Most people, who know my story, know I grew up absolutely hating to read. This in spite of the fact that my father was a prolific author. Some of his books were for kids, but I didn’t read them.
It was much later in life when I realized why I hadn’t enjoyed reading as a child. That’s when I began writing the kinds of adventures and mysteries I would have enjoyed back then. Action, adventure, dialog, and humor that was short on details and descriptions.
Being honest, it’s been a slow process finding my way into the market for my books. But what I have found is, once teachers, parents, librarians, and kids discover my books, they’re hooked to put it mildly. Let me illustrate.
At the beginning of this year, our son moved out of Chicago and into one of the suburbs. This meant his 9 year-old daughter would have to be the new kid in a new school. Earlier in the summer, she had come across some of my books, on her dad’s bookshelf, and began reading them all on her own.
When she got to school, she told her teacher that her grandfather wrote books for kids. When her teacher expressed interest, I sent seven of my books for the classroom bookshelf.
My granddaughter FaceTimed us this past week to report on what had happened.
“All the books disappeared right away,” she said, “and everyone loves them. They’ve even said they want to read every one.”
Of course, this made my day, my week, and more. But it got me thinking how amazing it would be if more teachers across the country would give these books a try in their classrooms. Here’s another example of a teacher’s experiences with my middle grade adventures and mysteries. She writes an open letter to fellow teachers.
Dear Teacher,
My name is Sandra Stiles. I am a middle school Language Arts teacher in Bradenton, Florida. I have always had a passion for reading. That passion doesn’t always transfer to your own children. My daughter was a struggling reader. It took another teacher to introduce her to an author whose books she devoured.
I am here to tell you about that author who has my students reading and fighting over his books. Max Elliot Anderson has been one of my favorite authors for several years. Not only do I love his books, but my students love them as well. I have three classes of students who have a remedial reading class, then they come to me for Language Arts.
When I did my first book pass with my students I made sure to have one of Max’s books in each pile to introduce them to his books. Both boys and girls love his books. Almost all of his books are not only filled with adventure, but also mystery.
One of my lowest readers has made it a goal to read all of Max’s books I have on my shelves. He has read eight books so far. The really cool part is that he started talking to some of the girls in the class. Now he has them reading them, too.
Max has two major series, “The Sam Cooper” series and “The Accidental Adventures” series. Both of these have characters that all kids - boys and girls alike - will love. There are also several standalone titles.
I can’t say enough about his books. I highly recommend them to classrooms everywhere.
Sandra Stiles
NBCT
ELA teacher/Dept. Chair
My books are readily available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=max+elliot+anderson&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
I hope you’ll give them a try soon, and see the excitement that happens in your own classroom.
Thank you,
Max Elliot Anderson
