Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 61
September 2, 2015
Proust Questionnaire: Kidlit Edition, round 2
Fifty kidlit authors and illustrators answer a Vanity Fair-style “Proust Questionnaire” (i.e. short to read, long on insight). Same 10 questions for all (plus, for some, a wild card 11th of their choosing.) The series intro explains more and lists the participants.
Here are the next five:
Samantha Berger
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Speaking and owning the truth, even when it’s unpopular or scary. Also filing paperwork all organized-like.
What is your greatest strength?
Letting humor reign supreme even when the circumstances are supremely not funny.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
My unwavering commitment and devotion to karaoke.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
By rescuing a terrifying, fang-filled, shaggy, poisonous spider, and releasing him/her back into the wild. Or maybe it was just a daddy longlegs.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Traveling the world. And drinking Pellegrino.
What is your most treasured possession?
Journals and photographs. Now kids, let me tell you what a “photograph” is…
What was your big break?
The time Claudia Cohl hired me as an editor at Scholastic. Sometimes all it takes is one person to believe in you. Either that, for opening for the Beastie Boys in 1985.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Rescuing animals.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Jim Henson.
What is your motto?
“Every day, do some work, get some exercise, and do something fabulous.”
WILD CARD: If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
Bugs Bunny.
Louise Borden
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Courage.
What is your greatest strength?
Belief that I can reach a creative goal.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Maybe…positive energy.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
When I had to help an injured woman until the life squad arrived.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Staying at beautiful hotels.
What is your most treasured possession?
Books, and stones from travels in Europe.
What was your big break?
After publishing seven or eight books, I had a manuscript accepted by the legendary Margaret K. McElderry.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Personally: raising our wonderful three kids. Creatively: piecing together the unknown story of Margret and H. A. Rey’s escape from Paris.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Sting.
What is your motto?
“Face the sun.”
WILD CARD: Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to draw buildings.
Nick Bruel
What is the trait you most admire in others?
A sense of humor.
What is your greatest strength?
No comment. Wait…I can juggle. Does that count?
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Most of my friends don’t know that I can juggle.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
At ILA 2015, I took it upon myself to initiate a conversation with the owners of The Ayn Rand Foundation booth. I wanted to see how honest they would be about Ms. Rand’s philosophy regarding the role of public schools at a conference attended almost entirely by public school teachers. They were surprisingly forthright in telling me that their utopian worldview of a society based on Ms. Rand’s objectivist philosophy simply didn’t allow for the existence of public schools at all. That’s when our conversation turned into a rhetorical equivalent of pro wrestling, and I felt like Andre the Giant up against the Olsen twins. It was fun.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My framed original art by MAD Magazine’s Don Martin.
What is your most treasured possession?
Possibly my copy of Different Dances signed by Shel Silverstein.
What was your big break?
Selling my first book to Roaring Brook. Eleven years later, and I’ve had the same publisher and same editor—Neal Porter—ever since.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My wife and I surviving a two-year ordeal of adopting our daughter, including the 25-hour trip back from Vietnam with a 9-month-old baby.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Groucho Marx.
What is your motto?
“Happiness lies not in having what you want, but in wanting what you have.” I first heard this on an episode of The Abbott and Costello Show.
WILD CARD: How would you like to die?
I don’t care, so long as the words “horrified onlookers” don’t appear in my obituary.
Michael Buckley
What is the trait you most admire in others?
The ability to admire me.
What is your greatest strength?
Imagination, and then, maybe hmm…I don’t know. I can’t think of anything.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Super speed, flight. I’ve led my friends to believe I have special abilities. They’re not terribly bright people.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Every morning when I open up my email and realize I have a zillion Q&As to fill out, I remind myself that I actually do have special abilities.
What is your greatest extravagance?
The belief that someday I will win the Newbery Award. Yeah, I know. It’s ridiculous.
What is your most treasured possession?
My treasure map.
What was your big break?
Abrams purchased The Sisters Grimm almost ten years ago. It changed my life completely. Before that, I think it was winning the thirty-meter dash during my fourth grade Field Day. It was all downhill after that.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My wife and I taught our son to ride a bike. Maybe it’s not climbing a mountain or winning an award, but it felt pretty amazing watching him pedaling on his own.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, me when I was 21.
What is your motto?
“Let me explain why your motto is ridiculous.”
WILD CARD: How would you like to die?
Saving Hogwarts from Voldemort.
