Renee Watson's 'Blackbird' Celebrates Harlem Renaissance

The best non-fiction books for children bring facts and historical events to life in colorful and memorable ways. They make understanding our past more accessible and interesting, and Renée Watson's picture book Harlem's Little Blackbird (Random House, 2012) is a perfect example. An author of picture books, middle-grade, as well as poetry and performance, Renée is also a teacher. And it shows in her beautiful telling of the story of Florence Mills, a lesser-known figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Earning a starred review in Booklist, Harlem's Little Blackbird is lushly illustrated in a mixed-media, folk-art style by Christian Robinson.

Florence Mills could sing as sweetly as the birds, and she performed across the United States and London, even wowing the Prince of Wales. But she was painfully aware of the racism of the times and that her friends and family were kept out of the theaters where she performed. She became an activist against discrimination, refusing to perform unless the white-owned theaters allowed her loved ones to be part of the audience. She even turned down an opportunity to join the Ziegfeld Follies, opting instead to work a show that promoted young black talent.

Question: Florence Mills is a lesser-known artist of the Harlem Renaissance. How did you come to learn her story, and what inspired you to share it with a young audience?

Renée Watson: After finishing my first picture book, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House, 2010), my editor and I discussed what I wanted to write next. I told her I wanted to tell a story about an African American woman who did extraordinary things, that young people might not know about. We learn about the brave and legendary women Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman often. I wanted to add an unsung hero to the list.

My editor recommended I research Florence Mills. I had never heard of her but as soon as I started learning her story, I knew I wanted to tell it.

Q: One of the challenges of writing a picture book is distilling your story to its most important elements. Was it hard to choose what details of her life to include and what to leave out?

RW: Yes, it was definitely a challenge to figure out what to put in and what to leave out. A question I asked myself with every scene of the book was, “Why is this important to tell a child?”  or “Why does this matter?”

My hope was that young people—regardless of if they wanted to be a singer—would see that you’re never too young to use your voice for something good and that regardless of where you come from, you can achieve great things.

Q: Because no recordings or films of Florence Mills' performances exist, it must have made researching her life a challenge. How did you go about getting the information you needed to tell her story?

RW: I did most of my research at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is located in Harlem. The Schomburg Center has a research collection on Florence that has news clippings from the '20s, playbills from her shows, letters she wrote—all kinds of personal artifacts. I was able to read firsthand accounts and see photos of her. The book wouldn’t have been possible without the resources at the Schomburg. I also read Bill Egan’s book, Harlem Jazz Queen.  Bill’s extensive research on Florence was also a great resource for me.

Q: You are the author of other picture books, a middle-grade novel, you write poetry, perform onstage–what do you hope to achieve in your art? What message do you hope your readers take away from your writing?

RW: I don’t think there’s one specific thing I hope readers take away from my work. In general, I hope I am bringing characters and situations to young people that they can relate to. My writing mixes the bitter and the sweet. It puts deep sorrow and profound joy right next to each other because often times, that’s how it is in life. We are experiencing many emotions at once, having good days and bad days in one week. I hope that young people walk away from my books accepting that and feeling like they can handle whatever life throws at them.

Q: Harlem's Little Blackbird is a beautiful book in both its story and in the remarkable pictures by Christian Robinson. Do you have a soft spot for picture books and the way they can bring a story to life so creatively? What medium do you enjoy the most and why?

RW: As an educator, I love using picture books in the classroom to teach even my older middle- or high-school students. I use them to teach plot, story arc, symbolism—there’s so much you can do in the classroom with picture books.

And then, there’s my role as an auntie. I love snuggling with my nephews and nieces and reading morning or bedtime stories with them. There really is something special about witnessing a child discover words, point to pictures, and name the things they see.

So, yes, I do have a soft spot for picture books. As a writer, it is so moving to see my words inspire a visual artist to create illustrations. Every time I receive a sketch, I am in awe. I enjoy the collaboration that happens between an author and an illustrator. There’s a certain level of trust and humility that goes into this work, and I have been so fortunate to work with two very talented artists. Both Shadra Strickland and Christian Robinson deepened the meaning of my words with their illustrations and that’s what you hope happens.

