Children’s author Dan Gutman told a large audience at Cherry Hill Public Library during a meet and greet last Monday night he had stopped counting how many books he had written at 120.
He also probably couldn’t count the large number of admirers and fans who came to meet and learn from one of their favorite authors.
A crowd of more than 200 people came to the library to listen to Gutman give a presentation on how to write a book, ask him questions and meet him in person for a book signing.
The crowd was full of kids of all ages who read a variety of Gutman’s books. Some preferred Gutman’s “Baseball Card Adventures” series, where a boy is able to travel through time when he touches old baseball cards. Others prefer the “My Weird School” series, a group of books describing a school with very odd teachers and staff. Some had read just one of Gutman’s books; some had read dozens. However, what many had in common was Gutman had made them interested in reading.
“I’d say I’ve probably read maybe five books,” 8 year old Eliza Rosenstein said.
Eliza discovered Gutman’s writing through the “My Weird School” series. Clutching a copy of her favorite book “Miss Daisy is Crazy,” Eliza was thrilled to finally meet Gutman in person.
Gutman, a Haddonfield resident, has been writing children’s books since 1993. He spends a lot of time speaking at schools to specific grades and age groups.
However, he admitted the library events have a unique flavor. At the library, the audience range was much wider, with kids of all ages and adults coming to listen.
“It’s different because in a school, I’ll be talking to specific age groups together, like first and second grade together, third and fourth grade together or fifth and sixth grade together,” Gutman said. “So you can do a very targeted program for that age group. In a public event like this, you’ll have kids in first grade who show up and kids in seventh grade who show up.”
Gutman’s presentation touched on the creation of all of his popular series, leaving the kids on the edge of their seats.
Eight-year-old Katie Sullivan was one of the kids who got most excited hearing about the “My Weird School” series. Like Eliza, Katie’s favorite book was “Miss Daisy is Crazy.” She said the book got her interested in reading and writing for the first time.
Meanwhile, Alex Halbert, 11, came to see Gutman to hear about “Baseball Card Adventures.” Alex identified himself as a huge baseball fan and said the series captivated him.
“I’m very into baseball,” Alex said. “I heard about ‘Honus and Me’ and I loved it. I read the whole series.”
The audience was full of more than avid readers. A number of those in attendance were excited to hear about the process of writing a book. For prospective writers, Gutman offered plenty of advice, including not to give up after facing rejection, always be willing to re-write a story to get it as close to perfect as possible, and how to create a story, characters and a setting.
Gutman said he has inspired a couple kids in the past to self-publish books after they heard him speak.
Zachary Halbert is only 7 years old, but he already has dreams of writing a book one day.
“I like to write informational books,” he said. “It’s my favorite.”
Eliza thinks she may be another Gutman-inspired author one day. Her dream is to write not just one book, but an entire series.
“I’d like to write a mystery series,” she said.
