John David Anderson
  John David Anderson
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Rion Kwirk comes from a rather odd family.
His mother named him and his sisters after her favorite constellations, and his father makes funky-flavored jelly beans for a living. One sister acts as if she’s always onstage, and the other is a walking dictionary. But no one in the family is more odd than Rion’s grandfather, Papa Kwirk. He’s the kind of guy who shows up on his motorcycle only on holidays, handing out crossbows and stuffed squirrels as presents. Rion has always been fascinated by Papa Kwirk. Which is why, when Rion and his family learn of Papa Kwirk’s death and pile into the car to attend his funeral and pay their respects, Rion can’t help but feel that that’s not the end of his story. That there’s so much more to Papa Kwirk to discover.
​​He doesn’t know how right he is.

What people are saying about ​Finding Orion

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"Readers will be happily swept along by Rion’s first-person narration, which is often amusing, sometimes bemused, and occasionally even tender as he shows how his family was unwittingly drawn together by their shared experience. Anderson offers another original novel written with wit and compassion."
 - Booklist

"Humor, plot twists, and quirky characters abound in this earnest middle grade tale of self-discovery."
 - School Library Journal

"Eccentric yet believable characters and Rion's perceptive narration prevent Anderson's unpredictable tale from feeling overwrought as the relationships between three generations of fathers and sons are rewritten anew."
 - Publisher's Weekly

Thinking about teaching Orion or reading aloud?

Check out this awesome teaching guide developed by HarperCollins. Also, if you choose to do the book as a read aloud, be sure to contact me about setting up a Skype session!
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finding_orion_educators_guide_april_29_2019__2_.pdf
File Size: 1040 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Glossary of stuff


Want to learn more about some of the things mentioned in the book? Start here!

      Mount Everest                                    Barbershop quartets                              Flavor chemist                        Fencing
​

      Garbage Pail Kids                               Renaissance Fairs                                   Burial practices                      Bridge to Terabithia 
​
      Constellations                                    Toothbrushes                                            Ferrets                                     Ball pythons
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