Author Margaret Peterson Haddix coming to Marion Public Library

Margaret Peterson Haddix, award-winning author of books for children and young adult/middle grade students, will visit Marion County next week to meet with local school children and make an appearance at the Marion Public Library.

Haddix, a native of Washington Court House and author of more than 45 books, will be in Marion on Thursday, April 6. She has two events with local school children planned at the Palace Theatre. Later in the day, Haddix will greet children and host a book-signing from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Program Room at the Marion Public Library, 445 E. Church St.

In her biography found on her website haddixbooks.com, Haddix states that she "longed for a career that I didn’t actually believe real people got to do."

"The far-out, only-in-your dreams career I wanted was to be an author," said Haddix, who now resides in Columbus. "All the grown-ups I knew were farmers (like my dad) or nurses (like my mom), teachers or dentists, housewives or grocery store clerks, etc., etc. The only authors I’d ever heard of were, well, just in books."

Haddix said in her formative years she was inspired not only by fictional heroines like "Harriet the Spy," "Anne of Green Gables," and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," but also by non-fiction publications like the local newspaper in Washington Court House and "Time" magazine. She worked as a journalist for many years prior to becoming an author. Her first book "Among the Hidden," the first installment in the "Shadow Children" series, was published in 1998.

Thanks to a grant from the Marion Community Foundation and Let's Read 20, each Marion County school student in third through fifth grade will receive a copy of Haddix's book "The Strangers," which is part of "The Greystone Secrets" series of books. "The Strangers" was published in 2019 followed by the next two books in the series, "The Deceivers" (2020) and "The Messengers" (2021).

Children who have "The Strangers" are encouraged to bring it to the book signing next Thursday. The book will also be available that evening at the library, while supplies last.

Whittney Mahle, manager of kids' collections and programming at the Marion Public Library, said library officials chose to invite Haddix because she's an Ohio author and because her books are popular with kids and really grab their attention.

"Most of her books are full of suspense, intrigue, mystery," Mahle said. "A couple of her newer series have themes about friendship, but are still heavy with the mystery component. A lot of kids really like mysteries. Most of her books are for upper elementary and middle school age children, but she does have books for teens, too. She was a perfect pick for this event because of her broad appeal."

Mahle said Haddix's books have education guides provided by the publisher that teachers can use in the classroom alongside her books. Mahle said the education guides are a great resource for students and teachers.

The Marion Harding High School Key Club is hosting an escape room based on Haddix's works in honor of her visit to Marion. It's set for Saturday, April 1 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Marion Public Library.

Marion Public Library and Let's Read 20 have been partners since the local organization was founded in 2014. According to its website, Let's Read 20 is dedicated to building a community of readers by encouraging everyone to read to a child for at least ​20 minutes each day from birth through elementary school.

"The one big message of reading 20 minutes a day has had a proven scientific impact on the number of words that kids hear per year, especially in the early years of life," Mahle said. "There's all kinds of research that shows the benefits of reading and we can see it the in community. It's not just about test scores and grades, it's about promoting that goal of lifelong learning and a better life overall."

For information about events at the Marion Public Library, go to its website marionlibrary.org or its Facebook page.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Author Margaret Peterson Haddix coming to Marion Public Library