Meet the Author: Alicia Klepeis
Author Alicia Klepeis has written a whopping 96 books. Her books are geared toward children of all ages, with titles ranging from Animal All-Stars to Haunted Cemeteries Around the World. There is seemingly no topic in nature, science, history, geography, or social studies that Alicia won’t tackle. She even has a very popular book on vampires!
Alicia is a regular visitor to classrooms with Behind the Book. She most recently visited P.S. 125 in Harlem for a summer session, where they read Alicia’s original story, Francisco’s Kites, and they discussed flight. Alicia had the class do a little bit of scientific experimentation and some writing exercises. Later, the kids met with an airline pilot, to learn more about aerodynamics.
Earlier this year, Alicia brought Francisco’s Kites to a fourth grade class at P.S. 4, and they talked about “kid-preneurs.” Everyone was tasked with writing about an entrepreneurial venture they’d like to explore, and Alicia was amazed with what the kids came up with.
Check out the book they made here.
Alicia’s Kanye West biography was a big hit for the eighth grade special needs class at C.M.S.P. 328 this past spring. The class was asked to write biographies on a person of their choice. “When you’re a writer you think about your own process,” Alicia said, “But I had to actually explain how to find good information, how to dig through to get some nuggets of information, and to find what’s interesting to your readers.” She pointed out that when looking for sources on early American history, it’s a much different process than finding good information amidst a multitude of junk sources when researching contemporary figures. “Students were looking at professional athletes, musical artists, and there was a lot of variety even in a small classroom,” Alicia said. “Definitely their passions took them where they wanted to go.”
It’s no surprise that most kids are interested in her books about the strange and the creepy. Kooky topics like The World’s Strangest Foods and Vampires: The Truth Behind History’s Creepiest Bloodsuckers always inspire questions and comments. Kids always want to know how Alicia gets her inspiration.
Alicia is well-traveled and has written many books on places she’s been or would like to go. “Most of my books are assigned, so they tell me and I write that. And I have to figure out how to make it fun and interesting. The best part of my job is that I get to learn something new. You can’t possibly write 90-plus books and know everything about everything.”
What’s next for Alicia? At the moment, she is doing 8 different books, six about other countries, which she personally picked. She spent 10 days in Colombia, and chose Colombia as one of her countries, saying that it was good to reminisce about what she saw there. She says she would love to do more fiction because it’s a change of pace for her, and it’s exciting to delve into a time period or location and really tell a story.
“Behind the Book has been a really wonderful experience for me,” she added, “Because you get to talk to kids about your story or your book, and to hear about their experiences and questions. I love getting to spend time with them and hear from them, and hopefully give them some inspiration. They inspire me because they have curiosities that I never thought about.
“I have to pinch myself and remind myself that they really want to hear what I have to say!”
by Amy Bennett