Kate DiCamillo's Blog, page 41

An American Goldfinch has appeared in my front yard. He arrives each morning an...

An American Goldfinch has appeared in my front yard. He arrives each morning and hangs around until early afternoon. He sits in the branches of my serviceberry tree and looks through the window at me. At first, I greeted him as Mr. Finch, but now things have become less formal and I call him Atticus.
His gaze is direct, dark-eyed. I'm certain that he wants to tell me something; so every morning, I put on my slippers and go and stand on the front porch.
I look at the bird.
He looks bac...

I have had many heated arguments with various and assorted people about whether...

I have had many heated arguments with various and assorted people about whether or not stories can change lives. In the end, all I can say for sure is that stories changed me. So I am thrilled to have Because of Winn-Dixie be one of thirty books that will be handed out during the first World Book Night in the United States (www.us....

I was twenty years old. I was working at Disney's Epcot Center. I was walking...

I was twenty years old. I was working at Disney's Epcot Center. I was walking down the exit ramp from Spaceship Earth amid a flow of people when a little girl, seven or eight years old, grabbed hold of my hand. She was talking about what she had seen on the ride ("And then there were all of these stars all of a sudden. Did you see the stars?"). It was obvious that she thought she was holding her mother's hand. I didn't want to startle her, so I walked with her. I listened without saying...

I often get asked for writing advice. What I say varies from one time to the ne...

I often get asked for writing advice. What I say varies from one time to the next, but I never fail to mention the importance of reading. You can't become a writer without reading incessantly, obsessively, passionately. So when I sit down with a book (still one of the greatest pleasures I know) I tell myself: "This is part of my job." And then I just . . . disappear. I immerse myself in language, story, words. I underline. I take notes. I pay attention with the whole of myself. All ...

Literary Lights Award

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I was at the Boston Public Library on Sunday to receive the Literary Lights Award and here is the little speech I gave . . .

 

            When you write books for a living, you get asked a lot of questions.

            Some of these questions are: where do you get your ideas?  

            How did you become a writer?

            Did you always want to be a writer?

            And: why do you write?

A few weeks ago, I was asked to answer a different sort of question, a very specific sort of...

Your Questions Answered: Part 2

Read here for answers to more of the questions you asked!

 

 

Melissa Tison

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and could only take one book with you, which one would it be?

 

Just one?  Really?  An anthology of poetry.  Maybe.  I love Garrison Keillor's poetry anthologies.

 

Denise Janssen

Kate,did you ever have a defining moment in your life when you decided to give up a job that was paying the bills so you could have more time for writing? Or was writing something that always...

Your Questions Answered - Part One

From the Candlewick team: If your question isn't answered here, stay tuned for another group of answers later this week!

 

Jennifer Ruth Malmquist

What ever happened to the Edward Tulane movie? My son and I were so excited to see it.

 

Edward is still optioned for the movies.  And I believe it will happen.  And I will be excited to see it, too!

  

Emma O'Brien

Why did you specifically write for children, would you ever write a book for adults and what are you working on at the moment?

 

I love writing...

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Airport Baby

 A few years ago I was at the airport in Seattle and ahead of me in the security line was a man with a baby girl, a bottle, a pacifier, a diaper bag, a backpack and a stroller. The man was emptying his pockets and kicking the diaper bag forward and taking off his belt and talking to the baby. He was sweating. I said, "Can I help?" And he said, "Oh, please. Thank you." And he handed me the baby. I said to her, "Hi, you can call me Aunt Kate." She smiled at me. Everything slowed down in the best possible kind of way. What was I supposed to be doing? What was I worried about? What was I rushing toward? Nothing, nothing, nothing. My only job in the universe was to hold this child and smile at her and have her smile back at me. There was nothing else. I can't tell you how many times since then I have thought about that baby, that father, that moment . . . what a gift it was to be trusted like that, what it felt like to be suspended in that light.

Your Questions Answered! 03-25-11

Q: If you could speak any language fluently by tomorrow, what would it be? Why? (Claire Certo)

A: Italian.  Because I love the sound of it.  And because my grandparents spoke it.  And because it is the language of *food.*

 

Q: Do you like cows? (Danielle Da Cowlover)

A: In theory, yes.  I have never known one up close and personal.

 

Q: Are you participating in any way in the Minneapolis Childrens Theater Company's presentation of Mercy Watson to the Rescue? How do you feel about having that book on stage? (Our family can hardly wait!) (Kara Root)

A: I'm letting the professionals handle the adaptation (I don't know anything about writing for the stage), but I can hardly wait either.  

