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In celebration of National School Library Month, during the month of April the Taylor library was home to many special displays, activities and one very special event – a visit from the very popular author Stuart Gibbs!
Mr. Gibbs, who has written several elementary-aged book series including Spy School, FunJungle, Charlie Thorne, and Moon Base Alpha, held sessions on April 18 in the school library for kindergarteners through fifth graders talking about how he got started as an author, his interests that sparked his various books, and the importance of following your passions in life.
In particular, Mr. Gibbs stressed to students how ideas can come from any place – including museums, zoos, books, and travel. “I try to learn as much as I can about everything that interests me,” he said, and the “ideas follow.”
The FunJungle series, for example, was sparked by Mr. Gibbs’ interest in biology. While attending the University of Pennsylvania he did a project at the Philadelphia Zoo studying capybaras. During his time at the zoo, he listened to many behind-the-scenes stories from the zookeepers and decided a zoo would be a great place to set a story.
The idea for Spy School developed when Mr. Gibbs was around the age of seven and saw a James Bond movie. He imagined himself to be James Bond’s son, Jimmy Bond, and went on to write his own Bond story about that character.
Finally, based on his experience writing Spy School, Mr. Gibbs emphasized to Taylor students that, if you want to be a writer, you are never too young to start. And most important of all, keep learning!
