Richard Born, author of The Bizarre Events at Hellman Elementary: The Nexus of Strange (2017) and The Bizarre Events at Hellman Elementary: Jurassic Field Trip (2018) will visit Dog Ears Bookstore & Café for a book-signing event from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1. The nonprofit bookstore is located at 688 Abbott Road in South Buffalo.

The Nexus of Strange shows us that schools can have myths and legends, and Hellman Elementary is no different. However, the legends are little bit stranger. How many schools can say Bigfoot teaches the fifth grade science class? Or that a mysterious frogman hops around the school at night? Who knows what could be lurking behind the locked doors of the school? And going to the principal’s office may mean you’re never seen again. While the school might be frightening on the inside, it’s what is hiding beneath the school that is really terrifying. Ethan is about to find out how many myths and legends his new school holds as he enters the third grade. When his new friend Grayson tells him about all the strange events at the school, Ethan finds them hard to believe. But then outrageous incidents and unexplained mysteries begin to happen. Ethan and his friends find themselves struggling just to survive the school year without help from some bizarre teachers! 

Field trips are one of the best parts about school! You get to leave school for the day and enjoy the change away from the classroom. That is unless you just happen to be a student attending Hellman  Elementary, as Dylan is about to discover with the school’s annual field trip to the one and only Dino Kingdom in Jurassic Field Trip. Dylan and his brother are living with their grandmother while their mom is away on her own great adventure. However, when Dylan discovers a mysterious, dusty old wooden puzzle box in his mother’s former bedroom, it starts to turn Dylan’s life upside down, bringing an adventure to Dylan also. For instance, he and his friend have a strange encounter with the elusive frogman, and Dylan is almost positive that his brother is beginning to change into something not quite human. Perhaps transforming into something from the past; perhaps something from the Jurassic era. 

Born grew up in Tennessee and lived in Memphis until he started high school, when his family moved to Chattanooga. His enthusiasm for writing began in the third grade, and this continued passion was the basis for his high school teachers being forced to place a page limit on his assigned essays. After high school graduation and a year at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Born made the decision to leave Tennessee to attend Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. He majored in English, with an area of concentration in creative writing, and minored in film studies. 

While living in Bowling Green, he also became a foster parent to a number of children. Being a foster parent has given Born inspiration and insight into writing specifically for children. He has stated that their unique viewpoints on life’s daily events — some good, some challenging — are certainly enlightening. He has also said that the children he has been a foster parent to have enriched his life with awareness and purpose of being there for others. He is a firm believer in foster parenting and adoption. Born has now returned to Tennessee, where he lives with his two sons and a dog named Bandit. 

For more information on Dog Ears Bookstore, please visit dogearsbookstore.org, call 823-2665 or follow on Facebook for frequent updates.