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Kids' Q&AJudy Sierra and Marc BrownDescribe your latest project.
Judy Sierra: Born to Read is a tale in rhyme about a boy named Sam who decides when he is a teeny-tiny baby that books will be a huge part of his life. He reads nonfiction books in order to solve practical problems and accomplish amazing feats. He even tames a baby giant by reading aloud from his favorite picture books.
I wrote Born to Read as a companion to Wild about Books. I was hoping, of course, that Marc Brown would like the manuscript so much that he would take off his gardening gloves and rush to the drawing board. He did, and the resulting art is spectacular!
Marc Brown: I didn't think I would ever have a chance to illustrate a better story than Wild about Books, but Judy proved me wrong. I love illustrating Judy's stories because they leave so much room for my imagination and the rhyme is so much fun to read aloud.
Judy Sierra: It's funny that you ask this question. When my mother started reading fantasy books to me, I was convinced that the stories were real. I searched around the roots of every tree in the neighborhood for a rabbit hole so that I could go to Wonderland. I probed the depths of closets in the homes of my elderly relatives for a gateway to Narnia. I was ready to be swept away to Oz, and daydreamed of the adventures I would have there. Nowadays, I would choose to live in a tale of true adventure — I'd have liked to have traveled with Lewis and Clark, for example.
Introduce one other author/illustrator you think people should read, and suggest a good book with which to start.
Describe your most memorable teacher. Marc Brown: Mr. Ratburn (real name concealed for fear of legal action), my seventh grade Algebra teacher. He was so memorable that he wound up being a character in my Arthur books.
Offer a favorite sentence or passage from another writer. "The time has come," the Walrus said,
How did the last good book you read end up in your hands? Marc Brown: A friend sent it to me: The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
What do you do for relaxation?
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Judy Sierra: I wanted to be a maker of books. I thought that one person did all the work, from writing and illustrating to binding and shipping. I also wanted to be a dress designer and world traveler. When I was nine, I drew up plans for a flying house with a sewing room on the bottom floor, a library on the middle floor, and living quarters on the top floor, so that I could pursue all three endeavors at once. I wish I lived in a house like that today, because I find it difficult to write when I am away from home.
If you could be someone else, who would that be, and why?
Why do you write books for kids? Judy Sierra: Before I began writing for children, I was a children's librarian, storyteller and puppeteer. I always used folktales and poetry in my work, but I could never find enough good stories and poems in the library. So I decided to write my own. In my books, I try to create small, exciting worlds that take children away from the everyday.
÷ ÷ ÷ Judy Sierra's Wild about Books won the E. B. White Read-Aloud Award. She is also the author of Mind Your Manners, B. B. Wolf, Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie, and Beastly Rhymes to Read After Dark. She lives in Oakland, California.
Marc Brown's illustrations for Wild about Books won him many accolades and honors. His popular books and television show about Arthur the aardvark have brought him fame throughout the world. He lives in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
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