he went to high school at Thornlea Secondary School in his hometown.

When he was in middle school, he received an unexpected school assignment that changed his entire life forever. A track and field coach had to teach his seventh-grade English class for an entire school term. The coach gave the students total freedom to write whatever kind of story they wished every day. Korman worked on a funny story about two mischievous best friends at an imaginary boarding school.

After finishing high school, Korman moved across the border to the United States to study creative writing. He attended New York University in New York City, focusing on dramatic screenwriting and television production techniques. In 1985, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University. His film training helped him learn how to create fast pacing, funny dialogue, and dramatic scenes in novels.

How Gordon Korman Became a Famous Author as a Teenager

Korman began his professional career when he was only 13 years old through a lucky school opportunity. He served as the student order monitor for the Scholastic Arrow Book Club in his English class. After finishing his English class assignment, he typed out his story and mailed it to the publisher.

The editors at Scholastic Press loved the funny adventure and offered to publish it right away. The book was titled This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall and hit store shelves in 1978. Korman was only 14 years old when his very first book was officially printed for readers everywhere.

Before he even graduated from high school in Thornhill, Ontario, he had published five complete novels. He traveled to book signings and spoke with student readers during his high school and college years. Korman has written well over one hundred books, celebrating his milestone hundredth book with the novel The Fort.

Popular Book Series by Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman has created many book series that explore sports, mysteries, school life, and dangerous wilderness journeys.

Macdonald Hall Series Adventures

The Macdonald Hall series follows two playful roommates named Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal at a boarding school. Bruno creates wild schemes to help his friends, while Boots tries to keep them out of trouble. Their adventures continue across several popular novels:

• This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall introduces the boys and their strict headmaster, Mr. Sturgeon.
• Go Jump in the Pool shows the students building a pool to save their beloved school from closing.
• Beware the Fish! follows their wacky pranks to save Macdonald Hall from a serious money problem.
• The Wizzle War, formerly known as The War with Mr. Wizzle, shows kids battling computer rules.
• The Zucchini Warriors tells the story of a hilarious football team fueled by special fried snacks.
• Lights, Camera, Disaster, earlier published as Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood, involves a real movie crew.
• The Joke’s On Us brings another round of funny rivalries and school tricks to the campus.

Action-Packed Mystery and Adventure Series

Korman also writes fast-paced adventures filled with survival puzzles, dangerous quests, and exciting outdoor challenges.

• The Island trilogy features the books Shipwreck, Survival, and Escape, where stranded young people must work together.
• The Everest series includes The Contest, The Climb, and The Summit, following kids climbing the highest mountain.
• The Dive series takes young explorers into deep water in The Discovery, The Deep, and The Danger.
• The On the Run series follows a brother and sister trying to prove their parents are innocent.
• The Kidnapped series follows siblings solving a dangerous mystery through rapid teamwork and bravery.
• The Masterminds series reveals a group of kids uncovering strange secrets hidden inside their quiet hometown.
• The Titanic series follows young passengers aboard the famous ocean liner in dramatic, suspenseful tales.

The Swindle Series and Heist Adventures

One of his most famous sagas is the Swindle series, which reads like a movie adventure. The story begins in Swindle, where Griffin Bing and his loyal friends recover a valuable baseball card. The gang uses clever inventions, brave teamwork, and funny plans to outsmart dishonest adults and save the day.

• Zoobreak features the kids rescuing an animal friend from a terrible roadside zoo.
• Framed follows Griffin as his loyal friends try to prove he did not steal a school ring.
• Showoff focuses on training an unruly guard dog named Luthor for a major championship dog show.
• Hideout takes the brave group on a summer camping trip to protect Luthor from danger.
• Jackpot, Unleashed, and Jingle bring the team back together for more clever mysteries and community adventures.

Contributions to The 39 Clues Series

Korman joined other popular writers to create the bestselling global adventure franchise called The 39 Clues. In this series, siblings Amy and Dan Cahill travel across the world seeking secret ingredients for great power. Korman wrote several key books in the multi-author series, including:

• One False Note, which takes the young heroes across Europe to find musical secrets left by Mozart.
• The Emperor's Code, which sends the Cahill family on a dangerous chase through historic sites in China.
• Vespers Rising, a collection of tales explaining ancient secrets behind the competing Cahill family branches.
• The Medusa Plot, following the team as they solve art thefts across dangerous European cities.
• Flashpoint, an exciting adventure that tests the characters during a world-spanning puzzle showdown.

Funny School and Life Series

Korman loves writing about sports, poetry, and everyday school chaos that makes young readers laugh out loud.

• The Bugs Potter books follow an energetic drummer who finds funny adventures wherever he plays his music.
• The Jeremy Bloom books share funny rhyming poems about homework struggles, bad gym classes, and school pranks.
• The Slapshots series follows the thrilling games and funny moments of a young youth hockey team.
• The Monday Night Football Club series shows kids magically trading places with famous professional football athletes.
• The Nose Pickers science fiction series tells goofy tales about an unusual alien friend visiting an ordinary school.
• The Gifted series includes Ungifted, Supergifted, and Hypergifted, exploring funny misunderstandings in an advanced school.
• The Slacker series shows a video-game fan who accidentally creates an active school charity club.
• The Hypnotists series follows a boy who discovers he can bend minds with his unusual eyes.

Standalone Novels and Realistic Stories

Besides his long-running book series, Korman has written dozens of independent novels about friendship, sports, and growing up.

