CEDAR FALLS - With the flip of a light switch Monday, author Will Hobbs transported a group of roughly 100 Cedar Falls fifth-graders back in time to the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s.

In the semi-darkness, the writer flicked through slides of his own travels to Dawson City, Yukon - a Canadian community where many of the prospectors ended their journey. As students admired the area's majestic mountains, Hobbs talked about the process of writing "Jason's Gold," the fourth book to be featured through the Cedar Valley's Youth Read project.

"Writers don't get their ideas out of thin air," Hobbs said. "All you need is a good 'what if,' like, what if a 15-year-old boy joins the Klondike gold rush and meets Jack London."

That's exactly what happens in "Jason's Gold," a historical novel written for upper elementary and middle school students. Hobbs will continue to meet with fifth-graders from Waterloo and Cedar Falls private and public schools through Thursday. At the session the kids learn more about the Klondike gold rush and are introduced to other books by Hobbs, who has penned 17 novels for kids.

"We target fifth-graders because research shows that there is a dip, especially for boys, in reading," said University Book & Supply Events Coordinator Patty Achey-Cutts, who helped organize the event. "This is a way to keep them engaged in reading."

Students at Monday's talk said they enjoyed meeting Hobbs and learning more about "Jason's Gold."

"I liked finding out how things really happened," said Brett Burnett, a 10-year-old who reread the book after his teacher read it aloud to his Hansen Elementary School class. "Like what parts really happened and which parts he made up."

Another Hansen youngster, 11-year-old Anna Nichol, said she would look for more Hobbs novels the next time she was at the library.

"He has a lot more books that I plan on reading now," she said.

This year's Youth Read program is sponsored by the Max & Helen Guernsey Charitable Foundation, the Ray Foundation, the Cedar Falls Public Library and University Book & Supply. A public discussion with the author is scheduled Thursday night at the Waterloo Public Library.

"I think this is just an awesome program," said Mary Egli, a Hansen Elementary teacher. "The kids all get excited about reading, and it encourages those kids that are exceptional writers to think about becoming an author."

Contact Mary Stegmeir

at (319) 291-1482

or mary.stegmeir@wcfcourier.com.