I'm Lorraine Jean Hopping (@HoppingFun), author, writer, and game designer with experience in product development and editorial direction. Nontrivial pursuits: transmedia storytelling, languages, science, math, games, puzzles, education.









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News and Events



Inanimate Alice on Everloop!


I've been working with the talented Inanimate Alice team to set up fresh content and a presence on Everloop, the social media site for tweens.

No grown-ups are allowed, but if you know kids who love digital storytelling, travel, and adventure, here's a new (and safe) place for them to convene online.

Upcoming Travel


I do emerge from my writer/​game making cave from time to time. Please contact me if you'd like to connect!

NYC for BookExpo America, World Science Festival, Media and Book Week, and an App Study Hall meetup, June 2-9.

Toronto for board game fun: June 30-July 2.

Santa Fe/​Taos New Mexico: July 4-11

Michigan Game Designers!


Anyone in Michigan interested in designing games? Any genre, platform, medium, level of progress? I'm organizing a chapter of the Gameful and Games for Change communities, which aim to harness the power of games to do good. Join us!

My Global Game Jam profile:

My Meetup Groups


If our geography and interests align, here are a few chances for us to connect in real life.

Just a Joke



Q: How many creative types does it take to change a light bulb?
A. That depends: What do you want to change it into?

Q. How many editors does it take to change a light bulb?
A. Three. One to change it. Two to change it back.

Q: How many writers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Tell me again, "Why do we have to change it?"


Books, Games, Scripts, & Jazzy Content Across the Media


I'm glad you stopped by.

Hopping Fun Creations is an editorial services and content development company that creates board games, card games, puzzles, books (50+ titles!), stories, scripts, and jazzy interactive content for publishers, game makers, and other media producers.

If you're developing a transmedia or crossmedia property, let's talk!

Check out our many successful projects and satisfied, repeat clients:

Scholastic (multiple divisions)
FableVision (video game writing)
PBS-WGBH (several shows/​projects)
Bradfield Productions (Inanimate Alice)
Sesame Street Workshop
Penguin/​Pearson
Microsoft Education
McGraw-Hill
Sterling
Sports Illustrated for Kids
Silver Dolphin
Talicor/​Aristoplay (board games)
Mondo Publishing
Gareth Stevens
Grolier Online (casual games)
Planet SEED, National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation, AAAS, National Sciecne & Technology Week, National Audubon Society, and similar organizations that promote STEM/​science education.


I wrote "Escape from Antcatraz," my first interactive fiction script, in the 1980s for Scholastic's Microzine. (Anyone still own an Apple IIe?) I love writing game scripts!

Currently in Development


Hopping Fun Creations has developed well-tested, original board and card games that teach English language, math skills, key topics in American history, and other subjects. Publishers and other companies interested in producing, publishing, or licensing these games can request prototypes for review along with a proposal.


Stretching my creative muscles, I took a blast of a comic book class with the incredible artist, storyteller, and teacher (a rare combo): Jerzy Drozd! Pow! Sizzle! Get a taste for yourself from the free video interviews, weekly podcasts, and other resources on his Comics are Great! website.

PUBLISHERS AND COMIC ARTISTS: I'm now rarin' and ready to write graphic novel scripts in partnership with artists. Let's talk!

Teamwork! I love it.

Recommendations


“Lorraine has written several books for becker&mayer! Each book required extensive research, a high degree of creativity, and the ability to meet ridiculous deadlines. She is a professional who writes to the age group, gets her facts straight, and makes dry material fun. I hope she'll write many more books for us!”
—Betsy Pringle, Manager, Juvenile Editorial Group, becker&mayer

"Lorri has so many ideas, angles and original products, it's amazing! She does a masterful job of balancing ideas and enthusiasm with experience in such a way that her process and products are realistic and engaging. Highly motivated and creative. She's a natural collaborator."
—Alison Austin, program coordinator at Washtenaw Literacy

Teachers and Other Educators



See what games and fun educational activities Hopping Fun Creations has created just for you. That's my bestseller, above. As you browse the site, look for FREEBIE word searches, math puzzles, and topical quizzes to download, print out, and use in your classroom today.

KIDS!


Have you read my books or played my board games? Find out who I am and why it's fun to be a writer.

If you're looking for your next favorite book to read, take a look at the new Readalicious! blog, written by a teacher who loves books and kids and knows how to put the two together.

All the material on this website is copyright © 2000-2012 by Hopping Fun Creations. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to visitors to download, print, and use the "Freebie" reproducibles free of charge for educational use only. Reproduction, reposting, or distribution in any form or media is prohibited without the written permission of Hopping Fun Creations.

Featured Books and Games

Children's Books
Read the sad, moving tale of a peace-loving leader who lost his land, many of his people, and his life-long fight to keep the peace with settlers and soldiers. (FREEBIE history puzzles.)
Is it possible to fall in love with bones? Try not to, after you read about Diane France's true-life science adventures, searching for and examining skeletons. A 2006 Outstanding Science Trade Book "Selector's Choice" (NSTA/CBC). Starred review in Booklist. 2007 Finalist, SB&F "Young Adult" science books!
How did a young Argentine with an endless imagination make her dream of exploring space come true? Adriana Ocampo found her path to science adventure through space-traveling robots and crashing asteroids and comets! (FREEBIE science quizzes, FREE ebooks.)
Autopsies/The Body as Evidence and Crime Scene Investigation!
Venus and Serena, Peyton Manning, Michelle Kwan, and others for ages 6-9. (FREEBIE sports quizzes.)
Outdoor fun for 6 to 9 year olds.
Tornadoes! and Hurricanes! are my two best-selling books with 1.6 million sold!
Games
Seeking an educational game publisher: It's a must-have card game set for English and language arts teachers and tutors. (FREEBIE English materials.)
This is my top seller for teachers. (Click for "Freebie" puzzles.)
Packed with ready–to-go, lively games and activities about grammar, vocabulary, and dictionary skills. (FREEBIE word puzzles.)
A collection of Great American History Games and 15 Primary Source Activities (plays, scripts, games, readings, and more)
Race from Earth to Mars, an orbiting target, by fixing malfunctions and answering intriguing science questions. Endorsed by astronaut Jack Lousma.