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Larry’s Year In Books

Larry’s 2019 Year in Books

Take a look at Larry’s Year in Books. The long, the short—it’s all here.

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Larry Verstraete

Goodreads Author

Born

in Winnipeg, Canada

Website

http://www.larryverstraete.com/

Genre

Children's, Nonfiction

Influences

Erik Larson, Jon Krakauer, Robert Massie, Katherine Paterson, Seymour ...more

Member Since

October 2014

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At nine years old, there were subtle signs that Larry Verstraete might be a writer some day. While thumbing through a toy catalog just before Christmas, he found, and then later received, the perfect gift - a small toy printing press. The summer after, Larry and a friend started an ambitious publishing project, aiming to become as he puts it, ‘rich and famous’ with the printing press.

Their goal was to publish and sell a newsletter filled with stories gathered around the neighborhood. For a week, the two would-be reporters spied on neighbors, filling notepads with facts and observations. But when they started setting the stories into type on the printing press, the project floundered. The work was too boring, too tedious, and they abandoned At nine years old, there were subtle signs that Larry Verstraete might be a writer some day. While thumbing through a toy catalog just before Christmas, he found, and then later received, the perfect gift - a small toy printing press. The summer after, Larry and a friend started an ambitious publishing project, aiming to become as he puts it, ‘rich and famous’ with the printing press.

Their goal was to publish and sell a newsletter filled with stories gathered around the neighborhood. For a week, the two would-be reporters spied on neighbors, filling notepads with facts and observations. But when they started setting the stories into type on the printing press, the project floundered. The work was too boring, too tedious, and they abandoned dreams of fame and wealth in favor of more enjoyable summer pastimes like swimming and biking.

That was Larry’s earliest foray into writing, and although that venture was a gob-smacking failure, the drive to write simmered below the surface for years. One day, older now with a science degree under his belt and a teaching career already well in hand, fate intervened. While waiting for a haircut in a salon, a magazine ad for a correspondence writing course caught his eye, rekindling his desire to write and be published. He clipped out the ad, enrolled in the course and as the saying goes ‘the rest is history’.

One of his first course assignments was to write a non-fiction article for children. He quickly latched on to a topic that fascinated him – accidental discoveries in science. By the end of the course, he’d written about 25 short stories, each telling about a breakthrough in science that owed much to a mistake, mishap, coincidence or spectacular blunder. That became his first Scholastic book – The Serendipity Effect (later re-issued under the title Accidental Discoveries: From Laughing Gas to Dynamite).

Since then, Larry has published 13 non-fiction books and 1 middle grade novel. The roots of his writing lie deep in his own personal experiences and his interests in science, history and true adventure. For Larry, ideas usually begin with an intriguing story, event or fact, something that triggers his curiosity. He and his wife are devoted travelers, and each trip offers fresh opportunities to discover new writing material. Becoming lost on a mountain hike in Colorado, for example, sparked the idea for Survivors:True Death-Defying Escapes, and visiting the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona – the place where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto – eventually became C is for Compare in his book S is for Scientists: A Discovery Alphabet.

Some key accomplishments of Larry’s career include:
•Two-time recipient of Ontario’s Silver Birch Award for Non-fiction (Survivors: True Death-Defying Escapes; At the Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times)
•Two-time recipient of the McNally Robinson Book of the Year for Young People Award (Lost Treasures: True Stories of Discovery; S is for Scientists: A Discovery Alphabet)
•Awarded B.C.’s Red Cedar Award (Survivors: True Death-Defying Escapes)
•Nominated for the Norma Fleck Award (Accidental Discoveries: From Laughing Gas to Dynamite)
•Nominated for the New York Reading Association Charlotte Award & Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Award (Surviving the Hindenburg)
•Among other distinctions: Honor winner, 2014 Story Telling World Resource Awards (Surviving the Hindenburg); Runner-up, 2012 USA Best Book Awards, Children's Picture Book (Surviving the Hindenburg); Outstanding Science Trade Book of 2011 by the National Science Teachers Association and Children’s Book Council (S is for Scientists: A Discovery Alphabet); Selected, 2001 Canadian Toy Testing Council, 25 Great Books, (Whose Bright Idea Was It?)

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Larry Verstraete’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 340 ratings · 80 reviews · 23 distinct works • Similar authors

	Surviving the Hindenburg 3.99 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	At the Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times 3.89 avg rating — 61 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Coop The Great 4.32 avg rating — 37 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	S Is for Scientists: A Discovery Alphabet by Larry Verstraete (Goodreads Author), David Geister (Illustrator) 4.37 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Case Files: 40 Murders and Mysteries Solved by Science 3.82 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Missing in Paradise 3.57 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Whose Bright Idea Was It?: True Stories Of Invention 3.67 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 1997 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Accidental Discoveries: From Laughing Gas To Dynamite 3.94 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1999	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Survivors!: True Death-Defying Escapes 3.85 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2003	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lost Treasures: True Stories of Discovery 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2006	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Larry Verstraete's Blog

Writing During a Pandemic

Like most of the world, I’ve been in semi-isolation for months. You might think this would be a blessing for a writer, especially an introverted one, wouldn’t you? Yes and no. According to Health Canada, depression, anxiety, and stress are common side-effects of the pandemic. The outer signs vary from one individual to another. In […]

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Larry Verstraete wrote a new blog post Writing During a Pandemic Like most of the world, I’ve been in semi-isolation for months. You might think this would be a blessing for a writer, especially an introverted one, Read more of this blog post »
Jul 28, 2020 08:44PM · like
Larry Verstraete and 1 other person liked Marsha's review of Harvey Holds His Own: "Colleen Nelson has a gift for authentically getting inside the head of her various characters, and that includes Harvey the Westie and the wild raccoon hiding under the shed! This novel is a sequel to Harvey Comes Home.but could also be read as a sta" Read more of this review »
Apr 27, 2020 01:31PM · see review
Larry Verstraete wants to read Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Best Nonfiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 01, 2019 09:10AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Larry Verstraete and 10 other people liked Marsha's review of Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know: "What I love about this book is that Gladwell makes you look at a perceived truth and then turns it on its head. Some of what he says will make you uncomfortable, but that's a good thing. He shows the parallels between disparate events like Sylvia Pla" Read more of this review »
Nov 29, 2019 02:44PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Larry Verstraete wants to read City on Strike by Harriet Zaidman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 23, 2019 12:34PM · 1 like · like
Larry Verstraete rated a book it was amazing Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 23, 2019 12:33PM · like
Larry Verstraete rated a book really liked it The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 23, 2019 12:32PM · like
Larry Verstraete finished reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 23, 2019 12:32PM · like
Larry Verstraete started reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 20, 2019 07:58AM · like
Larry Verstraete is currently reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 20, 2019 07:57AM · like