OGDEN — The Ogden School District has had a double shot of authors to help celebrate the annual Ogden School Foundation Fall Author Event.

After featuring Ann Patchett at the Fall Author Event Gala last Thursday, fantasy author Brandon Mull took the stage Tuesday at Ogden High School to address sixth-grade students from across the Ogden School District as well as students involved in junior high school book clubs in the district. Mull is known for the children’s fantasy series “Fablehaven,” “Dragonwatch,” “The Candy Shop War,” the “Beyonders” trilogy and the “Five Kingdoms” series. Tuesday’s event, in addition to being an extension of the Fall Author Event, was a result of a partnership between the Ogden School Foundation, Utah Humanities and Operation Literacy.

Lord of the Canned Peaches

Mull said he became interested in writing fantasy largely because it was the first genre that helped spark his own interest in reading.

“Why write fantasy novels would be a fair question,” he said. “When I was a kid, it was fantasy novels that made me start to like reading. When I was a little guy, I wasn’t that into a thick book. That didn’t really entertain me that much until I read ‘The Chronicles of Narnia.’ Something about ‘The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe’ — I think the big imagination of the story — made me start to like reading. And I remember, even after I read Narnia, I wanted that to come true.”

He said that the truth could be a little disappointing at times with real life not quite cooperating with his imagination.

“I went to my grandma’s house, and my grandma was old and she had a big closet,” he said. “I was like, ‘Maybe, right?’ I remember I pushed through the coats to the back of that closet, and at the rear of the closet, I did find a tiny set of doors and I was like, ‘It’s showtime.’ And so I went into those doors, into a small room filled with canned peaches, which was just a huge disappointment. I wanted to go to another world, kill some monsters, become their king. Instead, I was Lord of the Canned Peaches. It was my sad little game.”

However, Mull wouldn’t be deterred by real life not bending to his imagination — he’d do it himself.

“Because I couldn’t go into another world in real life, I started doing it in my head,” he said. “I started making up my own fantasy stories. And one thing I learned about fantasy is inside a fantasy story — with monsters and make-believe and magic — I can still sometimes say true things, or even important things, which, to me, that’s a fun part of my job.”

Mull noted that, over the course of his career, he’s had 20 New York Times Bestsellers, and his biggest series “Fablehaven” has been translated into over 30 languages and may have a movie adaptation coming up in the next few years.

Imagination building

Mull also took the opportunity to encourage students to continue using their imaginations.

“Guys, I’m sure we have some good imaginations in this room, but no matter how good your imagination is, you can strengthen it by exercising it,” he said.

There was plenty of opportunity to do so over the course of Mull’s appearance, from a round of what he coined “The Imagination Game” where students were brought to the stage to craft an impromptu story to receiving tips for how to exercise imaginations.

“When we’re reading a book, we have to see the pictures ourselves in our own mind,” he said. “We hear the dialogue in our mind. We see the images in our mind. When I watch a movie, somebody else shows me what everything looks like. That’s fine, but it doesn’t require as much from me. When I read a book, because I’m picturing the story for myself, it makes my imagination work hard and get strong. If I read a bunch of books, I build a bunch of different story worlds in my head. I co-create those story worlds with the author. And so, reading becomes this very creative experience because I’m building the story in my mind. I’m becoming part of the story by building it in my head.”

Mull said that his message was that those in his audience have as much ability to create something as he does.

“A big part of my message for you guys is, ‘Hey, you might be that next person who creates a book or a movie or an invention or, in some other way, uses your creative accountants to do something cool,'” he said.

Increasing excitement for reading

And students were sent away with what could be the spark for their own creativity.

As the assembly of over 900 left, each student was presented with a free copy of “The Tales of Newel and Doren,” a spin-off of the “Fablehaven” series.

Janelle Youngstrom, Operation Literacy’s Book Drop program director, told the Standard-Examiner that Mull’s visit comes at a time when literacy rates are facing steep challenges in the state.

“When a student meets an author, they’re 80% more likely to read their book,” she said. “In Utah, literacy rates are really low. Kids are reading well below grade level, and what we’re trying to do is spark that interest and excitement for reading.”

She said Tuesday was the perfect opportunity to help connect students with an author who was sought to be part of the Fall Author Event, in part, because his books are among the most checked-out in the Ogden School District’s libraries.

“By pairing an author with a group of students, we’re able to increase their interest and their excitement about reading and make reading fun and something that’s enjoyable and not just something they have to do because they’re told by their teachers at school that they need to do it,” she said. “When a student can read, it changes their entire future. They can be a part of a community and have potential for jobs and they can learn more easily. And usually right around this age is when kids decide whether they’re a reader or not, so they go from learning to read to reading to learn. We want to make sure that that is a seamless process for them and building that excitement for reading is what we do.”

Youngstrom said she was happy with how Tuesday turned out.

“The kids were really respectful,” she said. “It was a beautiful venue that we were able to use. And Brandon Mull — he’s always just a great ambassador for reading, and so it’s neat to have him as the person that did the assembly today. And those kids — I see them hopping away with their books in their hands, so excited that they got a book and they got to see Brandon Mull. I think it was a great success.”