A: I had a picture book about a country boy (I was a country boy, too) who went for a walk and noticed many things along the way. When he turns to go home, at first he thinks he is lost, but he makes his way back by spotting thing after thing that he saw on the way out. Not only did I love it – I could easily imagine making that walk myself – it taught me a lot about observation. I suspect it actually fed into my ability to write, since observation is a huge part of being a writer. (Memory is important too but, alas, I cannot remember the name of the book . . .) The first novel I can remember loving is Tom Swift in the City of Gold, partly because it was a terrific adventure story, but even more because my father read it to me. It was the first “fat book” I ever experienced, and it opened my eyes to what books could contain.

Q: What made that book so special to you?

A: Heh. I should have read ahead. I pretty much answered those questions above!

Q: When did you decide to be a writer and/or illustrator?

A: The first time I can remember wanting to be a writer was in sixth grade. My teacher, Mrs. Crandall, had us write all year, much more than was common at the time. I failed at it all year long, mostly because we always had to write to an assigned topic, which didn’t work well for me. But toward the end of the year Mrs. Crandall told us we were going to write short story. We had three or four weeks (if I remember correctly) to work on it, and she would be reading the stories out loud to the class at the end. The most important part of the assignment was that whatever we wrote had to come from inside ourselves. This, to me, is how to teach writing: we had extended time to work on it, which is, of course, what real writing requires; we had an audience (the rest of the class, not merely the teacher); and whatever we wrote had to come from inside us. I wrote a story about a lion and a lamb raised on a special farm that prepared animals for movies. When the train carrying them home after a job was derailed, the two animals—who were friends—had to make their way home through the wilderness. In structure, it was a shameless copy of Sheila Burnford's wonderful The Incredible Journey. (I'm not ashamed of that; one of the ways we learn to write is by imitating the work we love. The trick is to grow beyond that, to find your own voice and style.) I had so much fun writing the story, and was so pleased with it, that I got the idea of doing several stories about animals from that training farm. This is the first time I can remember having an idea for a book I wanted to write. * What is the most enjoyable part of being a writer and/or illustrator? There are times – not enough of them – when the story almost takes over and seems to be writing itself. It’s just delicious when that happens. The other most enjoyable thing is the shameless pleasure of holding a finished book in your hands!

Q: Describe some things that you feel make a really good book-the kind you want to read again and again.

A: Short version: Great characters, snappy dialogue, and intense moral dilemmas. My hero as a writer is Lloyd Alexander, who always managed to combine these things in his stories. They grab you by the throat and gallop along because you care so much about the characters, and want to see how they’re going to get out of the terrible fixes they end up in. Some of the dangers are physical, but the best and most interesting are the ones that I would call “tests of the heart.”

Q: What are 5 of your favorite children's books? (Other than your own, of course)

A:

• TUCK EVERLASTING by Natalie Babbitt
• THE CHRONICLES OF PRYDAIN by Lloyd Alexander
(that’s five books right there, but we’ll just count it as one)
• THE MISFITS by James Howe

Q: Any other thoughts you'd like to share with readers of your books?

A: Thanks for turning the pages!

Interview Date: January 2008
Profile and questions compiled by Tony T., Main Library