Me: Welcome to Bloggin' 'bout Books, Kirby! We're going to talk about Two Bobbies, make no mistake, but first I have to ask you about Hattie Big Sky (which I LOVED) ... I read the book after my mother-in-law raved about it. After I read it, I passed it on to my 94-year-old grandmother, who also loved it. Why do you think the book appeals to so many different generations of readers?

KL: This has been one of the many pleasant surprises with Hattie Big Sky, that its readers range from 9ish to 90ish. I think this story connects with more experienced readers (notice I didn’t say older!) because of their awareness of history; younger readers may focus on Hattie’s struggles to survive and to discover herself. I think this phenomenon also points to something I believe with my whole heart: that the designation, “children’s and young adult literature,” is more about the ages of the characters than the ages of the readers.

Me: Hattie Big Sky is your first and only foray into Young Adult fiction. Why did you choose to write the story for older audiences? How does writing for young adults differ from writing for younger children? Which do you find more difficult? Why?

KL: Ah, well, it’s my only published foray into YA! You haven’t seen the oh-so-many novel manuscripts languishing in my desk drawer. Honestly, I didn’t choose to write for older audiences; I wrote the manuscript that I felt best told the story I wanted to tell. I let my publisher worry about where it fit in the market. In terms of what kind of story is harder or easier – there are easy days of writing and hard days of writing and they have nothing to do with the genre of a story.

Me: I've heard rumors that a sequel to Hattie Big Sky may be in the works. Any word on that?
KL: I panicked when I first began getting emails and letters requesting a sequel to Hattie Big Sky because I thought I had finished that story. But now, after a few years, I’m finding I miss Hattie and want to find out for myself what she’s up to these days. So let’s say I am exploring the possibility of a sequel.

Me: Okay, enough about Hattie Big Sky, let's talk about your new book, Two Bobbies. When did you first hear about Bobbi and Bob Cat, the cat and dog who helped each other survive Hurricane Katrina? What touched you about their story?

KL: I made two trips to the Gulf Coast to help with Katrina clean-up and heard such amazing stories that I knew I wanted to write something about that experience. At the same time, Mary and I were talking over doing a book together. She saw the Bobbies featured on Anderson Cooper 360 and called me immediately. This inspirational story about two friends was the perfect one for us to tell together.

Me: When and why did you decide to make their story into a picture book?

KL: This is such a great question! I think it was partly a gut feeling – the story had such tremendous potential for a powerful meshing of text and art – and partly because this was the first time either of us had written narrative non-fiction and a picture book project seemed just right.

Me: Two Bobbies is co-written by Mary Nethery, whom I hadn't heard of until now. Tell me about her and the whole collaborative process. How does it work? Did you two agree on every aspect of the story or did you have to compromise here and there?

KL: I’m sorry you don’t know Mary’s other books. One of my favorites is Mary Veronica’s Egg, which is a perfect showcase for Mary’s quirky sense of humor and her elegant writing style. You’ll have to be on the lookout for her next book, THE FAMOUS NINI, The Mostly True Story of a Plain White Cat Who Became a Star! , coming out in 2009 from Houghton Mifflin. Mary is a longtime friend and amazing writer who is extraordinarily thoughtful and process-oriented in her work. I am more of a seat-of-the-pants writer. We worked out a great system in which we emailed drafts of the story back and forth during the week (I live near Seattle, WA and Mary lives in Eureka, CA) and then every Friday we had a 4 pm wine chat, during which we talked about the latest draft in detail. We did agree in principal on the essential elements of story but we varied on exactly how to tell it at times. I honestly can’t remember who wrote which sections; we worked hard to find a unified voice. We found collaboration so enjoyable, we are now at work on another narrative nonfiction picture book manuscript.

Me: Both the books I've mentioned so far were inspired by real stories. Where else do you find ideas for your books?