A Hero We Can All Get Behind: Liesl Shurtliff's 'Rump'

Fairytales never grow old, just like many of the characters who inhabit them. And Liesl Shurtliff's Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin (Knopf, April 2013) is a delightfully cheeky (forgive me) retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin tale. Consider it a backstory of the curious and misunderstood little man of spinning gold and stolen babies. This is Liesl's debut novel, and with a starred review from Kirkus, as well as Publisher's Weekly trumpeting that "the picaresque-style narrative gives the maligned character a refreshingly plainspoken voice," we're sure to see more wonderful works from her.

Twelve-year-old Rump has never known his full name. Having lost his mother young, before she could utter or explain it, he's been the butt of everyone's jokes for as long as he can remember. However, things begin to change for Rump when he stumbles upon an old spinning wheel. Suddenly, Rump has something to offer as he learns he can spin straw into magical gold. On Rump's journey to figure out his full name and his destiny, he discovers much more about himself.

Question: What inspired you to put your own spin on the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale?

Liesl Shurtliff: I was actually brainstorming another story idea when I imagined a world where names are much more than just a title, but a person’s destiny. Instantly my mind gravitated toward the Rumpelstiltskin tale, for if there was ever a name of great importance in a story, it’s that one. And yet, for the crucial role he and his name play in the story, we know so little of Rumpelstiltskin in the traditional tale. We know nothing of where he comes from, what his name means, how he learned to spin straw into gold, or why on earth he would want someone’s first born child. I’ve read a few retellings that are well written and answer some of these questions, but I wanted to tell a story from Rumpelstiltksin’s point-of-view, and not only so we would understand him, but also love him. Shortening his name to Rump got me on the right track and everything grew from there.

Q: In the world of fairytales, the princesses tend to get most of the attention and shelf space. Did you choose to write about Rump and his plucky best friend, Red, for a reason? Were you trying to reach a particular audience?

LS: I can’t say that I was writing it for any reason other than to carry out an idea that was growing inside of me. I didn’t think of what is or isn’t on the shelf, necessarily. (Though I will admit that I felt my premise was a unique one and that gave me confidence.)

It was clear to me from the beginning that this was going to be a middle-grade book, not because that’s what I wanted, but because that’s just where the voice and story naturally fell. Rump always had a lightness and humor that felt very natural to the age. I guess my inner 10-year-old is alive and well.

Q: Rump has some delightful quirks to his personality, especially a knack for making up rhymes. Do you share Rump's idiosyncrasies? 

LS: I do! Though I’m not so carefree with showing those idiosyncrasies with people I don’t know. Admittedly I cover myself up a lot of time, and don’t reveal my “weirdness” until I feel comfortable that a person isn’t going to think I’m completely mad. But really, we’re all a little mad around here, aren’t we?

Q: Rump makes wonderful realizations as he wrestles with his destiny. "Deep inside I have a power that no one can take away from me. A deep magic more powerful than any magic placed upon me. A magic I that I was born with, that grew inside me, deep in my bones." What do you hope kids take away from your story?

LS: Mostly, I just hope kids will enjoy the story, and come away with a sense of satisfaction that my version of a classic tale filled in the holes of a tale with many holes. I never write something with the motive to make people learn or understand something I feel they should know. However, if readers so choose to contemplate a lasting message from Rump I hope it will be that as humans, we are living paradoxes. We are complete messes sometimes, whether we inherited the mess or created the mess ourselves, but we also have this incredible power inside of us to confront those messes and untangle them and clean them up. No one gets through life without encountering hard things, but we can do hard things!

Q: What's ahead in your writing? Will we see more of Rump and Red? Or another completely original take on a traditional fairytale?

I think Rump’s tale has essentially been told. He could possibly crop up in a very off-hand way in another tale, but I don’t have any plans for him. As for Red, I adore her character and hope to tell her story some day, but for now she is taking a rest because, good golly, she went through a lot, too, and I imagine her own path is a difficult one.

I am working on another fairy-tale! One that I think will be just as fun and satisfying as Rump, if not more so, but I am keeping the details a secret until I am certain it’s going to work out. It’s still in the beginning stages and I don’t want to tell anyone what’s up next when I’m not certain that it’s actually going to happen. I hope it does!

Laurie Lawlor 's 'Rachel Carson' Shows the Power of One

With Earth Day around the corner, it seems a perfect time to spotlight Laurie Lawlor's terrific non-fiction picture book Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World (Holiday House, 2012). And even better timing is that Laurie and her book will be receiving the prestigious John
Burroughs Riverby Award, which recognizes outstanding nature books for young readers, today at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Rachel Carson and Her Book, which is illustrated by Laura Beingessner, has also been named to the ALA Amelia Bloomer Project List for children's books that promote a feminist outlook.

