Paul Stephen Kropp (February 22, 1948 – August 22, 2015) was an American-born Canadian author, publisher and educator. Paul Kropp was born and raised in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

and received a BA from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York. In 1970, he came to Canada and completed an MA at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. He began teaching at a

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

where he recognized that there were very few books his students were interested in and able to read.That launched his career as an author. His first book, ''Burn Out,'' was aimed at reluctant readers. Kropp has written over sixty YA (Young Adult) novels as well as ''Make Your Child a Reader for Life'', ''The Lost Botticelli'' and other titles for adult readers. as His books have been translated into German, Danish, French, Portuguese and Spanish and have won awards in Canada and internationally. But he remains best known for his high-interest, low-vocabulary ("hi-lo") books for struggling and reluctant readers. Paul was a founding member and past president of th
Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, & Performers.
ref name="quill"> In 2002, Paul Kropp establishe
High Interest Publishing (HIP Books)
a niche publisher of high-Interest, low-vocabulary novels for adolescents and teens. He remained the President and General Editor of the company until his death in 2015.

Selected work

Source: * ''Ghost House'' (High Interest Publishing) * ''Juvie'' (High Interest Publishing) * ''Avalanche'' (High Interest Publishing) * ''Moonkid and Liberty'' (1988) * ''Running the Bases'' * ''Ellen/Elena/Luna'' (1992), nominated for a Toronto Book Award * ''How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life'' (1993) * ''Moonkid and Prometheus'' (1997) * ''The Lost Botticelli'' (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kropp, Paul 1948 births 2015 deaths Canadian children's writers Canadian schoolteachers Canadian book publishers (people) University of Western Ontario alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni