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ROBBINSVILLE: Best-selling author launches at Pond Road

By Evan Grossman, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — Tony DiTerlizzi, the best-selling author and illustrator, was hit with boos from an auditorium filled with fourth- and fifth-grade students at Pond Road Middle School.
   It’s not that the children didn’t like his work. In fact, they are big fans. But Mr. DiTerlizzi had admitted to being a Boston Red Sox fan. The crowd, as he quickly found out, was made up mostly of Phillies fanatics.
   Outside of his baseball allegiances, the acclaimed author and illustrator of eight children’s books, including the just-released “The Search for WondLa,” is a fan favorite among young readers. His “Spiderwick Chronicles” is a best-seller and has been turned into a movie, a path his most current title also seems destined.
   On Sept. 21, Mr. DiTerlizzi launched “The Search for WondLa” at a special assembly for those baseball-loving students at Pond Road. The author’s appearance was set up by Linda Biondi, a fourth-grade teacher at the school, through a partnership with Barnes & Noble of Princeton MarketFair, where Mr. DiTerlizzi also appeared as part of his nationwide book tour.
   ”You exist in a bit of isolation,” Mr. DiTerlizzi said. “But this totally validates it; kids giving you high-fives and telling you they love your books.”
   Yes, they were high-fiving the author at the middle school when Mr. DiTerlizzi concluded his presentation to an awestruck audience. Students crowded around the author and expressed admiration for his work. In many ways, the author was — and is — a lot like the youngsters who are so mesmerized by his work.
   ”Lots of kids draw,” Mr. DiTerlizzi said. “When you’re in middle school, everybody draws.”
   Even if he admits to liking the Red Sox, students here support the Massachusetts-based author.
   Having him visit their school was clearly a treat for the students.
   ”It inspires them,” Ms. Biondi said. “They’re authors too. They do lots of writing, and for them to get a chance to meet an author, that’s what’s really exciting.”
   When he was in school, Mr. DiTerlizzi said, he would often sit in the back of the classroom and spend most of his days drawing elaborate pictures and creating rich stories with his active imagination. He said his teachers used to call him a handful.
   ”It came naturally to me,” Mr. DiTerlizzi said of his artistic talent. “I was surrounded by adults, especially my parents, who encouraged me to draw and cultivated it. It gave me the confidence to pursue it as a job.”
   That fertile imagination has produced a line of children’s books, which have captivated young minds because of their combination of illustrations and vivid story lines. His style also is easy for young readers to follow.
   ”A lot of art breaks up the text,” Mr. DiTerlizzi said.
   ”The Search for WondLa” is the first of three books planned for a new series. At 500 pages, including 70 large drawings, it reads like a graphic novel about a girl who is raised by a robot. The author said that at the end of the book, the main character learns what family is all about. The rest, he said, is a surprise.
   Mr. DiTerlizzi said he’s been working on his new book for more than 10 years. “The Search for WondLa” is a throwback to early-century printing, with its two-tone illustrations similar to those that appeared in the original “Wizard of Oz.”
   However, Mr. DiTerlizzi also has incorporated some new-age innovation, as readers can go even further into the fantasy world he created with a series of computer downloads that are unique to the medium. By holding their books up to a webcam, the author explained, young readers can explore computer-generated maps and backstory that enhances the reading experience.
   ”That came from the publisher,” Mr. DiTerlizzi said. “Simon & Schuster was waiting for the right type of book to do it with. It’s like a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. I thought if it got one more kid to pick up the book, then it would be worth trying.”