Gary Schmidt

The Wednesday Wars Gary Schmidt

Holling Hoodhood is really in for it. He's just started seventh grade with Mrs. Baker, a teacher he knows is out to get him. The year is 1967, and everyone has bigger things to worry about, especially Vietnam. Then there's the family business. As far as Holling's father is concerned, the Hoodhoods need to be on their best behavior: the success of Hoodhood and Associates depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? Rats, for one thing; cream puffs, for another. Then there's Doug Swieteck's brother. That's just for starters. Gary D. Schmidt is the author of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, which won both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor. His other novels for Clarion are Anson's Way and Straw into Gold. He grew up in a Long Island suburb, where he crouched under his desk during atomic bomb alerts, heard powerful voices speaking out against the Vietnam war, memorized Shakespeare, and pounded erasers against brick walls at school. He is now a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Joel Johnstone is an actor and audiobook narrator who has appeared on stage, in film and on television. His theater credits include Lanford Wilson's A Sense of Place and his television credits include the series Ed.