Question: Your book is not only a look at Rachel Carson's life, but at the importance of her book Silent Spring. What made you decide to write about this? Where did the spark come from?

Laurie Lawlor: I have always been interested in books about the environment, specifically how to inspire children and young adult readers to go outside and explore and understand where they live. The great challenge is to create a book that is not all gloom and doom – the kind we see so often about species extinction and the rapid deterioration of the planet. While it’s important to understand these ongoing threats, it’s easy as a young reader to begin to sense only despair and defeat. How can one person make a difference? Asking this question helped me re-discover Rachel Carson and her seminal work, Silent Spring, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

I began exploring her early work about the ocean. What amazed me most was the freshness of Silent Spring – how it speaks to us today. Carson took incredible risks to publish Silent Spring, which had such an enormous impact on the beginning of the environmental movement in this country and around the world. I found her courage and dedication to writing clearly and truthfully very heroic, especially in light of her own battle with cancer as she was struggling to finish.

Q: The challenge to writing a picture book is the economy of language – distilling your thoughts down to a few tight sentences. How hard was this to do with a book like this one, where the ideas are so immense?

LL: This was probably one of the biggest challenges. I have written much longer biographies of such individuals as Daniel Boone, Captain James Cook, Edward Curtis, William Henry Jackson, and Helen Keller. Creating an accessible yet accurate and engaging biography about Rachel Carson with a limited format was very difficult. What to include? What to leave out? I was very pleased to have the back-matter area of the book to give more in-depth information about the impact of Silent Spring on environmental laws and the furor that she faced from the well-funded chemical industry.

Q: Your book has just been named an Amelia Bloomer Book: What does this mean to you? And what does this mean for the book?

LL: I am absolutely thrilled about this list because Rachel Carson was an individual, like Amelia Bloomer, who bucked the system. During the mid-20th century years, when she was struggling to become a biologist, few women were accepted in this field. She faced enormous prejudice not only
in her collegiate training but in her job search. Yet she did not give up on her dream of writing and research. I think that today this message is very powerful for young girls and young adult women who are still woefully underrepresented in the fields of science and technology. I have two bright granddaughters who I hope will feel free to explore these fields and pursue their passions, too!

Q: You're the author of more than 30 books and counting. What do you hope young readers take from your stories?

LL: The desire to explore, to find out more, to think about possibilities that maybe they’ve never considered before.

Q: With so many books to your name already, you might run out of ideas. Where do your inspirations for new books come from? How do you decide the next project you're going to tackle? And what will we see next from you?

LL: I love research, and so I hope to never run out of ideas. One “detective” trail usually leads to another and then another. If I could, I’d just keep sleuthing in libraries and museums and special collection departments and trips to cemeteries and ruins and never write the book. Research is
so much more fun. I am currently working on a young adult love story set in western England during the tumultuous years of the early 17th century – a time not so different from our own. This book has an environmental theme as well because it is about the political unrest and turmoil centered around the little known story of the draining and sale of the moors by wealthy land owners.  These early English wetlands had traditionally been held as common land by poor crofters and cottagers, and provided them with a way to keep their families alive with fish, fowl, reeds for their thatch roofs, and turf for their fires. The customs, magic, and folktales surrounding this fragile ecosystem are fascinating – and so are the tough people who lived there.

Segregated 1960s Inspired Augusta Scattergood's 'Glory Be'

Sometimes characters linger with us long after we've closed the covers of their books and put them back on the shelf. That's what happened to me with Augusta Scattergood's memorable protagonist Gloriana June Hemphill, or Glory, as she's known to everybody in her small Mississippi town.

A former librarian (she reports to have been a fifth-grade library monitor when she heard her calling), blogger, and children's book reviewer, Augusta has devoted her career to getting good books into the hands of young readers. Glory Be (Scholastic, 2012) is her debut novel. And with it, Augusta taps real-life experiences of growing up in small-town Mississippi during the 1960s, creating a captivating middle-grade story that some have called The Help for kids.

