It’s Lucky Episode 13 of the Reading Without Walls video blog! Gene meets up with Mike Lawrence, creator of the new graphic novel, Star Scouts, where the heroine Avani earns badges in jetpack racing, teleportation, and lasers! Mike talks about his early years as a reader, how he became a writer, and what he’s reading now with his kids.
Lawrence is the award-winning illustrator of Muddy Max: The Mystery of Marsh Creek (with Elizabeth Rusch) and the novel The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl (by Melissa Keil). The Star Scouts series (published by First Second) is his debut as a solo graphic novelist. In addition to making comics, Mike has created several pieces of public art for his hometown of Portland, Oregon. You can learn more about Mike Lawrence at his official website .
About the Author
Gene Luen Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 2006, his graphic novel, American Born Chinese — a memoir about growing up as an Asian American — became the first graphic novel to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. He is the author of the Secret Coders series and has written for the hit comics Avatar: The Last Airbender and Superman. In 2016, Yang was named the 5th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and selected as a MacArthur Fellow .
Publication Date
June 16, 2017