Matthew Cordell
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Modesty.
What is your greatest strength?
Patience.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
I asked my family; my wife said farting and my daughter (she’s 6) told me to tell you that her greatest strength is fencing. So, um, yeah.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Last weekend, I tried several times to do a back flip into a swimming pool. When I was a kid, I would’ve been scared, but now I just went for it. It wasn’t pretty and I landed smack on my back every time, but I freaking went for it, man.
What is your greatest extravagance?
The wife and I love to buy (whenever possible) original art, prints, and posters from favorite artists and illustrators. The most we’ve spent was for a signed Sendak print. Or a Howard Finster one. Maybe it was a tie.
What is your most treasured possession?
A Swiss Army knife my wife and kids gave me on Father’s Day a couple of years back. It has an inscription that reads “Romy & Dean’s Dad.”
What was your big break?
Getting my first picture book (as illustrator) published with my wife, author Julie Halpern. Toby and the Snowflakes, Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Marrying my lovely wife and being able to have our two amazing kids. Family.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
I’m going to say Louis Prima. I bet he would’ve been fun to sing with.
What is your motto?
Whenever my daughter is up in my face grabbing on me or complaining about something, I often say, “Back it up or crack it up!” It doesn’t really make sense and that’s not really my motto, but let’s go with that.
WILD CARD: If you were to die and could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A lion. King of beasts, lots of naps, and life without any of the annoying human stuff.
Here are the next five:
Samantha Berger
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Speaking and owning the truth, even when it’s unpopular or scary. Also filing paperwork all organized-like.
What is your greatest strength?
Letting humor reign supreme even when the circumstances are supremely not funny.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
My unwavering commitment and devotion to karaoke.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
By rescuing a terrifying, fang-filled, shaggy, poisonous spider, and releasing him/her back into the wild. Or maybe it was just a daddy longlegs.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Traveling the world. And drinking Pellegrino.
What is your most treasured possession?
Journals and photographs. Now kids, let me tell you what a “photograph” is…
What was your big break?
The time Claudia Cohl hired me as an editor at Scholastic. Sometimes all it takes is one person to believe in you. Either that, for opening for the Beastie Boys in 1985.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Rescuing animals.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Jim Henson.
What is your motto?
“Every day, do some work, get some exercise, and do something fabulous.”
WILD CARD: If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
Bugs Bunny.
Louise Borden
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Courage.
What is your greatest strength?
Belief that I can reach a creative goal.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Maybe…positive energy.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
When I had to help an injured woman until the life squad arrived.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Staying at beautiful hotels.
What is your most treasured possession?
Books, and stones from travels in Europe.
What was your big break?
After publishing seven or eight books, I had a manuscript accepted by the legendary Margaret K. McElderry.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Personally: raising our wonderful three kids. Creatively: piecing together the unknown story of Margret and H. A. Rey’s escape from Paris.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Sting.
What is your motto?
“Face the sun.”
WILD CARD: Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to draw buildings.
Nick Bruel
What is the trait you most admire in others?
A sense of humor.
What is your greatest strength?
No comment. Wait…I can juggle. Does that count?
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Most of my friends don’t know that I can juggle.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
At ILA 2015, I took it upon myself to initiate a conversation with the owners of The Ayn Rand Foundation booth. I wanted to see how honest they would be about Ms. Rand’s philosophy regarding the role of public schools at a conference attended almost entirely by public school teachers. They were surprisingly forthright in telling me that their utopian worldview of a society based on Ms. Rand’s objectivist philosophy simply didn’t allow for the existence of public schools at all. That’s when our conversation turned into a rhetorical equivalent of pro wrestling, and I felt like Andre the Giant up against the Olsen twins. It was fun.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My framed original art by MAD Magazine’s Don Martin.
What is your most treasured possession?
Possibly my copy of Different Dances signed by Shel Silverstein.
What was your big break?
Selling my first book to Roaring Brook. Eleven years later, and I’ve had the same publisher and same editor—Neal Porter—ever since.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My wife and I surviving a two-year ordeal of adopting our daughter, including the 25-hour trip back from Vietnam with a 9-month-old baby.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Groucho Marx.
What is your motto?
“Happiness lies not in having what you want, but in wanting what you have.” I first heard this on an episode of The Abbott and Costello Show.
WILD CARD: How would you like to die?
I don’t care, so long as the words “horrified onlookers” don’t appear in my obituary.
