Anita Silvey
An Interview with the Children's Book Expert by Mary Brigid Barrett
Many of us who love reading and books were introduced to the experience by someone we love or loved. Your latest book, 100 Best Books for Children, is dedicated to your grandparents "who were passionate about books." Can you share a particular childhood memory of your grandparents related to books and reading?
When my grandfather disagreed with a book, he would yell at it and sometimes throw it across the room. As you might imagine, that behavior made quite an impression on me. My grandmother filled their home in Marietta, Ohio, with books, and she always took me to the Marietta Public Library. About 15 years ago, I visited that library and felt as though she were holding my hand. I myself have been known to yell at books, throw books, and haunt libraries and bookstores for them. So the apple has not fallen very far from their tree!
Do some of your childhood favorites make the 100 Best list?
Make Way for Ducklings, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and The Diary of Anne Frank all live vividly in my memory. After rereading them, I included them as part of the list. However, some favorites never made the cut, such as Papa Opp and the Galloping Ghost!
In your introduction, you write that you "believe that three stories exist for every book." What are the three stories?
Every book tells a story. Then for every book a behind-the-scenes story exists, the ones that I relate in 100 Best. But the most important story occurs when the child and the book connect. To that end, I've included a reading journal in the back. In it parents or teachers can record what their own child or a classroom thinks and says about a book. The child may want a book read 30 times; they may go to bed with it; they may try to climb into the book. A record of those individual stories will become increasingly precious over time.
The common conception is that children's books are simple and anyone can write them, even rock stars. Can anyone write for children?
No specific career path prepares someone to write for children. Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows) was a banker; Louis Sachar (Holes), a lawyer; John Gardiner (Stone Fox), an engineer. Many of our best books began when mothers, fathers, grandmothers or grandfathers told a story to a child. However, I do believe that our children would be better served today if parents simply ignored the recent avalanche of celebrity books and focused instead on titles of meaning and quality.
The behind the scenes stories you share concerning each book's creation are fascinating. You mention many of the authors' editors by name, and give us a peek into the author/editor relationship. How important is that relationship to the creation of a great book for kids?
Children's books are a great deal like plays or movies. Although everyone focuses on the actors or actresses, a team of people have made those performances possible. I wanted readers of 100 Best to see the people behind-the-scenes of our great books ‚ the editors, art directors, production managers, publishers, and reviewers. All books get created by a team. Usually with our best books, those teams have worked particularly well together.
Do you have a favorite "behind the scenes" story from the many told in your book?
I remained continually amazed by the lengths authors were willing to go: Gary Paulsen experienced everything that happened in his survival work Hatchet; Robert McCloskey kept ducks in his bathtub as models for Make Way for Ducklings; and Marguerite Henry lived with the real Misty of Chincoteague, so she could recreate her. Many of our greatest writers for children had tremendous difficulty getting published. Dr. Seuss was turned down 26-28 times. He was going back to his apartment to burn the manuscript for And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, when he ran into an old Dartmouth friend who had just been named children's book editor of a small press. The friend was searching for books, and Seuss had one. The rest, as they say, is history.
If you were writing about the creation of 100 Best Books for Children, what is the "behind the scenes" story would you report?
Every time I got discouraged in the three-year writing process, something happened to inspire me to keep going. I was visiting editor Susan Hirschman in New York, who was walking me through Else Minarik's Little Bear to show how Minarik constructed the text. The phone rang; Susan said, "I'll let that go"; and we went back to the book. And then, we heard Else Minarik's voice on Susan's answering machine. They had not talked to each other in about thirty years! Susan picked up the phone, and we told Else what we were doing when she called. That day I went back to writing the book with increased vigor.
What is the most important thing that any parent or caretaker can do when it comes to children and reading?
Read to children at least ten minutes a day and find ways for children to have their favorite books at home. Keep reading, even after children have learned how to read. You will not only be giving your children the best possible gift -- educating their minds, increasing their vocabulary, and opening up the possibilities of life -- you will be generating precious memories for everyone.
For further information about Anita Silvey and her work, visit her website at: www.anitasilvey.com
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