FAQs 

How did you start writing children’s books?

I never imagined writing children's books until I heard a talk by picture book author and illustrator Uri Shulevitz. He explained that a picture book is like a small theater. I said to myself, “I know a whole lot about small theaters—puppet theaters. I should write a picture book!” I would think of each one as a puppet show. The words would be the script, and the page turns would be the entrances and exits of characters and the changes of scene.

     I took classes in writing for children and within a year I’d sold the manuscript that would become my first picture book, The Elephant's Wrestling Match, illustrated by Brian Pinkney.

Is it fun being a children's book author?

     Many parts of being a children's book author are lots of fun. For example, even though I'm a shy person, I love standing on stage and sharing my books to a room full of teachers or a school auditorium filled with kids. And of course signing a book contract or winning a book award are thrilling. On the other hand, creating a book that kids will want to hear and read over and over? That's a long and difficult process.

How do you get your ideas?

     I’ve been asked so often where authors get their ideas that finally, a few years ago, I wrote a book about how a very famous author got his: Imagine That! How Dr. Seuss Wrote ‘The Cat in the Hat.’

Ideas for books arrive in different ways. Sometimes I give myself a challenge, for example, I wondered if I could I write a funny, exciting story about a rather boring subject, good manners. That challenge resulted in Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf, illustrated by J. Otto Seibold. Later I wrote another book on manners, Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur (which takes place in a grocery store), illustrated by Tim Bowers.

    The idea for my bestselling book, Wild About Books, came from a library poster that showed wild animals reading books. "How did they learn to read?" I asked myself. "And where did they get all those books?" I wrote the title in my idea notebook, but it took me five years to come up with just the right story—and half a year to rhyme it .

What were your favorite books as a child?

    As a preschooler, my favorite books were collections of poetry—the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose, and The Golden Book of Poetry. I asked to hear the poems so often that I knew every one by heart long before I could read.

     Later on, I read and re-read the Oz books and Nancy Drew mysteries. I devoured books from the school library and the public library. My favorite of all favorites was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

Which picture books inspired you as a writer?

     I was inspired by the picture books that made me a read-aloud star when I worked at the public library. Some favorites were Maurice Sendak's Pierre, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, and also the folktale picture books of Gerald McDermott and Ashley Bryan.

What are you working on now?

I just finished painting a set of kamishibai illustrations for my husband to use with his tabletop story theater. I love drawing and painting, and making my own one-of-a-kind books.