Michael Buckley
What is the trait you most admire in others?
The ability to admire me.
What is your greatest strength?
Imagination, and then, maybe hmm…I don’t know. I can’t think of anything.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Super speed, flight. I’ve led my friends to believe I have special abilities. They’re not terribly bright people.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Every morning when I open up my email and realize I have a zillion Q&As to fill out, I remind myself that I actually do have special abilities.
What is your greatest extravagance?
The belief that someday I will win the Newbery Award. Yeah, I know. It’s ridiculous.
What is your most treasured possession?
My treasure map.
What was your big break?
Abrams purchased The Sisters Grimm almost ten years ago. It changed my life completely. Before that, I think it was winning the thirty-meter dash during my fourth grade Field Day. It was all downhill after that.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My wife and I taught our son to ride a bike. Maybe it’s not climbing a mountain or winning an award, but it felt pretty amazing watching him pedaling on his own.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, me when I was 21.
What is your motto?
“Let me explain why your motto is ridiculous.”
WILD CARD: How would you like to die?
Saving Hogwarts from Voldemort.
Matthew Cordell
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Modesty.
What is your greatest strength?
Patience.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
I asked my family; my wife said farting and my daughter (she’s 6) told me to tell you that her greatest strength is fencing. So, um, yeah.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Last weekend, I tried several times to do a back flip into a swimming pool. When I was a kid, I would’ve been scared, but now I just went for it. It wasn’t pretty and I landed smack on my back every time, but I freaking went for it, man.
What is your greatest extravagance?
The wife and I love to buy (whenever possible) original art, prints, and posters from favorite artists and illustrators. The most we’ve spent was for a signed Sendak print. Or a Howard Finster one. Maybe it was a tie.
What is your most treasured possession?
A Swiss Army knife my wife and kids gave me on Father’s Day a couple of years back. It has an inscription that reads “Romy & Dean’s Dad.”
What was your big break?
Getting my first picture book (as illustrator) published with my wife, author Julie Halpern. Toby and the Snowflakes, Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Marrying my lovely wife and being able to have our two amazing kids. Family.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
I’m going to say Louis Prima. I bet he would’ve been fun to sing with.
What is your motto?
Whenever my daughter is up in my face grabbing on me or complaining about something, I often say, “Back it up or crack it up!” It doesn’t really make sense and that’s not really my motto, but let’s go with that.
WILD CARD: If you were to die and could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A lion. King of beasts, lots of naps, and life without any of the annoying human stuff.
September 1, 2015
Proust Questionnaire: Kidlit Edition, round 1
They shared their superhero costumes (2012).
They read aloud bad reviews...of their own books (2014).
They saw their characters collide in (phony) merged sequels (2014).
Now authors and illustrators of books for young people have come together for yet another non-paying gig, this time to bare their souls via 10 short, powerful questions. Same 10 for all, plus an optional 11th wild card of their choosing.
You haven’t read kidlit interviews like these before. But you have read interviews like these before, if you’ve read Vanity Fair—specifically the last page, The Proust Questionnaire.
Author Q&As often veer into heavily trodden territory (where do you get ideas, what is your writing process, who is your favorite author, etc.). And they often focus only our latest work, not our broader outlook (or our quirks). I find the Proust questionnaire to be refreshingly different, not to mention humanizing. Bonus: very quick to read.
The 50 creators (responses unveiled in 10 installments of five each over the next nine days):
Tony Abbott David Lubar Tom Angleberger Maryann Macdonald Jonathan Auxier * Jeff Mack Avi * Scott Magoon Cece Bell Wendy Mass Samantha Berger Meghan McCarthy Louise Borden * Barbara McClintock * Nick Bruel Richard Michelson Michael Buckley Marissa Moss Matthew Cordell Pam Muñoz Ryan * Mike Curato * Marc Tyler Nobleman Katie Davis Nora Raleigh Baskin Julia DeVillers Susanna Reich Marla Frazee Aaron Reynolds * Liz Garton Scanlon Tammi Sauer Caroline Hickey * Andrew Smith Jenni Holm * Tanya Lee Stone Susan Hood * Lauren Tarshis * Laurie Keller Chris Tebbetts Daniel Kirk Terry Trueman Michelle Knudsen Deborah Underwood Kirby Larson * Audrey Vernick Tara Lazar Emma Walton Hamilton Kelly Light * Hans Wilhelm Loren Long Jonah Winter *
* = new to my madness (i.e. did not appear in any of the earlier experiments)
The first five:
Tony Abbott
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Silence.