Classic Early Humor Books

In his early career, Korman wrote many standalone stories about summer camps, road trips, and funny student rivalries:

• I Want to Go Home! follows a stubborn boy named Rudy who tries every trick to leave summer camp.
• Our Man Weston follows twin brothers working at an old resort hotel while looking for international spies.
• No Coins, Please tells the story of an ambitious boy making huge amounts of money on a tour.
• Don't Care High follows students who accidentally elect an uncaring boy to lead their high school council.
• Son of Interflux tells the tale of a student fighting to save his arts school from industry.
• A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag features a wild science project about lucky objects.
• Radio 5th Grade shows young students trying to manage their very own weekly community radio program.
• Losing Joe's Place follows three teens trying to survive living alone in an apartment for the summer.
• The Twinkie Squad shows special students forming a secret after-school club to handle their school problems.
• The Toilet Paper Tigers follows an unskilled Little League baseball team sponsored by a funny local company.
• Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road features kids trying to win a school contest with odd inventions.
• The Chicken Doesn't Skate shows a town obsessed with a hockey team and an unusual classroom pet.
• Liar, Liar Pants on Fire follows a boy who invents giant tales until nobody believes him anymore.
• The Sixth Grade Nickname Game features best friends who love giving funny nicknames to every classmate.

Thought-Provoking Stories for Older Kids

Later in his career, Korman tackled deeper life lessons while keeping his playful humor and fast-moving action alive:

• No More Dead Dogs follows a middle schooler who refuses to write fake praise for sad schoolbooks.
• Born to Rock tells the story of an ambitious teen who takes an unexpected road trip.
• Schooled shows a boy raised entirely at home entering a chaotic modern middle school for class.
• The Juvie Three follows three troubled teens living together under strict supervision while seeking fresh chances.
• Pop explores the touching friendship between a young football player and a retired sports legend who forgets things.
• Restart tells the story of a school bully who loses his memory and tries to start over.
• Whatshisface features an overlooked boy who gets help from an unexpected ghost inside a modern mobile phone.
• The Unteachables brings together struggling students and a tired teacher who inspire each other to succeed again.
• Notorious follows two young detectives uncovering town secrets on a strange island that sits along the border.
• War Stories follows a young history fan traveling through European battle sites alongside his heroic great-grandfather.
• Unplugged shows a screen-obsessed boy sent to a wellness camp where all digital technology is strictly forbidden.
• Linked follows middle school students who build a massive paper-chain memorial to learn about history and unity.
• Operation Do-Over shows a boy who wishes for a second chance to fix a ruined school friendship.
• The Fort features five boys who find a hidden underground bunker and make it their private refuge.
• The Superteacher Project tells the story of an unusual new substitute teacher who holds an unexpected secret.
• Mixed Up shows two kids from different backgrounds who discover an extraordinary bond through personal life challenges.
• Slugfest follows an athletic boy forced to take physical education summer camp alongside non-athletic classmates.
• Faker explores what happens when a student moves constantly because his father runs unusual business schemes.
• Old School, Snoop, and Sleepless provide readers with fun modern mysteries, campus secrets, and thrilling team adventures.

Books for Young Adult Readers

Korman has also written books for older teenagers, exploring growing up, dating, and dealing with strange family backgrounds:

• Son of the Mob follows Vince Luca, a teen whose family business makes everyday dating very complicated.
• Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle continues Vince's adventures as he attends college near movie studios.
• Jake, Reinvented updates a classic novel format into a modern high school story about popularity and parties.

Movies and Television Shows Based on Korman's Books

Many of Gordon Korman's popular stories have been transformed into entertaining television shows and popular family movies.

The Monday Night Football Club books inspired the hit Disney Channel television series called The Jersey. The show ran from 1999 to 2004, following kids who found a magic jersey that let them become pro athletes.

His novel Swindle became a full television movie that aired on Nickelodeon in 2013. The film featured popular teen television stars who teamed up to pull off an exciting, funny sports card rescue.

Three books from the Macdonald Hall series were turned into live-action television movies known as the "Bruno & Boots" series. The movies adapted Go Jump in the Pool, This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall, and The Wizzle War. Actor Jonny Gray played Bruno Walton, Callan Potter played Boots O'Neal, and Peter Keleghan played headmaster Mr. Sturgeon. The first film was broadcast on Canada's YTV network in 2016, and the other movies followed the next year.

Other popular books by Korman have been selected for film development, including No Coins, Please, the Island trilogy, and The Twinkie Squad.

Awards, Honors, and Reader Recognition

Throughout his long career, Gordon Korman has won many major awards chosen directly by young students and school librarians.

• In 1981, he won the Air Canada Award for promising authors in Canada when he was only 17.
• In 1991, students chose The Zucchini Warriors for the Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award in Manitoba, Canada.
• In 1999, the American Library Association named The Toilet Paper Tigers to its Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list.
• In 2001, the American Library Association honored Losing Joe's Place and The Chicken Doesn't Skate on reading lists.
• In 2003, his funny novel Son of the Mob earned a spot on the ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults.
• In 2003, schoolchildren honored No More Dead Dogs with the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award.
• In 2004, the American Library Association picked Jake Reinvented as one of the best books for young adults.
• In 2005 and 2010, young readers chose Son of the Mob and Schooled for the Young Reader's Choice Award.
• From 2010 to 2012, students in Arkansas chose Swindle and Zoobreak for the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award.
• In 2016, Korman received the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature for his wonderful body of work.
• In 2020, students chose Restart to win the Young Hoosier Book Award for middle grade readers.
• In 2024, his novel Unplugged won the junior division of the famous Young Reader's Choice Award.

Gordon Korman continues to inspire millions of young students to discover the pure joy of reading every single day.