Author Visits
John was a teacher for over 12 years and loves visiting schools. To find out about his dynamic and engaging programs, as well as his prices, view his school visit flyer. John is also available for free Skype visits for schools, book clubs, and libraries. Email him to make arrangements.
Teacher’s Guides for Books
The Nine Pound Hammer makes for rich classroom discussions and has strong connections across the curriculum. To get ideas for lessons, activities, and discussion questions, view the teacher’s guide.
Writers’ Workshops
To invite John to present at a conference or to do a workshop on writing children’s books and building creativity, please contact him at john@johnclaudebemis.com. To find out about upcoming workshops he’s teaching, visit his Events page. For information about one-on-one critiques, view his manuscript critique flyer.
Videos
Suggested Reading List
My Personal Favorites:
- Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine
- Richard Chase, The Jack Tales
- Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising
- Michael Ende, The Neverending Story
- Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain
- Lois Lowry, The Giver
- Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials
- Philip Reeve, The Hungry Cities Chronicles
- J.K. Rowling, The Harry Potter series
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Must Reads for Younger Readers:
- Richard Adams, Watership Down
- Tom Angleberger, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
- Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting
- J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
- Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game
- Michael Chabon, Summerland
- John Christopher, The White Mountains
- James & Christopher Collier, My Brother Sam Is Dead
- Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons
- Christopher Paul Curtis, Bud Not Buddy
- Frances O’Roark Dowell, Dovey Coe
- Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember
- Nancy Farmer, The House of the Scorpion
- Catherine Fisher, Incarceron
- Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
- Alan Gratz, The Brooklyn Nine
- Jean Craighead George, Julie of the Wolves
- Diana Wynne Jones, The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
- Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
- Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle In Time
- Stephen Messer, Windblowne
- Garth Nix, Sabriel
- Kenneth Oppel, Airborn
- Richard Peck, A Long Way From Chicago
- Daniel Pinkwater, Alan Mendelsohn, Boy From Mars
- Ellen Raskin, The Westing Game
- Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret
- Scott Westerfeld, Leviathan
For Older Readers:
- M.T. Anderson, Feed
- Paolo Bacigalupi, Shipbreaker
- Suzanne Collins, Hunger Games
- John Crowley, Little, Big
- James Dashner, The Maze Runner
- Kathleen Duey, Skin Hunger
- Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain
- Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World
- Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere and Stardust
- Elizabeth Gilbert, The Last American Man
- David Macinnis Gill, Soul Enchilada
- John Green, Looking For Alaska
- J.J. Johnson, This Girl Is Different
- Stephen King, The Dark Tower Series
- Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
- William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways
- Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses
- Yann Martel, Life of Pi
- Meg Rosoff, How I Live Now
- Carrie Ryan, The Forest of Hands and Teeth
- John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley
- Laini Taylor, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone
- Daniel Wallace, Mister Sebastian and the Negro Magician