Set in 1964 during "Freedom Summer," an effort by civil rights organizations to register African American voters across Mississippi, Glory Be tells the story of 11-year-old Glory, who is counting down the days until she can celebrate her birthday at the local swimming pool. But everything is different this year, with her older sister crazy for Elvis and a new boy in town. And things are getting more complicated with her best friend, Frankie. When the swimming pool is closed for "repairs," Glory doesn't believe it. What follows is a tale of family and growing up in a world that isn't always fair.

Question: You're a Southerner who grew up during the tumultuous Freedom Summer of 1964, when things were changing across the nation but particularly in Mississippi and the Deep South. How much did your experience play into Glory Be? 

Augusta Scattergood: I've always been intrigued by what happened in our country in the '60s and have read a lot about it. But when we were Glory's age, neither I nor any of my friends who lived in small towns in the South were brave enough to speak up like she did. We were pretty much oblivious to the situation. Although we lived in a very segregated world, 11-year-old girls didn't ask many questions then.

In the '60s, we didn't live under a 24-7 newsfeed!

While I worked in a public library under pressure to close and in schools under federal order to desegregate in the late 1960s and early 1970s, not many of Glory's actual experiences in the book came from my own memory.

Recently a fifth-grade boy asked me about "Sixties culture" and how did I use that in my book? (Pretty good question for an 11-year-old!) Now that comes right from my own memory. The Pep Squad, the football, the hair, the clothes, and the music – that part of the book I lived and breathed!

Q: Writers are told to "write what you know." But sometimes when we tackle subjects that are so well-known to us, so dear to our hearts, the burden of getting it right is tremendous. How did it feel writing Glory Be? Did you feel pressure to get it right, or did the process come naturally for you?

AS: I felt a lot of pressure! I hope I got it right. But then again, getting it right is pretty subjective, isn't it?

I especially wanted to write something that would be accessible to younger readers. Many books set in this time and place are not so easily read, discussed and eventually, I hope, understood by younger middle-grade readers.

Q: Glory is a typical almost-12-year-old whose primary concern is making sure the swimming pool is open for her annual birthday party. I think Glory Be succeeds because of this approach – keeping the issues so personal and so appropriate for a child reader to relate to and connect with. Was it hard finding the right angle into your greater idea for Glory Be?

AS: All along, I knew that part of the story. Having read and heard about pools closing, not just in the South but all over the country, I wanted Glory to worry about what might happen to her pool.  And I always envisioned her with an older sister who was pulling away, as a preacher's kid who had the community's eyes constantly watching her, and being cared for by someone she loved.

But, alarmingly, when I first put pen to paper, I thought I was writing a short story about a wedding planner babysitting two bratty sisters who sneaked and played their game of Junk Poker. It got very convoluted. Pretty soon, I  realized I didn't know how to nor did I want to write for grownups!

Q: What do you hope readers take away from Glory Be?

AS: One of the best things about moving from one side of the library shelf to the other, from all my years as a school librarian to seeing kids' and teachers' reactions to my book. Remarkable pictures of a book project in Mississippi and book trailers done by a class in Ohio amaze and delight me. They've really taken Glory Be to heart. That's really all I ask. That kids who read the novel not only learn a little, ask a few more questions, and smile at some parts. Actually, that's quite a bit to ask!

Q: What do you hope to achieve with your writing? And what will we see next from you?

AS: I love writing for middle-grade readers, their teachers and parents, and the generation who lived in the '60s. One thing I always do is remind young readers to talk to that generation. I hope my books help make connections.

Next up? My second middle-grade comes from Scholastic in the fall of 2014. My amazing editor and I are working hard on revisions right now. And I'm beginning to tinker with a third manuscript, also historical, set in the South. About all I can tell you with certainty is that the narrator is a girl named Azalea. And she has friends and family, and enemies. Always need those enemies!

I'm not too great at talking about my stories until I hold the actual book in my hand. Then you can't shut me up.

Marianne Malone Has the Magic Touch With '68 Rooms' Series

Anyone who has been to the Art Institute of Chicago has probably seen – if not fallen in love with – the Thorne Rooms. A collection of 68 unbelievably realistic miniature rooms, they are designed to showcase furniture and styles of various eras in Europe and the United States. When touring this exhibit, it's hard not to wonder what it would be like to walk through this dollhouse-size world. Author Marianne Malone wondered the same thing, and her debut middle-grade novel The Sixty-Eight Rooms is a fantasy adventure set in these very spaces.

