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ALL ABOUT AUTHOR CHRIS CRUTCHER
Issues In Young Adult Literature
Introducing Chris Crutcher
Controversial Young Adult
Novelist
His LifeHumble Beginnings
CHRIS CRUTCHER WAS BORN 1946 IN DAYTON OHIO.
CRUTCHER GREW UP IN CASCADE IDAHO, A SMALL LOGGING TOWN A FEW MILES NORTH OF BOISE.
DAD WAS A WORLD WAR II AIR FORCE B-17 PILOT & MOM WAS A HOME MAKER
BOTH WERE AVID READERS THEMSELVES
Not Much Of A Student
The only book he read in high school was To Kill A Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee.
Chris says this, in part, is do to being the kid brother of a smart older brother.
And part because he couldn’t relate to the books they taught.
Instead of books, Chris Crutcher
Played FootballPlayed Basket Ball
He was a Long Distance Runner and swimmer
Sports Sports Sports
Sports are realistically
presented in much of his work.
Life After High School
• Attended College at Eastern Washington State College, 1968
• He studied psychology and sociology
• For 12 years, Chris Crutcher taught at an alternative High School in California.
• For 20 years, he has been a Licensed Therapist and worked in Child Protective Services in Spokane, Washington
• He did not begin to write until age 35.
• Now he is a full time Writer and Therapy Consultant
What Do You Think? Do these
•Homosexuality & Sexual Identity
• Sex
• Sexual Abuses: Rape & Incest
• Racism
subjects belong in our classrooms?
• Bullying
• Social Injustice
• Questions of Faith
• Explicit Language
• Censorship
• Family Violence
Just Some of theBook Bans & Opposition
Chris Crutcher’s Work has hit the ALA’s Top Most Frequently Challenged Books
October 8, 2005
Montgomery County, Texas
Summer 2005Myrtle Beach, SC
WHALE TALKMarch 8, 2005Athens, Alabama
WHALE TALK BANNED
February 2005Grand Rapids,
MichiganATHLETIC SHORTS"Telephone Man"
January 2005Kansas City,
Missouri Area
STOTAN!December 2004
Georgetown, South CarolinaWHALE TALK
October 23, 2004Solon, Iowa
ATHLETIC SHORTS"In the Time I Get"
September 2004
Atchison, Kansas
ATHLETIC SHORTS
2004Georgia
ATHLETIC SHORTS
March 17, 2007Ravenna,
OhioSTAYING FAT FOR SARAH
BYRNES
MISSOURI VALLEY, IOWA FEBRUARY 22,
2007WHALE TALK
Wausau, WIOctober 25, 2006ATHLETIC SHORTS
Rochester, NYRUNNING
LOOSEAugust 2006
Rootstown, OhioJuly 2006
RUNNING LOOSE & CHINESE HANDCUFFSHillsborough County,
FLATHLETIC SHORTS &
IRONMANJune 15, 2006
Junction City, Kansas
CHINESE HANDCUFFSApril 2006
Westmoreland, NYFebruary 24, 2005Holland, Michigan
School Visits Postponed AGAIN
In His Own Words
Words From Chris Crutcher
“The truth screams to be told in its native tongue”
“Controversy is the byproduct not the goal”
“If there is a pervasive sickness in our culture, it’s that we’re afraid of the wrong things”
“It never occurred to me for one minute to try and reach kids through literature. When I write stories, it’s
totally selfish.
It’s about my response to what I write; my personal range of humor to tragedy…”
Characteristics of Chris Crutcher’s Work
Adolescent Male ProtagonistAthletics/Team Dynamics
Humor Controversial Problem Plots
RealismStraightforward, Fast-paced Prose
What the Critics Say
Praise for his authentic male adolescent protagonists
“direct, strong, and even prose”
Criticism for contrived plots, melodrama, amateurish
characterizations, and preachy dialogue
Books & AwardsRunning Loose, 1983
Stotan!, 1986Best Books For Young Adult Readers
Best of The Best In Young Adult Literature, School Library Journal
The Crazy Horse Electric Game, 1987Best Books For Young Adult Readers
Chinese Handcuffs, 1989Best Books For Young Adult Readers
Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories, 1989
Best Books For Young Adult ReadersBest of The Best In Young Adult Literature,
School Library Journal
The Deep End, 1992(Was written as an Adult novel)
Best Books For Young Adult Readers
Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes, 1993
Best Books For Young AdultsBest Book Of The Year, School Library
Journal
More Books
Ironman, 1995Best Books For Young Adults
Quick Picks For Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Whale Talk, 2001Washington State Book Award
The Sledding Hill, 2005
Deadline, 2007
And More Books
More Awards
Catholic Library Association St. Katherine
Drexel Award, for outstanding contribution
to the growth of high school Librarianship
Writer Magazine’s Writers Who Make a Difference Award
American Library Association Margaret A. Edwards Award,
presented by Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) for
lifetime contribution to young adult literature
Four of his books appear on Booklist’s Best 100 Books of
the 20th CenturyNCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award
The Alan Award for Significant Contribution to
Adolescent Literature
Running Loose
17 year old Louie Banks has it all, until coming face to face
injustice and tragedy.
Themes
Running Loose
Teenage SexualityAthleticsRacism
Moral DilemmaFriendship
Death
Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories
Features characters from his earlier work. Geared for grades 8-
12.
Themes
Athletic Shorts:
Six Short Stories
Friendship
AIDS
Father- Son Relationships
Love Death Racism
Testing Personal Limits
Athletics
Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes
Special Friendship Between Two Outcasts Take Perilous Turns &
Changes Lives.
Themes
Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes
Christianity Child Abuse Vigilantism
Social Alienation Self Esteem
Chris Crutcher’s most objected
to novel.
More About Chris Crutcher & His Work
Presenting Chris CrutcherChris Crutcher’s Biography written by Terry Davis
King of the Mild Frontier, Autobiography, Chris Crutcher
www.chriscrutcher.com
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
www.ncac.orgNational Organization Against Censorship
www.forbiddenlibrary.com
Contact Chris Crutcher Directly [email protected]
Objectives
• This Power Point was designed for High School English Students at all levels as an introduction to the Author Chris Crutcher and his work
• Familiarize Students with the Author’s work
• Facilitate interest and motivation of students in relation to Chris Crutcher’s work as well as literature as a whole
• Facilitate critical thinking, reflection, and discussion on social issues