 

Q: What is your earliest memory? (Sheila Grossman)

A: Of sitting in a blue plastic bathtub.  There were pink tiles in the bathroom.  There was sun coming in through a frosted window.  

 

Q: What do enjoy more, the art or the craft of writing? (Kelly Bartlett)

A: Eek.  I guess what I like best is *rewriting.*  That comes down on the craft side, right?

 

Q: How can I get you to come visit my school when you come to Memphis?! I would do anything!! Do you cry when you write scenes like Abilene's daughter finding Edward again? I do every time I read it! I always have to warn my students that I am not crazy beforehand! (Sara Darling Casey)

 

A: I did cry when I was writing that scene.  And I cry whenever I read it out loud.  It's embarrassing.    I am told I do not have time to schedule any additional appearances in Memphis, but I will be at Davis Kidd on Perkins Ext. in Memphis on Friday, May 13th at 5 PM.  Come say hello!

 

Q: What percent of what you write ends up in a published book and what percent is "practice"? (Elisabeth Brown Hendricks)

A: Wow.  That's a tough one.  I tend to overwrite in the beginning and then whittle down as I go.  Each draft becomes shorter as I try to polish and tighten it.  So, I guess I probably lose about 30 percent of what I started out with.  That said, *most* of what I write is never published at all.

 

Q: Do you ever go back and read your own books? or, have you ever heard anyone else read aloud excerpts from your books? I make-up a "voice" for the different characters when I read the books aloud to my son. I always wonder if you would approve of the "voice" I have given them. (Wendy Cohee Hester)

A: I only read bits and pieces of my books once they're published.  I've heard teachers and librarians and parents read some of my words aloud and it's pretty thrilling to me.  I bet your voices are great.  And I hereby bestow my approval.  Thank you for reading aloud.

 

Q: You seem quite sensitive to human pain and write so emotionally. How do you protect yourself or do you, from being swallowed up by it? Or do u live your life like a turtle without a shell? PS- my children and i have had wonderful and important times reading your books. Thank You. (Colleen S. Williams)

A: Oh, I've got a shell, and I retreat into quite a bit.  But I can never resist sticking my head back out.  There's so much beauty in the world.  I'm glad to be here.

 

Q: Hi Kate, Other than you, of course, who was your Mom's favorite author? My Mom is 70yrs. old and loves your books. At first, I bought them for her and she told me I HAD to read them.....smart woman.

A: I love your mom!  Tell her I said "hey."  Let's see, my mother's favorite author . . . probably Beverly Cleary.  She loved *Ribsy.* And the Ramona books.  My mother liked to laugh.  Those books did the trick.

 

Q: When's a new [book] coming out?!:) hopefully soon. (Kambree Anderson)

A: Um, let's see.  We'll have a new Bink and Gollie coming out next year.  And this novel I am working on will come out . . . sometime.  I'm working feverishly!

 

Q: These questions are from my 9 year old daughter who loves your books: Why do you always write about animals? Which is your favourite character? (Kendra Jory)

A: I write about animals because I love animals.  And they just keep on finding their way into my books.  And my favorite character?  Eek.  That's another hard one.  Winn-Dixie, maybe.  Or Despereaux.  

 

Q: Kate, what do you feel is the most iconic symbol for SPRING? Woof to you! (Pat Sharon)

A: I love this question.  Spring.  It's a good day to consider it, isn't it?  The curled leaf ("nature's first green is gold; her earliest leaf's a flower"--Frost) is a pretty good symbol for spring, isn't it?

 

Q: How did you create the character Roscurro from The Tale of Desperaux? Our society often sees "villains" as bad through and through. But, you show the reader his propensity for good and his decision to hurt. It makes me think we all struggle with those sides as human beings. (Denise Janssen)

A: I think we all do struggle with those sides, so it wasn't hard to imagine my way into Roscuro's broken heart. 

 

Q: What inspires you to write? (Carmela Lukacs)

A: I love the world, and I struggle to make sense of it.  And telling stories helps me to do that.

 

Q: What do you think about Joseph Campbell, the mythologist? (Fiona Shirreffs)

A: I read Campbell in college and I liked him.  Maybe I should go back and re-read, huh?

 

Q: Hi Wonderful Kate....my 4th grade students and I are wondering about the Edward Tulane movie? We found online info that said there is a movie that would be released March ? 2009. Since that's 2 years ago now, we're wondering what you can tell us about that. We're writing letters to you right now. The kiddos are learning some word processing skills and wanted to show you their typing! We hope to mail them out this week. Thank you for all you do to turn kids on to reading! (Karen O'Shaughnessy)

A: I look forward to those letters.  And the Edward movie might still happen.  Don't give up hope. Stay tuned.  And thank you.