Wikispaces Archive: Home | ASK Videos | Preparation | Sign Up | Organize Your Own | ASK Programs by Grade Level | ASK Programs by Provider

ASK Author: Wireman, by Sue Stauffacher

After working with at-risk kids for several years, author Sue Stauffacher was disappointed with the reading material available for struggling readers. Since she was also a children's book reviewer, the literacy tutors she worked with kept asking for titles that wouldn't shame an older child who was behind in reading. They wanted text with complex plots, but low vocabulary. Sue turned up very little in her search, so she decided to begin producing materials herself. After extensive research, Sue chose the comic book format because the graphic images could help struggling readers with the simple text and also add a layer of sophistication to the story.
In 1997, she began to work on prototypes. After a series of tries, in 2001 she came up with Wireman. The comic was inspired by the Philadelphia Wireman, the outsider artist whose sculptures were found when an abandoned factory was knocked down in Philadelphia in the 1970s. Though the artist was never found, historians have determined that he was an African American male.

Grade Level: 5-8


This Program is Offered By:


Students Will Interview:

Author Sue Stauffacher

Resources:

This page is an archive of a 2010-2018 Wikispaces site that hosted information about the ASK (Author Specialist Knowledge) Process.