Smiles To Go

Ninth-grader Will Tuppence is a stargazing, science geek/control freak, who's got his future all worked out, from his someday career as an astronomer, to his someday wife, to a retirement spent winning senior chess tournaments. But then big things happen: a first kiss, a wrongly read poem, and the death of a teeny, tiny, invisible particle. Will fears all he knows is disrupted and life will never be the same. And he's not wrong. As Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli tips Will's world on its side, our hero begins to see that there's very little we can control, that the human heart is full of surprises, and that often the beauty and wonder of life is precisely in not knowing what comes next. Jerry Spinelli is one of the most gifted storytellers in contemporary children's literature. His books include the Newbery Medal winner Maniac Magee; Loser; Wringer, a Newbery Honor Book; Stargirl; and Knots In My Yo-Yo String, his autobiography. His novels are recognized for their humor and poignancy, and his characters and situations are often drawn from his real-life experience as a father of six children. Jerry lives with his wife, Eileen, also a writer, in Wayne, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College. You can also visit him online at www.jerryspinelli.com Performed by Conor Donovan