The Sixty-Eight Rooms (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2010) was an instant hit with readers and was named a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book and a Parent's Choice Recommended Winner. She followed it up with the sequel Stealing Magic in 2012. And coming this May, she releases the third in the series, The Pirate's Coin. In each book, sixth-graders Ruthie Stewart and Jack Tucker are up for the adventures the Thorne Rooms – and a little magic – have in store.

One of the Thorne Rooms miniatures

Question: What inspired you to set your stories in the Thorne Rooms?

Marianne Malone: I grew up in Chicago (born in Hyde Park, we moved to the suburbs when I was little), and I can’t remember a time that I didn’t know of and love the Thorne Rooms. I am not alone in this. Since The Sixty-Eight Rooms came out, I’ve met people who have had the same experience.  The rooms are enchanting and unique in the world. When I visit the rooms, I see stories unfolding in each room, and when I was a child I wanted to be in them in the worst way. I am writing the books that I would have devoured as a 10-year-old. But you don’t need to have seen the Thorne Rooms in person; anyone who has had a small fort, or a dollhouse, or any kind of secret place can understand the impulse. (And of course, they can see all of the rooms beautifully photographed on the Art Institute website).

One of the Thorne Rooms miniatures

When I had the idea and started writing, I was inspired by Mrs. Thorne herself. Imagine having the tenacity to stick with such an unusual project! She actually made 100 rooms, only 68 of which are in the Art Institute. But it was quite an obsession, which she carried out with such perfection.

Q: How much fun has it been to write each of these books? And will there be more?

MM: I am having so much fun writing these books! The process pulls together my love of the rooms, my love of art history (my college major), and my love of teaching. My love of writing is newfound, as I always considered myself a visual artist. But I’ve discovered that I approach writing from a visual perspective; the stories come to me as images, like movies. I’ve enjoyed the editing process as well, taking the rough cut and polishing and improving it until the prose is the way I want it, and the pace flows from fast to slow and back again in just the right proportions.

Q: Time travel can be tricky to write. And Ruthie and Jack make trips to periods like 1937 Paris, 19th-century South Carolina, as well as 1753 Cape Cod. How did you handle the historical aspects of your story as well as the sci-fi?

MM: Yes! Time travel can be very tricky. I have on occasion given myself headaches trying to keep the details straight with regard to how the time travel works in my stories. I have made a list of rules – about the magic and the time travel – and it’s important to follow them. Young readers will believe the story if the logic of the magic is consistent. I can invent any sort of magic that I want, but I can’t break my own rules.

I do a lot of research to make sure that the historical facts in the books are accurate. It’s wonderful when I have sent Ruthie and Jack to a certain time in history and it just happens to coincide with something unexpected and exciting. In Stealing Magic, for instance, they go back in time to Paris 1937, mid–summer, during the World’s Fair. And then I discovered that Amelia Earhart took her fateful flight at exactly the same time. I had to include that!

Q: It's great to remind kids (and adults) to look for the magic in everyday life. What do you hope kids take away from your stories?

MM: I hope that kids (and adults) read the books first for enjoyment, for that wonderful feeling of being swept off your feet by a story. I think the magic helps because you can’t recreate that in your real life (I haven’t figured out how to, anyway!).

Second, I hope that my books open the doors to museums for readers who might not be familiar with or comfortable in them. My favorite fan mail has come from parents who say that after reading my books, their son or daughter insisted they go to the Art Institute! I do a lot of school visits, and I like to tell students that they don’t have to like everything in a museum, just find the one thing that speaks to them. I guarantee that they will find that something if they look, and it might even be something that changes their life.

Third, I hope that I’ve snuck in just enough history that readers have an urge to learn a little more. I think art history is a wonderful way to introduce anyone to history; any given object can tell a story of where it came from, whose life it was a part of (and it doesn’t have to be "high" art found in a museum – family memorabilia is a great way to start). That is rather magical to me and a little bit like time travel.

Q: What's ahead for you, and for Ruthie and Jack?

MM: The third book in the series will be out in May, The Pirate’s Coin. I’m so excited about this one. In each book, the danger and the complications of time travel have become more consequential for Ruthie and Jack. Plus, there is a pirate!

And as I write this, I am editing the fourth book (still working on the title!), but I am loving this story, too. Just a couple of hints: they not only visit New York City, but Ruthie and Jack stumble upon an old mystery that they solve by going back to early 18th century England.

