Ron Koertge – författare

A girl thought to be a boy steals her sister''s skirt, while a boy thought to be a girl refuses to wear a cornflower blue dress. One boy''s love of a soldier leads to the death of a stranger. The present takes a bittersweet journey into the past when a man revisits the summer school where he had "an accidental romance." And a forgotten mother writes a poignant letter to the teenage daughter she hasn''t seen for fourteen years.

Poised between the past and the future are the stories of now. In nontraditional narratives, short stories, and brief graphics, tales of anticipation and regret, eagerness and confusion present distinctively modern views of love, sexuality, and gender identification. Together, they reflect the vibrant possibilities available for young people learning to love others—and themselves—in today''s multifaceted and quickly changing world.

Powerful, riveting, and real. Sixteen celebrated authors bring us raw, insightful stories that explore guns and teens in a fiction collection that is thought provoking and emotionally gripping. For fans of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and Give a Boy a Gun, and with an array of YA talent like the late great Walter Dean Myers, the poetic Joyce Carol Oates, the prophetic Elizabeth Wein, and the gritty Chris Crutcher, these are evocative voices that each has a different perspective to give. Capturing the hurt and the healing, victims and perpetrators, these stories get to the heart of the matter.

From a boy whose low self-esteem is impacted when a gun comes into his possession to a student recalling a senseless tragedy that befell a favorite teacher, from a realistic look at hunting to a provocative look at a family that defies stereotypes, each emotional story stirs the debate to new levels. The juxtaposition of guns and their consequences offers moving tales, each a reminder of how crucial the question of guns in our society is, and the impact they have on all of us.

Other acclaimed contributors are Marc Aronson, Edward Averett, Francesca Lia Block, Alex Flinn, Gregory Galloway, Jenny Hubbard, Peter Johnson, Ron Koertge, Chris Lynch, Eric Shanower, Will Weaver, and Tim Wynne-Jones.

A must-have for newly independent readers and fans of Ivy + Bean and Clementine! The first of a new series starring three young girls and a mysterious visitor who appears exactly when you need her—with just the right amount of magic.

Sadie has two best friends: Jess and Maya. But Jess can only take one friend on vacation with her, and Sadie is the one who gets left behind. How will Sadie ever survive the days of loneliness and boredom? But wait . . . what is that in her old playhouse in the backyard? A witch has moved in! A kind and funny witch, who’s looking for her own two lost friends. Together, Sadie and the witch have a curious adventure, one that makes Sadie see her neighborhood—and herself—with new eyes. Acclaimed authors Ron Koertge and Christine Heppermann—writing together and for younger readers for the first time—have created a heroine to rival Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Ms. Frizzle. Short chapters, a satisfying mystery, gentle humor, magical dazzle, and adorable black-and-white illustrations throughout by debut artist Deborah Marcero make this an ideal pick for readers of Ivy + Bean, Just Grace, and Kate DiCamillo’s young novels.

The second book of the Backyard Witch series, by acclaimed authors Christine Heppermann and Ron Koertge, starring Ms. M, the witch who the Horn Book calls “a combination of Mary Poppins and a stand-up comedian.” A must-have for newly independent readers and fans of Ivy + Bean, Clementine, and the Food Network!

Jess is a superstar on the field and on the court. Soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis—you name it, she loves it. But she’s a disaster in the kitchen, much to the dismay of her chef mother. When Jess’s mom gets a chance to work in a famous kitchen for a week, Jess and her friends, Sadie and Maya, try to help out by making dinner. And . . . let’s just say that it goes up in flames. Enter Ms. M, the mysterious witch who appears right when you need her! Ms. M is a heroine to rival Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Ms. Frizzle. She doesn’t save the day herself, but she helps everyone save it for themselves.

Short chapters filled with illustrator Deborah Marcero’s striking, lively black-and-white illustrations make the Backyard Witch series a must-have for young middle grade readers. Includes a recipe and information about cooking and gardening.

Beautiful but troubled Colleen Minou is the only girl who ever looked at Ben Bancroft as more than just a spaz—more than that kid with cerebral palsy. But the more time Ben spends with Colleen, the more glaring their differences appear, which makes him wonder if what he feels for her is actual affection or if it’s just gratitude.

And then there’s A.J. She’s everything that Colleen isn’t, and everything that Ben’s grandma wants for him: clean cut and upper class, academically driven, and just as obsessed with movies as Ben is. But what does she see when she looks at Ben? C.P.? Or the person behind the twisted body?

In this sharp, darkly humorous follow-up to the acclaimed Stoner & Spaz, Ben tries to come to terms with his relationship with Colleen, who is sometimes out of it, sometimes into him, and always exhilarating.

“I would have been here sooner, but traffic on I-55 was awful.”

Walker shouldn’t be so surprised to find Jesus standing in the middle of his bedroom. After all, he prayed for whoever was up there to help his mom, who hasn’t stopped crying since Noah died, two months ago. But since when have prayers actually been answered? And since when has Jesus been so...irreverent?

As astounding as Jesus’ sudden appearance is, it’s going to take more than divine intervention for Walker to come to terms with his brother’s death. Why would God take seventeen-year-old Noah when half of the residents in his mom’s nursing home are waiting to die? And why would he send Jesus to Coaltown, Illinois, to pick up the pieces? If he really wanted to help, why couldn’t he have kept Noah from dying?

In a spare, weighty, and often humorous text, renowned poet Ron Koertge tackles some of life’s biggest questions—and humanizes the savior in a way that highlights the divinity in all of us.

In plain, unpretentious language, with brutal honesty, Ron Koertge can meld violence, love, human ugliness, joy, and modern depravity into a short lyric that makes us laugh out loud or socks us in the gut. His images arrive in giant clown shoes—cigars the size of Florida, the plastic man’s counter-length arms—or neatly packaged in carefully observed detail, as he writes of the “black little hearts” of ants or an ape’s “dark and leathery breast.”

Through every poem, there runs a constant and sincere humanity, a voice that laughs at itself, often goads us a bit, but always stuns and enlightens us when we dis – cover something of ourselves gambling with the crowd at the racetrack, driving from the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant, or shambling with the distraught parent leaving the hospital.

In Making Love to Roget’s Wife, Ron Koertge offers his best work from twenty-three years and a dozen earlier collections. With twenty-five new poems, and over eighty from previous books, this selection reawakens us to the presence of a superbly honed comic voice.