I have been reading John Flanagan's books since I was 10 years old. I started with The Ranger's Apprentice series (there are now 13 books) and then moved on to The Brotherband Chronicles (there are 5), and I loved the fact that Mr. Flanagan just kept the books coming. One of my favorite aspects of his books is the level of detail he includes - his plot lines are intricate and even the smaller passages (like the training sequences in Ranger's Apprentice) have a lot of layers. There are epic battle scenes and tons of adventure, which hooks young readers right off the bat. These are also great books for younger readers because they introduce the idea of fantasy worlds and mythical creatures, preparing them for longer series like Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien or Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Mr. Flanagan's books are sold in 18 countries and he is currently (he told us) in discussions with a movie studio for a Ranger's Apprentice movie!
Even though he doesn't come to the U.S. often (he lives and works in Australia), I got the chance to meet him yesterday in Princeton, NJ and hear him speak about his newest book - a prequel to the RA series (see below). It looks fantastic, although I would still advise readers new to Flanagan to read the original series before starting the prequel...I think the revelations in the new book will be more fun if you have the series history behind you. He was awesome to meet and graciously offered to answer a question posed by the Raiareads students. I'll keep you posted on that since we'll be reading the first RA book later this fall. Mr. Flanagan even signed the book we will be reading to the Raiareads students - check out the picture below. It's always amazing to hear an author speak in person about the writing process (he starts each book with a 4 page outline mapping out the entire plot and then writes no more than a chapter a day), but it's even more gratifying when the author takes a real interest in Raiareads. I can't wait to tell the kids about this meeting and to start them on the books in both series.
Even though he doesn't come to the U.S. often (he lives and works in Australia), I got the chance to meet him yesterday in Princeton, NJ and hear him speak about his newest book - a prequel to the RA series (see below). It looks fantastic, although I would still advise readers new to Flanagan to read the original series before starting the prequel...I think the revelations in the new book will be more fun if you have the series history behind you. He was awesome to meet and graciously offered to answer a question posed by the Raiareads students. I'll keep you posted on that since we'll be reading the first RA book later this fall. Mr. Flanagan even signed the book we will be reading to the Raiareads students - check out the picture below. It's always amazing to hear an author speak in person about the writing process (he starts each book with a 4 page outline mapping out the entire plot and then writes no more than a chapter a day), but it's even more gratifying when the author takes a real interest in Raiareads. I can't wait to tell the kids about this meeting and to start them on the books in both series.
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