What is your greatest strength?
Not being around much.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
My whimsy.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
When I stayed a night in a hospital with a family member.
What is your greatest extravagance?
An 1845 copy of A Christmas Carol.
What is your most treasured possession?
My daughters.
What was your big break?
Meeting Patricia Reilly Giff and learning to write from her.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My tragically flawed book about race.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Emmylou Harris.
What is your motto?
“Just do the thing and then not be around much.”
Tom Angleberger
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Clear-headedness. Or maybe even better: foresight. I never seem to be able to look ahead at all and see what the reaction is going to be to my actions. Whether it’s a chess move or throwing a pillow at someone who’s not looking.
What is your greatest strength?
Throwing pillows at people who are not looking.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
My friends would turn this into a chance to mock me by going “HMMMMM” really loudly then pretending to scratch their heads.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Tiny toys.
What is your most treasured possession?
Our house is like a big Cece Bell creation that you can walk around in. She has done something amazing to just about all of it.
What was your big break?
Getting noticed by Caryn Wiseman, who has been my agent for 10 years! Without her I was ready to quit.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Getting noticed by Cece Bell.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Jerry Reed. “East Bound and Down”!
What is your motto?
“This is already so screwed up it won’t matter if I break it.”
WILD CARD: What is your moment of perfect happiness?
There’s that moment when the problems with your book are solved by some new idea and there’s this huge relief that the book isn’t going to be a big failure. You’ve done it! You’ve still got tons of work to do, but you’ve done it. There’s a similar moment that comes when working on Rubik’s Cube variants.
Jonathan Auxier
What is the trait you most admire in others?
At first I wanted to say intelligence, but then I thought of all the intelligent people who I don’t admire. So it’s really some kind of mixture of intelligence and humility…which I might call “self-awareness.”
What is your greatest strength?
I am pretty principled insofar as I am very willing to do difficult or uncomfortable things because of what I believe. (Note: this does not make me fun to live with!)
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
When people introduce me to others, they often observe that I’m one of the more “creative” people they know. Also, I have some pretty solid yo-yo skills!
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Going back to the “principled” thing, I have surprised myself many times by walking away from opportunities and situations that others would think are no-brainers.
What is your greatest extravagance?
When we moved into our house, there was a big back room that we converted into a library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I made the shelves, which took months and was a huge pain in the neck, but the results are pretty wonderful. That room, and the books in it, give me a ridiculous amount of joy.
What is your most treasured possession?
If you’re talking about physical objects, it would probably have to be my journals.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I don’t know if it counts as an “achievement,” but I think convincing my wife to marry me is one of smartest moves of my life. She’s awesome. (See next question.)
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
I asked my wife this question, and she said Kermit the Frog, which is a brilliant answer. I’m stealing it for the purposes of this questionnaire.
What is your motto?
It’s less a motto than a single word, but I’m a big proponent of anagnorisis.
Avi
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Kindness.
What is your greatest strength?
Imagination.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Work.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Becoming a parent.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Books.
What is your most treasured possession?
My wife’s love.
What was your big break?
Winning back-to-back Newbery Honors.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Writing books that are enjoyed by young people.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
John Lennon.
What is your motto?
“A life unlived is like a book without words.”
WILD CARD: Who is your favorite character in fiction?
Sam Spade.
Cece Bell
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Kindness.
What is your greatest strength?
Relentless optimism.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Hopefully that I make them laugh.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Finally sharing my story.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Good cheese.
What is your most treasured possession?
My Sock Monkey (the star of my early Sock Monkey series), who would be so insulted if he knew he might in any way be considered a “possession.” He is his own monkey.
What was your big break?
In the book world, it was when my book dummy for Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood landed on Jamie Michalak’s desk at Candlewick Press. But before that, it was in college, when I switched from being an English major to being an art major, thanks to some big encouragement from my pal Tom Angleberger.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Any time I help someone.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
For some reason, Mo Willems was the first name that came to mind, so I’ll stick with that. He and I could do a mean version of “Delta Dawn,” I bet.
What is your motto?
It’s from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and I say it just about every night to myself: “Tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it—yet.”
They read aloud bad reviews...of their own books (2014).
They saw their characters collide in (phony) merged sequels (2014).