KL: I get asked this question a lot. One thing you may not realize is that writers are essentially observers. When you’re watching and listening (I confess, I eavesdrop!), you can’t help but be astonished at all the good ideas out there. Not every good idea, however, deserves a book and that’s something writers wrestle with all the time.

Me: You've said that books were your best friends while growing up. At what point did you decide you could write your own book? Did you do any writing as a child?

KL: I did lots of writing when I was a kid, mostly really awful poems with forced rhymes. And lots of angsty poetry as a teenager, too. My undergraduate major was Broadcast Communications; I thought I wanted to be a journalist. But I had a face for radio and a voice for the page. I sold some short stories, personal essays and magazine features but it wasn’t until I had children myself that I thought about writing for children. I can remember the exact day that it happened. We went to the library each week and checked out boxfuls of books. One of the books we brought home was Ming Lo Moves the Mountain, by Arnold Lobel. When I finished reading that picture book to my two kids, it was as if a light switch went off inside me and I knew in that instant I had found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: write books that would touch other young readers the way that book touched my children and me.

Me: What new projects do you have in the works? Are you finding any more interesting characters in your family tree to write about?

KL: In addition to a second narrative nonfiction picture book with Mary, I am working on another historical novel, with an 11-year-old main character. I am behind on getting it to my editor so as soon as I finish this interview, I have to get back at it!

Me: Finally, I ask this question of every author I interview, because I'm always fascinated by their answers. How do you write? Do you have a certain time every day when you write or do you compose when the mood strikes? Do you plan out every word or let the words flow as they may? Where do you write? What things must you have by your side in order to write productively (a latte, perhaps?)?

KL: A daily walk and a daily latte are essential to my productivity! Writing is my job so I do write nearly every day, thought it’s harder for me to write when I’m traveling. I have an office in my home (and now have a second wonderful office in our beach house, on Boundary Bay). I’ve found that my muse is as ornery as Violet, the contemptible cow in Hattie Big Sky: If I’m not working, she doesn’t feel like she has to, either. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not a huge planner. I don’t write outlines before I start, but I do try to get a feeling for the main scenes in the book. I generally get down a first draft (a horrible, horrible first draft) and then get out a shovel and dig around to find the one or two things worth keeping.

Me: Thanks so much, Kirby. It's been fun "chatting" with you!

KL: Thank you, Susan. I appreciate your interest in my books and your faithful support of reading in general. You and other book bloggers are like cyberspace Johnny Appleseeds, planting a passion for books everywhere you go.

If you love Junie B. Jones, you're going to be thrilled to meet Clementine, star of Sara Pennypacker's series of books for younger readers (aged 7-10). She's every bit as spunky as Junie B., but less obnoxious (you gotta love that). My 6-year-old daughter (a big Junie B. fan) loved Clementine so much that she read this book twice in one evening! Imagine my delight when I glanced at the author's very cute website this morning and discovered that she's written not one, but 3 books about this irrepressible 8-year-old. Looks like I'm going to be visiting the "P" aisle in the children's section of the library sometime very soon.

So, The Talented Clementine is the second book in the series. It opens with an announcement by Clementine's teacher: To raise money for the school, the 4th and 5th graders will be holding a talent show. The rest of the kids are excited, but Clementine is "N-O-T, not" (2). All her classmates have acts they are dying to perform, but she has a problem - she has no talents. Her friend Margaret has a skill for every letter of the alphabet - Clementine can't even do sitting properly! What's a girl to do?

Since moving to Egypt to avoid the show is out of the question, Clementine embarks on a search for her special talent. Juggling proves disastrous, tap-dancing dangerous, and sticking a leash on her brother isn't a very big hit with the parents. Her father reminds her that she's good at math, art and noticing things, but none of those things are very performable. As the day of the talent show comes closer, Clementine still can't figure out what to do. It's only when she sees a need that she realizes she can fill it with her own unique talents.

