Kid from Nowhere

Along with partner Deborah Schildt, producer/writer Mary Katzke has optioned the book, Kids from Nowhere by George Guthridge, for development into a feature film.

One of the greatest triumphs in American educational history

THEY STUDIED
WHILE HUNTING WHALES
THEY STUDIED
WHILE HAULING WATER

THEY BECAME THE ONLY TEAM OF NATIVE AMERICANS EVER TO WIN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ACADEMICS

Please consider purchasing and/or helping promote their incredible story

A great book
A noble cause
An amazing educational journey

I am a Professor of English at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bristol Bay. I have taught college and high school for 37 years. I have four times been nationally honored for teaching, and four times have been nationally honored as a writer.

I was the Kids' teacher. I wrote the book for charity, after the tragic death of the son of one of the students. Funds from the book will build a school for the poor in the Himalayas, in his name, in the name of Christa McAuliffe

–the teacher killed in the Challenger disaster – and in the name of "The Kids from Nowhere."
– George Guthridge

We are asking you to send this to at least five friends, and to consider purchasing a copy. Please take a minute or two and read on. It's for a wonderful cause that can give you a personal voice in fighting terrorism.

THE STORY OF "THE KIDS FROM NOWHERE"

A number of years ago I taught students from an isolated Siberian-Yupik (Eskimo) village on blizzard-swept St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.

Previous teachers had called them "uneducable." They were the sons and daughters of whale and walrus hunters. Most had low reading and writing skills. They had little world knowledge. Most had never been in a hotel or on an elevator. They spoke English as a second language. Their tiny school had no computers and almost no books. The school was so troubled that it was under threat of closure. And yet –

They won two national championships in academics.

They studied while hunting whales. They studied while hauling water. They overcame educational and emotional problems that stagger the imagination. They endured fire, personal tragedy, and prejudice. And –

They defeated teams from schools for the gifted from across the country.
They competed on subjects – such as genetic engineering and nuclear waste disposal – that the Eskimo students had never heard of before.
They knew that they were playing for indigenous peoples everywhere.

Now "The Kids from Nowhere" are back.

They want their story to inspire other young people, especially minority kids.

And they want to help fight terrorism.

Now they need your help. They are trying to –

Give kids wonderful role models
Help kids make good choices
Build a school for the poor
Have a voice in fighting terrorism

The story of Greg Mortenson

Through an amazing coincidence, I met Greg Mortenson, a former world-class mountaineer who has just been awarded the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize. He abandoned his quest to scale K-2, the world's second highest mountain, when he helped rescue another climber from almost certain death. Greg himself then became ill. While recuperating in a Himalayan village, he saw barefoot little girls trying to do multiplication tables in the mud. He vowed to build them a school.

After tremendous difficulty, including almost being executed by the Taliban, he not only kept his promise, he has built 54 schools that have educated 24,000 poverty-stricken kids. His story is chronicled in the bestseller, Three Cups of Tea. He is fighting al-Qaeda, which is trying to recruit illiterates there, through education. One school at a time.

In October, 2005, the region was devastated by a terrible earthquake. None of the schools Greg built were destroyed, but many others were demolished. There is a greater need than ever to help the people there.

To help build a school for the earthquake victims and thus to help fight terrorism, purchase a copy of The Kids from Nowhere and send this email to at least five friends or business associates.

Here's how you can help:

Contribute toward our development fund so we can travel to St. Lawrence Island and continue our research!

You can also:

Buy The Kids from Nowhere –. (Alaska Northwest Books®. ISBN 0-88240-651-5 Softbound, $16.95) Ask at your favorite bookseller, or purchase it through Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. For more information or for autographed copies go to www.thekidsfromnowhere.com

Submit a review on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

Spread the word:

Forward this to at least five friends or acquaintances. (Though not as an attachment. We don't want to SPAM.) Please include a line or two letting them know it's for a good cause.
Print an announcement and give copies to your class, book club, or organization. For the printer-friendly flyer, click here for the color version, click here for the B&W version ( Adobe Reader required)
If you wish Professor Guthridge to speak to your book club, class, or other organization or to talk via audio-conference, please contact him through his assistant, Eseta Sherman, Sherman@bristolbay.com

The Kids from Nowhere

"A heart-wrenching story of a group of seemingly uneducable students who, with the coaching of their teacher . . . learn to love learning."
—Jean
Auel, The Clan of the Cave Bear

"Hilarious, powerful. . . . Proof that people everywhere can accomplish amazing feats when given educational tools and instruction that fit their way of life and thinking."
—Greg Mortenson,
Three Cups of Tea

"Beautifully written . . . A victorious account of one teacher's journey with his Eskimo students from the edge of nowhere to the brink of endless promise."
—Janet Berliner,
Artifact

"A heart-lifting epic about the educational triumph of a group of Yupik Eskimo students from tiny, isolated St. Lawrence Island, Alaska."
—Barry Lopez,
Arctic Dreams

"No kids are more neglected than the kids of our Native Nations. . . . It's inspiring as well as being well-written, the kind of tale that every teacher and every coach should respond to. I can't recommend it highly enough."
—Joseph Bruchac, Abenaki storyteller; author of
Jim Thorpe, All-American

"He spurred his students to previously unimaginable academic heights. . . . All it took to make the difference was one person refusing to bow to the odds."
— El Dorado News-Times

"It's 9:35 Monday morning and I can hardly wait to get home and finish this book."
— McAlester News-Capital

"Shines as an unexpected page-turner. . . . Readers will remember the Kids from Nowhere long after they've turned the last page."
—Fairbanks News-Miner

"Buy two copies: one for a clue about motivating a bored or indifferent kid to get excited about learning, and the other as a gift to motivate a teacher to be creative. . . . This is a true tale that grabs the reader by the throat and won't let go."
—Star Democrat

"What a remarkable achievement!"
—Grace Corrigan (mother of Christa McAuliffe)

Praise for George Guthridge, educator

He is what I call a true teacher.
—David
Marquis, I Am a Teacher

"The most intrepid educator we know is novelist George Guthridge. "
—Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder,
Superlearning 2000