Now authors and illustrators of books for young people have come together for yet another non-paying gig, this time to bare their souls via 10 short, powerful questions. Same 10 for all, plus an optional 11th wild card of their choosing.
You haven’t read kidlit interviews like these before. But you have read interviews like these before, if you’ve read Vanity Fair—specifically the last page, The Proust Questionnaire.
Author Q&As often veer into heavily trodden territory (where do you get ideas, what is your writing process, who is your favorite author, etc.). And they often focus only our latest work, not our broader outlook (or our quirks). I find the Proust questionnaire to be refreshingly different, not to mention humanizing. Bonus: very quick to read.
The 50 creators (responses unveiled in 10 installments of five each over the next nine days):
Tony Abbott David Lubar Tom Angleberger Maryann Macdonald Jonathan Auxier * Jeff Mack Avi * Scott Magoon Cece Bell Wendy Mass Samantha Berger Meghan McCarthy Louise Borden * Barbara McClintock * Nick Bruel Richard Michelson Michael Buckley Marissa Moss Matthew Cordell Pam Muñoz Ryan * Mike Curato * Marc Tyler Nobleman Katie Davis Nora Raleigh Baskin Julia DeVillers Susanna Reich Marla Frazee Aaron Reynolds * Liz Garton Scanlon Tammi Sauer Caroline Hickey * Andrew Smith Jenni Holm * Tanya Lee Stone Susan Hood * Lauren Tarshis * Laurie Keller Chris Tebbetts Daniel Kirk Terry Trueman Michelle Knudsen Deborah Underwood Kirby Larson * Audrey Vernick Tara Lazar Emma Walton Hamilton Kelly Light * Hans Wilhelm Loren Long Jonah Winter *
* = new to my madness (i.e. did not appear in any of the earlier experiments)
The first five:
Tony Abbott
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Silence.
What is your greatest strength?
Not being around much.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
My whimsy.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
When I stayed a night in a hospital with a family member.
What is your greatest extravagance?
An 1845 copy of A Christmas Carol.
What is your most treasured possession?
My daughters.
What was your big break?
Meeting Patricia Reilly Giff and learning to write from her.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My tragically flawed book about race.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Emmylou Harris.
What is your motto?
“Just do the thing and then not be around much.”
Tom Angleberger
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Clear-headedness. Or maybe even better: foresight. I never seem to be able to look ahead at all and see what the reaction is going to be to my actions. Whether it’s a chess move or throwing a pillow at someone who’s not looking.
What is your greatest strength?
Throwing pillows at people who are not looking.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
My friends would turn this into a chance to mock me by going “HMMMMM” really loudly then pretending to scratch their heads.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Tiny toys.
What is your most treasured possession?
Our house is like a big Cece Bell creation that you can walk around in. She has done something amazing to just about all of it.
What was your big break?
Getting noticed by Caryn Wiseman, who has been my agent for 10 years! Without her I was ready to quit.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Getting noticed by Cece Bell.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
Jerry Reed. “East Bound and Down”!
What is your motto?
“This is already so screwed up it won’t matter if I break it.”
WILD CARD: What is your moment of perfect happiness?
There’s that moment when the problems with your book are solved by some new idea and there’s this huge relief that the book isn’t going to be a big failure. You’ve done it! You’ve still got tons of work to do, but you’ve done it. There’s a similar moment that comes when working on Rubik’s Cube variants.
Jonathan Auxier
What is the trait you most admire in others?
At first I wanted to say intelligence, but then I thought of all the intelligent people who I don’t admire. So it’s really some kind of mixture of intelligence and humility…which I might call “self-awareness.”
What is your greatest strength?
I am pretty principled insofar as I am very willing to do difficult or uncomfortable things because of what I believe. (Note: this does not make me fun to live with!)
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
When people introduce me to others, they often observe that I’m one of the more “creative” people they know. Also, I have some pretty solid yo-yo skills!
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Going back to the “principled” thing, I have surprised myself many times by walking away from opportunities and situations that others would think are no-brainers.
What is your greatest extravagance?
When we moved into our house, there was a big back room that we converted into a library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I made the shelves, which took months and was a huge pain in the neck, but the results are pretty wonderful. That room, and the books in it, give me a ridiculous amount of joy.
What is your most treasured possession?
If you’re talking about physical objects, it would probably have to be my journals.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I don’t know if it counts as an “achievement,” but I think convincing my wife to marry me is one of smartest moves of my life. She’s awesome. (See next question.)
