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Conner: An Ordinary Boy

by Ronald J. Conners

120 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0262; ISBN 1-55369-449-X; US$15.50, C$17.50, EUR12.50, £9.00

The young life of an ordinary, average boy who displays an uncanny ability to become a major family problem-solver.

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About the book      News item      About the author      Sample excerpt      Catalogue info

About the Book Conner is the story of an ordinary boy from a financially-strapped family in a small city in Upstate New York. His life was indeed very ordinary, and even somewhat boring. His family, though always financially struggling, was extremely rich in family love, togetherness, care and kindness. Conner never, ever thought of himself as poor. Family always came first in every family member's mind and heart. Conner learned family values, beliefs, actions, and leadership from a very special father. Dad always expected, and marveled, at the actions that young Conner seemed to take so naturally. Hidden, sometimes very cleverly, in this book is a display of highly developed problem-solving and leadership displayed by Conner, at a very young age. His seemingly natural ability to envision desired outcomes before taking any action was uncanny. Conner's ability to challenge himself with difficult and tiring tasks were seldom seen, or required of someone his age. He seldom, if ever, stopped to realize that he was doing some extraordinary things. Athletically inclined, Conner learned to blend his athletic drive with his zest for life. He was always seen smiling, a happy-go-lucky kind of boy. His smile was contagious! Conner built on his personal strengths, while correcting only the weaknesses that seemed important for living a happy life.

News Item Clarksville student draws on aptitude for art Steve Chaplin from the Louisville Courier-Journal     For many young students, dinosaurs are just the thing for stirring the creative juices, and that's exactly what happened to Clarksville Middle School student Matt Dunford about five years ago.     His excitement over seeing "Jurassic Park" as a third-grader led him to try to create on paper the creatures he saw. It wasn't long after completing those first drawings hat Matt, now 13, realized that he could capture much more than dinosaurs with a pencil.     "My friends at the time taught me some stuff, and I just tried to keep learning and learning," said the son of Chuck Dunford of Clarksville. "Now I'm learning more about shading and texture drawing."     Matt's hard work has paid off in several ways: Two of his drawings, a set of 2-foot by 3-foot sketches that depict the World Trade Center attacks, were recently honored by the Louisville Visual Arts Association, while another series of drawings was published in a children's book.     In February, at the urging of Clarksville Middle art instructor Cathy McKervey, Mall began work on the two pencil drawings of the World Trade Center attacks. The first depicts the head of a massive eagle and an American flag in the background of an intricate drawing of the towers and Manhattan.     Matt said he started on the second piece first, that being a drawing of the towers, one already ablaze with the second about to be hit by a jetliner. In the background is a portrait of President Bush.     "After I got started I thought I really wanted to do the one with the eagle and the flag in the background," says the lanky eight-grader, who is also a pitchers and infielder in Clarksville Little League. "I think the eagle drawing is the most favorite thing I've done, but it wasn't the hardest."     Both works were displayed in March in Louisville and both received awards. The drawing with the eagle received an award of merit from the Jefferson County (Ky.) Public Schools' Scholastic Art and Writings Awards 2002, while the second drawing earned the Salon des refuses Award from the Louisville Visual Arts Association.     "It's been wonderful for Matt to show his work," McKervey said. "He's a good kid and I hope he continues in the direction he is going."     The hardest part, Matt said, is the portrait work, and that's an area he is trying to improve. He's already done drawings of himself with his father and, following his love of baseball, is working on a montage of Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.     "I've been doing portraits for about two years," he said. "I like to think I'm getting better."     Some of his first paid work came with an agreement he made with Dr. Ronald Conners, a retired clinical psychologist who works as a substitute teacher at Clarksville Middle. Conners heard about Matt's work on the World Trade Center drawings and hired him to provide 13 drawings for his book, "Conner - An Ordinary Boy," which was just released.     The two even got together last week for a series of book signings at the school that helped publicize the release of the book, which tells the story of a young boy in New York who faces obstacles but still accomplishes his goals.     "I got paid $10 apiece," Matt said. "And Dr. Conners said he wanted me to do more intricate drawings for the trilogy he is going to do.     McKervey says she expects Matt's talents to mature as he enters high school and has the opportunity to take advanced art classes. She says he's also being encouraged to take art classes outside of school.     "He's a sensitive and kind student," she said. "But I think he puts a lot of intensity into his work."     With several works in progress, like a science fiction-style comic series and an intricate drawing of an American Indian with a wolf, Matt said he senses that he is growing as an artist while progressing through two years of art classes at Clarksville Middle. And he's looking forward to continued improvement.     "I think I'm getting better at memorizing topics and working from memory," he said. "When I have time I like to wonder what I want to draw next, then I try to put that together with what I know I can do."

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About the Author Author Ron Conners says, "Conner was the result of having listened to the conversations of a large number of Middle School Students, at a school where I often fill the role of substitute teacher. The students, frequently mentioned how much they enjoyed some of the newer novels about a boy with supernatural and magical powers. They also liked stories about inter-galactic travel to deep outer space, and unknown planets. However, the kids also mentioned how far-fetched most of these stories seemed! The stories, though entertaining, left many of the students wanting. They wanted to read about ordinary kids, like themselves. They often asked, 'Why don't writers write about everyday, normal kids who have no magical powers, no chance or desire of ever traveling to outer space and have no wizards to guide them.' These students, when they heard me say that I was thinking about writing a novel for teenagers, asked me to consider writing about an ordinary teen, a person whose life was plain, even boring at times. They asked that I write about the good times and the not-so-good times that they all experience in real life. That is how Conner was born." Ronald J. Conners, who prefers to be called Ron, is a highly educated man who has earned a Ph.D., a Master of Science, a Bachelor of Arts, and an Associate of Arts degree during his lifetime. Although these accomplishments seem very normal for most, Ron managed to accomplish these after having dropped out of high school and joining the Army at the age of seventeen. Ron spent twenty years as an enlisted soldier in the Army, and retired at the age of thirty-seven. His experience, following his military service, included positions as the Director of a Family Resource Center, Director of Education and Training at a major physical rehabilitation hospital, Coordinator of Management Development in a Major Medical Center, President and Owner of two Personal Counseling and Management Consulting Corporations and finally, a Substitute Teacher. Ron is the survivor of a heart transplant and a kidney transplant, both performed at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Bonnie, now reside in Louisville.

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Sample Excerpt

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Catalogue Information

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