As for me, I have several ideas for other books I’d like to write both for the middle-grade audience and perhaps slightly younger. I’d really love to try my hand at combining my own story and artwork in a book as well.

When Irish Eyes are Reading: Tomie dePaola's St. Pat's Books

We might as well go ahead and declare Tomie dePaola a national treasure. He's been writing for children for more than 40 years now, illustrating about 250 books and authoring about 100 of them. His best-known titles are the 11 books in the Strega Nona series, for which he won a Caldecott Honor, and the 26 Fairmount Avenue series, for which he won a Newbery Honor. Aside from being able to boast that he's sold more than 15 million books, Tomie can also claim a wall full of accolades.

His work has earned him a Smithson Medal from the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1999, he was honored with a Living Treasure Award from New Hampshire's governor. And the biggie to beat all biggies, in 2011 he was given the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children."

His most recent titles, Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise (Putnam) and Strega Nona's Gift (Nancy Paulsen Books), were published in 2011. Not bad for a storyteller who will turn 79 this September.

With all the celebrating of his Italian heritage in Strega Nona and other titles, it might be easy to forget that Tomie dePaola's other half is Irish. And it's those books that are in the spotlight this week as we approach St. Patrick's Day.

When March 17th rolls around, teachers, librarians, and parents scan the bookshelves in search of good books to share for Ireland's big day. And Tomie's books are among the best: Fin M'Coul, The Giant of Knockmany Hill (Holiday House, 1981) is a rip-snorting example of Irish folklore and witty storytelling. His Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland (Holiday House, 1994) gives a wonderful history of the man behind the holiday, blending Irish superstition with Catholic tradition. Also not to be missed are Tomie's stories from his grandfather, the adorable Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1997) as well as Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2002).

Question: What inspired you to tap your Irish roots and write Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland, the Jamie O'Rourke books, and Fin M'Coul?

Tomie dePaola: When Strega Nona was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book, my Irish American mother said to me, partly joking but ultimately serious, "OK, honey, enough with the Italian. Don't forget you're half Irish." There's nothing like a mother's "nudge" to get the creative juices going.

Irish folktales that are suitable for younger children are literally few and far between. There tends to be a lot of whiskey involved, especially in the tales I researched. (Yeats collected many such folktales.)

I found the stories of Fin M'Coul to be the most child friendly. But doing what a good storyteller is supposed to do, I was able to find funny incidents in a handful of other tales. I then created a typical Irish character directly stolen from my Irish grandfather's stories that he loved to tell me when I was a child. (My English/Irish grandmother referred to these stories as "your" grandfather's lies.)

Hence, the Jamie O'Rourke stories. I can still hear my grandfather's voice saying, "Jamie O'Rourke was the laziest man in all of Ireland."

St. Patrick was a no brainer. I was already doing the lives of saints that I found interesting, and Patrick was a prime candidate.

Q: While your Italian and Irish heritage is clear in your writing, you have also tapped into other cultures and traditions in many other books – from Adelita, A Mexican Cinderella Story to The Legend of Bluebonnet. What do you hope to accomplish with the books you write? And what do you hope young readers take away from your books?

TDP: It's natural that I'd be interested in other cultures because as a child I found out how exciting it was to be the child of two different cultures, Italian and Irish. That sent me reading everything I could of other people's worlds. That stayed with me as I grew.

The only thing I hope to accomplish with my books is to "grab" children's interest, inspire them to be excited about things, to laugh and maybe even cry. In short, to truly touch their lives.

Q: One hundred years from now when readers talk about your books, what do you hope is said about you?

TDP: I just hope 100 years from now, there are books, and mine are among them, and people, especially children, like them.

Author-Illustrator Matthew Cordell Draws on Inspiration

The hugely talented illustrator Matthew Cordell has over 18 books to his name, and more on the way, including tomorrow's release of Gone Fishing (Houghton Mifflin) by Tamera Will Wissinger. And as if that weren't enough to make you green with envy, he is one of the rare birds who can both tell a story as well as draw one, as he has done with Trouble Gum (Feiwel & Friends, 2009) and Another Brother (Feiwel & Friends, 2012). His latest example is Hello! Hello! (Hyperion, 2012), a disarmingly sweet story that just might make you put down your iPad and take notice.