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
I asked my wife this question, and she said Kermit the Frog, which is a brilliant answer. I’m stealing it for the purposes of this questionnaire.
What is your motto?
It’s less a motto than a single word, but I’m a big proponent of anagnorisis.
Avi
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Kindness.
What is your greatest strength?
Imagination.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Work.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Becoming a parent.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Books.
What is your most treasured possession?
My wife’s love.
What was your big break?
Winning back-to-back Newbery Honors.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Writing books that are enjoyed by young people.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
John Lennon.
What is your motto?
“A life unlived is like a book without words.”
WILD CARD: Who is your favorite character in fiction?
Sam Spade.
Cece Bell
What is the trait you most admire in others?
Kindness.
What is your greatest strength?
Relentless optimism.
What would your friends say is your greatest strength?
Hopefully that I make them laugh.
How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?
Finally sharing my story.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Good cheese.
What is your most treasured possession?
My Sock Monkey (the star of my early Sock Monkey series), who would be so insulted if he knew he might in any way be considered a “possession.” He is his own monkey.
What was your big break?
In the book world, it was when my book dummy for Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood landed on Jamie Michalak’s desk at Candlewick Press. But before that, it was in college, when I switched from being an English major to being an art major, thanks to some big encouragement from my pal Tom Angleberger.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Any time I help someone.
Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?
For some reason, Mo Willems was the first name that came to mind, so I’ll stick with that. He and I could do a mean version of “Delta Dawn,” I bet.
What is your motto?
It’s from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and I say it just about every night to myself: “Tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it—yet.”
August 25, 2015
Filming a Superman documentary
The relentlessly nice Brett Culp interviewed me for an upcoming documentary on the positive effects Superman has had on society.
On 8/5/15, to get my attempts at answers on film, Brett made the best of a small, plain room in the Westport (CT) Library and a tight window of time.
I’ll report back when the next phase of this ambitious project is public. You’ll want to be a part of it.
Thank you, Westport Library, for accommodating us, and thank you, Brett, for including me. (Also thank you, Arlen Schumer, for offering us to shoot my interview at your place.) This film will exemplify the best of Superman’s influence.
On 8/5/15, to get my attempts at answers on film, Brett made the best of a small, plain room in the Westport (CT) Library and a tight window of time.
I’ll report back when the next phase of this ambitious project is public. You’ll want to be a part of it.
Thank you, Westport Library, for accommodating us, and thank you, Brett, for including me. (Also thank you, Arlen Schumer, for offering us to shoot my interview at your place.) This film will exemplify the best of Superman’s influence.
August 24, 2015
The years of a story
Biographies are not life stories. They are stories from a life. They don’t include all. And they don’t always go from birth to death. Sometimes they start before birth and/or end after death.
I surveyed my nonfiction picture books (two out, two upcoming) to determine the dates they span (not counting the author’s notes). The start year correlates with what is happening on page 1, even if the story flashes back at some point.
Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman—1930-1940 (both approximate)Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman—1933-2012 (Bill Finger was born in 1914 and died in 1974)Thirty Minutes Over Oregon (2016)—1942-1998Fairy Spell (2018)—1917-1988
I surveyed my nonfiction picture books (two out, two upcoming) to determine the dates they span (not counting the author’s notes). The start year correlates with what is happening on page 1, even if the story flashes back at some point.
Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman—1930-1940 (both approximate)Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman—1933-2012 (Bill Finger was born in 1914 and died in 1974)Thirty Minutes Over Oregon (2016)—1942-1998Fairy Spell (2018)—1917-1988
August 22, 2015
I was a teenage photographer
Second only to lifeguard, my first summer job was about as vintage as it gets: I was a scooper at an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. It was surprisingly exhausting work. My friends were regularly annoyed that I didn’t give them free ice cream.
My second summer job was not vintage, though the setting was: I was a photographer at an amusement park. Lake Compounce Festival Park opened in 1846, making it the longest-operating amusement park in America. (The cameras we used might have been nearly that old.)
The author now in me loves that history, but at the time, I was more preoccupied with the four big perks the park promised: (always free) rides, (usually free) concerts, (sometimes free) pizza, and, of course, girls.
Gretchen and Jen, who worked at the Creamery
I worked there for two seasons, 1989 and 1990 (the summer before college).
