The Jewish Home | MAY 5, 2022
98 “Nah, not really,” says Gordon. “I was more of a loudmouth than a man of action.” In other words, “I’m more the Boots than the Bruno.”
When a Jewish author has questions, who does he turn to? His mom, of course. “I always bounce ideas off my mom. When I first started writing, I was 12 years old, so that was the obvious address to turn to. But now, she’s 84, and I’m still doing it.” Turns out that, when it comes to needing advice on children’s books, the senior Mrs. Korman is the premier source for guidance and wrote a column for her hometown Jewish newspaper. “My mom is one of those people who never forgot what it’s like to be a kid,” says Gordon. “Some sixth graders forget what it’s like to be in fifth grade, but my mom never forgot. To this day, she dreads the ‘Back to School’ ads on TV. I always tell her, ‘Mom, no one is sending you back to school.’ But that’s how she is. She still remembers exactly what it’s like being a kid.”
As time evolved, rapid developments in society warranted certain shifts in style and expression. But the themes remain constant. “Times change but kids don’t,” Gordon points out. “There will always be cool kids and less cool kids. There will always be insiders and those standing on the outside.” Acceptance is an overarching message in his books, typically in the context of school life. Whether it’s a hippie kid forced to join a typical public school (Schooled), an ungifted kid getting stuck in a school for the gifted children (Ungifted), or the super-gifted kid getting stuck in a regular school (Supergifted), Gordon tries bringing out the talents of the little guy – the one who was a little awkward, a little different. Playing on to the talents of each of these under-
OctOber 29, 2015 | the Jewish Home
“Times change but kids don’t. There will always be cool kids and less cool kids. There will always be insiders and those standing on the outside.” The authors of the article with Gordon Korman
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dog characters teaches his readers acceptance and diversity. But one book that stands out from amongst all the others is Linked, a story based in Chokecherry, Colorado. The story involves a school whose student body includes only one Jew – Dana. Suddenly, swastikas begin to appear all over the school. As part of an effort to teach tolerance and acceptance, the school creates a program where they seek to collect six million links. It’s a story of self-discovery and powerful insight into human nature. Speaking with Gordon Korman The inspiration for this book came from the famous “Paper Clips inates from a town called Horodyshche. The Jews of this Project,” a school-based initiative which took place in Ukrainian city suffered tremendous losses and pogroms 1998, in Whitwell, Tennessee. The school had begun a and “had my family not immigrated to Canada in the Holocaust education course and quickly realized that the 1920s,” he says, “they likely wouldn’t have survived.” student could not grasp the enormity of the Holocaust This book paid homage to Gordon’s own legacy and until they grasped the enormity of the number six miladded an extra dimension to his storytelling. lion. They set out on a mission to collect six million paper clips, drawing global attention to the project. Inspired by the power of the “Paper Clips Project,” Although his writing career has now spanned forGordon set out to write his own story that would attempt ty-four years, Gordon shows no signs of slowing down. to bring out the horrors of the Holocaust and the timeHe is working simultaneously on his next two books, less importance of racial acceptance and understanding. unsure of how big of a deal to make about his upcoming In a classic example of Jewish geography, or Sukenko, one-hundredth. His long-term relationship with two difat his son’s soccer game, Gordon met fellow Great Neckferent publishers keeps his timeline on par to continue er Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation to write and publish at his rapid pace, alternating beLeague (ADL), at a soccer game. Their sons played on tween publishers, keeping curious children satiated and the same team. They struck up a friendship, and David always waiting for the next one. served as a guide to Gordon, helping to tell this story With all of his success, his approachability remains of the Holocaust with depth and sensitivity Gordon dethe same. He genuinely appreciates fan feedback and manded, with a realism on what the protocol would be delights in his older chevra of followers (like us) who should such an occurrence actually take place in a school continue to relish in his stories and the simpler times it today. brings us back to and who, once in a while, will still ask That Gordon should write a book focusing Holocaust ourselves: “What would Bruno do?” education shouldn’t come as a surprise. His family orig-
