Lee bennett hopkins autobiography in five short
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Lee Bennett Hopkins was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on April 13, 1938. His family was poor and consisted of his father, mother, younger brother, and younger sister. His father, Leon Hall Hopkins, was a police officer. His mother was Gertrude Thomas. When Hopkins was only nine, his family went to live with his grandmother in Newark, New Jersey, due to financial uncertainty. Four years later, the money situation had not improved, and his parents divorced as a result. Hopkins was 13. He continued to live with his mother and two siblings, and soon after the separation, the family moved to a low-income housing project in Newark. As the eldest child, Hopkins took after-school jobs to support the family.
Hopkins' first experience with reading came through comic books and movie magazines. He performed well in high school English, but disliked and struggled with other subjects. One teacher, Mrs. McLaughlin, took interest in Hopkins—exposing him first to plays, then to more reading, which Hopkins enjoyed. Hopkins later named McLaughlin as one of the most influential people in his life. After graduating, Hopkins felt the call to teach. He enrolled at Newark State Teachers College (now Kean University) in Union, New Jersey, and majored in education. His grades improved in college, ev
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Mini Monster, Inky Eyed Susans, Tattoo
Photo incite Amy LV
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Lee Flyer Hopkins
1938 - 2019
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Curiouser and Curiouser with Lee Bennett Hopkins
As I read each of Lee Bennett Hopkins’ collections of poetry, I find my curiosity piqued: “How does he do this?” When I was a grad student, I came across Mr. Hopkins’ book, Books Are by People: interviews with 104 authors and illustrators of books for young children. Those interviews provoked my imagination and propelled my career. It’s a privilege to be interviewing Mr. Hopkins for Bookology.
Lee: My goodness! Between 1969 and 1974 I interviewed 169 book people; l04 in Books Are By People and 65 in More Books by More People. Thank you for reminding me of these incredible adventures.
You have been an educator, an author, and an influencer. How did you turn to poetry books as a path in your life’s work?
I began to realize the importance of poetry when I began teaching sixth grade in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, in 1960. I used verse with all students but found that slower readers were excited over poems. Vocabulary was often within their reach, works were short; more important we learned that more could sometimes be said and felt in 8 or l0 or l2 lines than sometimes an entire novel could convey.
Being a city child my entire life, I th