Clementine endures plenty of bumps and bruises on her search, which makes for a funny, fast-paced read. Although our heroine's voice sounds familiar (think Junie B.), it's still fresh enough to be engaging. Her hilarious observations will make you smile, if not laugh out loud. The book ends on a sweet note, creating the perfect finale for this fun, fulfilling story. I loved it.

P.S. I always hate it when reviewers label something "laugh-out-loud funny," because I rarely find myself guffawing audibly when I read. So, here's my evidence that this book really is that funny:

"No, thank you," I said, extra politely. "What I'd like is to go to Mrs. Rice's office."

"Clementine, you don't need to go see the principal," my teacher said. "You're not in any trouble."

"Well, it's just a matter of time," I told him. (3)

"It's a surprise," my mouth said without me even telling it to. Which was not a lie, because if I did anything at all up on that stage next weekend, it would be a pretty big surprise, all right.

And then I pressed my mouth into a ruler line for the rest of the bus ride so it couldn't say anymore surprises" (16).

I don't know why my teacher bothered with sending Maria and Norris to the nurse. All she ever does when you go in to tell her how sick you are is roll her eyes. She always looks bored, as if she's just killing time until a really good disease hits the school. Maria and Norris could have head lumps the size of toasters, and all our nurse would do is hand them a frozen sponge. (45)

See what I mean? Funny. Cute. Irresistible. Read the books.

Amen.

Grade: A

Dang, now I've got that song running through my head: Don't know much about history/Don't know much biology/But I do know that I love you, and I know that if you loved me, too, what a wonderful world this would be. I think I see American Idol in my future ... hee hee.

Anyway ... I received two copies of Don't Know Much About Anything Else by Kenneth C. Davis by mistake, so Davis' publicist has authorized me to give one away. Yay! The book is one in a series about all kinds of subjects, and features random facts about everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Flag Day to Ohio. I've only skimmed the information, but it looks fun and interesting.

So, what do you have to do to snag your very own copy? Just leave a comment on this post telling me about one subject you "Don't Know Much About." Comments must be in by midnight on September 30. Good luck!

I've often wondered if God forgot to give me the geneaology gene so prevalent in other Mormons. I mean, my mom and her twin sister haunt cemeteries, spend hours on the computer, and pore over musty records just to find the names and dates of our ancestors. For me, that's drudgery. I'm much more interested in the stories behind the names and numbers. Give me a journal or a biography or a historical novel - a story - and I'm in heaven. Laurence Yep, Newberry Honor-winning children's author, seems to agree with me. In the introduction to The Dragon's Child, he says, "Historical fiction is more than a record of dates and statistics: it should be a dialogue with the dead" (ix). This is what intrigues me - the conversations, the experiences, the stories of people long gone.
When Yep's niece presented him with transcripts of interviews taken with his father, he couldn't resist entering his own "dialogue with the dead." The papers recorded an interview conducted when Gim Lew Yep was a 10-year-old boy seeking entrance into the U.S. At that time, many Chinese men immigrated to America to earn money for their families in China. Each time the men travelled between the two countries, they had to pass a test before they were allowed back into the U.S. According to Yep, the immigrants had to answer detailed questions about their families, villages, and neighbors. In the Afterword of The Dragon's Child, he explains:
"To understand just how detailed these records were, try drawing a map of the block on which you live. List all the people in each house and what they do, and also list all their pets. Then record the births, deaths, and marriages of all your immediate family - including uncles and aunts, parents, brothers, sisters, and grandparents - for three generations and describe what the current living relatives do and where they live. Finally, write down how many windows and doors the houses have and in which direction they face. That will give you some idea how much a Chinese immigrant was expected to know" (113-114).
The purpose of these tests was, of course, to prevent Chinese people from settling permanently in America. However racist these exams were, the recovery of the transcripts granted Yep the opportunity to "speak" with his father about his experience coming to America. As a result of this conversation, he created The Dragon's Child, a fictional look at his father's fight to get to the place the Chinese referred to as The Golden Mountain. Yep wrote the book for children (ages 8-12), but it offers valuable insights for us all.