Talking Terrorism with Children

Jamie Argento's letter to Robert Cormier

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Jamie mentions specifics of the newspaper project Mrs. Anti assigned on After the First Death and asks Robert Cormier about the motive for writing a book on terrorism for children and how he melded those seemingly contradictory elements.

Kimberly Dawes' letter to Robert Cormier

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Kimberly summarizes the newspaper assignment for After the First Death that Mrs, Anti gave her advanced English class and asks that Robert Cormier visits the class so he might comment on their newspaper project, why he chose to write for young adults, and how he began his career as a writer.

Kristi Kozak's letter to Robert Cormier

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Kristi proclaims her interest in After the First Death and admits being confused by its beginning. She comments on how hijacking and terrorism are not discussed with the frequency it deserves and praises him for representing the perspectives of the terrorists and the hostages. She also asks about his inspiration for the book and how he determined the presentation of the narrative.

Kristin Doton's letter to Robert Cormier

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Kristin writes about the purpose of the newspaper project on After the First Death and particularly mentions how the interviews in the newspaper focused on what the "innocent bystanders" would have known about Inner Delta. She also asks about his motivations to write on terrorism and is interested in the publication process behind this book.

Michael Ryan's letter to Robert Cormier

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Michael mentions that his class read After the First Death for their summer reading and asks Robert Cormier if he is able to come to their class. He would like to ask Cormier about the inspiration for the novel and what he deems appropriate material for young adults.

RELATED LINK:

In this interview for The Guardian, "John Green: "I'm tired of adults telling teenagers that they aren't smart"  another YA writer (John Green author of The Fault in Our Stars) discusses his motivation for writing novels for teens that take up difficult topics, similar to those of Cormier.