Young Lydia grows frustrated with her digital gadgets, and as the rest of her family keeps tapping away, she follows a leaf out the door and into the wonderful, wide-open world. Her encounters move from a bug to a field of flowers to a menagerie of animals that gets increasingly more ridiculous and exciting. Called back home by her parents, Lydia is able to get them to put their electronica away and share in her adventure. Hello! Hello! received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly, which called it "required reading for any kid with a phone."

Question: My second-grader has been screen savvy since he could extend his pointy finger. And it has been a constant battle ever since to find the right balance between virtual play and the real-world kind. You are a parent, too. What inspired you to write Hello! Hello!?

Matthew Cordell: I got the idea for this book one day way back when my daughter was 2 years old (she’s 4 now). She and I were playing with some of her toys for a while when I was tempted to go to a nearby laptop to check email or Facebook or whatever. I didn’t think she’d even notice (she was only 2 after all). But she did. She actually said, “Daddy, stop checking email and come play.”

First of all, I didn’t even know she knew the word “email” so that was weird enough, but I was totally busted and felt totally guilty. Later, it occurred to me that this scenario must be playing out with families all the time and everywhere. Once I was made aware of it, I started to look for it, and sure enough I saw plenty of parents and kids in places like parks, restaurants, museums, ball games who were attending to devices as much as, if not more than, each other. I knew a picture book (a book that is enjoyed by both parents and children) would be a perfect place to share this story. Or… stage this intervention, if you will.

Q: A variety of recent picture books have taken a whack at our overly techie age. Hello! Hello! succeeds on its sweetness rather than any heavy-handed message or heaping helping of guilt. Was it hard to rein in your message? Or did you know right away how far you wanted to go with the idea?

MC: I do not consider myself a “finger-pointy” kind of guy. And I hope no one else thinks of me this way. I’d never even considered tackling a book with such a distinct message. But I was sure that this story would resound with others like me, and I really felt compelled to tell it. So it was important for me, from day one, not to hit people over the head with a message. I think it helps that the story is told, mostly, with just one word… “hello.” It helps that that the story is told primarily through its pictures. I think it also helps that we don’t dwell on the negative aspects of the theme. The alienation is at the beginning, and pretty brief. If, in the end, it still feels finger-pointy to some, then that’s unfortunate. But the truth of it is, I’m pointing the finger at myself as well, and that’s how this book came to be.

Q: Picture books generally connect with two audiences – young children and the adults who read to them. Who were you trying to reach with Hello! Hello!?

MC: This is one of the most compelling and most difficult things about making picture books. You must please two completely different audiences. If you lean too far in one direction or the other, you are not doing a good job of it. If one makes a book that is rich in irony or sarcasm, the kids simply will not get it. If one makes a book that is too cutesy-kid-friendly, then the grown-ups are turned off. (Although, maybe the kids are too!) It’s a razor-thin fine line that a picture book maker must walk along. Hello! Hello! is absolutely intended for both adults and children. I think it is a book for children to identify with (of course, the central character is a child) and it is a book that parents can also identify with and, I hope, enjoy reading to and with their children.

Q: You are also the illustrator of many other books – some you've written yourself, some written by other children's authors. Do you prefer wearing your author hat to wearing your illustrator one, or are they both equally satisfying?

MC: They are both equally satisfying in their own ways, but it is a very special day to me when I can both write and illustrate a book on my own. To have complete ownership over that book is like gluttonous hog heaven. There is a certain and distinct love I have when collaborating with an author, but I have only been blessed a few times to write and illustrate my own books, and I enjoy that so much.

Q: What's next from you? And what do you hope readers take away from the books you write and illustrate?

MC: This year, I have four books coming out that I’ve illustrated: Ollie and Claire (Philomel, April 2013) by Tiffany Strelitz Haber; Gone Fishing (Houghton Mifflin, March 2013) by Tamera Will Wissinger; Like Bug Juice on a Burger (Amulet, April 2013) by Julie Sternberg; and What Floats in a Moat? (Simon & Schuster, July 2013) by Lynne Berry. Nothing in 2013 (thus far, at least) that I’ve written, but definitely some stuff in works. Fingers crossed!

I hope readers will get a good sense of family in my books. Joy, angst, love, humor… ups and downs all found and experienced within the family. This feels, I guess, kind of vague, but that is really what picture books and shared reading are about to me. Sharing the intricacies and bliss (and sometimes not bliss!) of our lives together as parent and child.