Andrew Clements!

By: Brynne Newcomer

Biographical Information:

Andrew Clements was born 1949 in Camden, New Jersey. He was the son of William Denny Jr. and Doris Clements. He married Rebecca Pierpont and had 4 kids: John, Nathanial, George and Charles. He went to North Western, to become an editor.

How Andrew Clements got started & why he became an amazing author:

Andrew Clements was an excellent reader in his elementary days. Andrew didn't consider himself as an author when he was young but he knew he loved to read. He would be able to read a thick myth book in one day. He didn't know an author that wasn't a good reader starting out. Andrew would visit a cabin with his family every summer. Since there was no T.V. or email, there was only time to read. He knew that those quiet summers Began to lead him to think like a writer. In Andrew's senior year of high school his teacher handed back his poem and his teacher said, "Andrew this poem was so funny. it should be published". When he got invited to a creative writing organization, he learned how hard it was to be a teacher, and how it can also be fun. After Andrew finished collage, he became a teacher and taught public schools. Andrew did get fired a couple times and then he got rehired a couple times, so Andrew and his wife moved to New York to get a more reasonable job. His job was to be a singer song writer. That didn't workout as he thought it would. But Andrew did learn how to sit down and just write what on his mind. Andrew remembered reading things and saying to himself, " Ah I wish I had written this". Andrew didn't choose to be a writer, it came to him.

Andrew's inspirations:

Andrew's inspirations were mainly librarians and libraries, but he had another hero. Her name was Margret Wise Brown. One book Andrew enjoyed was "Five Little Firemen". He could she what she was talking about every time in his mind.

Genres/Where he gets his ideas for writing:

Andrew Clements usually writes books based on life. For example in Frindle, Andrew had a teacher a little like Mrs. Granger, and he then expressed it into a story. He makes stories mainly about what happens to him in real life or what happens around him. He his mainly a fiction writer!

More facts about Andrew Clements:

• Andrew played guitar in college (that helped him become a better writer). 
• He got to know Eric Carle, and saw firsthand how clearly he thinks. 
• In kindergarten he was a really good reader.
• He wrote translate books for people of other languages.

Bibliography:

Clements, Andrew. Things hoped for. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's, 2006.

Credits:

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=10562_type=Contributor_typeId=2883

Links:

Andrew Clements Offical Site:

http://www.andrewclements.com/

An interveiw with Andrew Clements:

http://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/clements/index.html