The first summer, three of my co-workers were three of my best friends (one of whom got me the job); the second summer, two more from our gang joined us.
guy in the middle was our boss Lou
Our responsibility was simple: be mosquitoes. In other words, stand inside the main gate and take as many (posed) photos of entering guests as we could.
Some of us were also trained on the developing process.
This job, too, was exhausting, but in a good way. For hours on end, we were on our feet, in the sun, on unforgiving asphalt, amid mobs of people. But we were teens so our immortality shielded us from the downside of this.
The photos we were selling were those photokeychains commonly associated with cruises. I still have about 20.
We all still remember the line: “Please stop right there for two quick pictures. You can take a look at them later. No obligation!” We’d give them a ticket with their item number.
Some people gladly stopped. Others pretended they didn’t hear us and kept walking. I was known to follow, saying “I can walk as fast as you, maybe faster.” That was as endearing as you would imagine.
We also still remember the cost: “One for five, two for nine.” (One day it poured unexpectedly and the park gave each employee a plastic poncho. We sold those, too—one for five, two for nine.)
At the time, as noted, Lake Compounce was a concert park. When we worked the concert nights, we got to see the show for free. The park booked B+ and legacy acts including Paula Abdul, Chicago, Don Henley, and the Doobie Brothers. (I would grow up to interview some of the women in some of the videos of some of those bands.)
We’d try to guess which concert crowds would be friendly and which would be difficult; we were often wrong. I thought the Doobies fans would be mellow. But that night, one (large, face-tattooed) guy said “I’m trying to decide if I should smash that camera over your head or shove it up your ***.” I chose A. But luckily he was all talk.
Some days, my friends and I would play a prank on the customers, asking if they were staying for the show that night. They’d ask who was playing and we’d name some A-lister the park could not attain like Prince, Madonna, or U2. They’d invariably speed to the box office to see if tickets were still available and we’d quietly crack up.
The crowds were heaviest at the start of the day and two hours before the concert. Our boss, Lou, assigned us a minimum number of rolls to shoot during that evening rush. We’d go extra fast and then secretly burn off the remaining time on the rides. (One of our favorite park characters was the guy who walked around wearing a badge stating he was the “Flume Supervisor.”)
When Metallica played, the crowd ripped a chain-link fence out of the ground; as I recall, no one was hurt, but 42 were arrested.
The summer of 1989 was the height of New Kids on the Block mania. The park attendance capacity was 17,000, but to maximize profits, they let in 30,000. You could barely walk, but you could still scream “Joey!” or “Jordan!” (Weirdly, I remember these trivial stats—42; 30,000—but can’t say for sure which of the New Kids were the most screamed.)
Occasionally, we got to meet the talent.
my friend Mike (right) with RoboCop
But the most notable was Debbie Gibson, who was the same age as we were.
After her show, at about 11 p.m., two friends and I were leaving through the employees-only area where the tour buses parked. Debbie was riding a scooter around. We got her attention, asked for her autograph, and gave her something in return: a photokeychain with a photo of us in it. I’m sure she still has it today. Just as I still have her signature (laminated), which she scribbled on the only piece of paper I had on me:
Funny that we had a camera on us most of the time, yet did not get a photo with her.
Lake Compounce stopped hosting concerts soon after. However, for the new generations of teens who work there, I take heart knowing that the other three perks will always remain, in abundance.
My second summer job was not vintage, though the setting was: I was a photographer at an amusement park. Lake Compounce Festival Park opened in 1846, making it the longest-operating amusement park in America. (The cameras we used might have been nearly that old.)
The author now in me loves that history, but at the time, I was more preoccupied with the four big perks the park promised: (always free) rides, (usually free) concerts, (sometimes free) pizza, and, of course, girls.
Gretchen and Jen, who worked at the CreameryI worked there for two seasons, 1989 and 1990 (the summer before college).
The first summer, three of my co-workers were three of my best friends (one of whom got me the job); the second summer, two more from our gang joined us.
guy in the middle was our boss Lou
Our responsibility was simple: be mosquitoes. In other words, stand inside the main gate and take as many (posed) photos of entering guests as we could.
Some of us were also trained on the developing process.
This job, too, was exhausting, but in a good way. For hours on end, we were on our feet, in the sun, on unforgiving asphalt, amid mobs of people. But we were teens so our immortality shielded us from the downside of this.
The photos we were selling were those photokeychains commonly associated with cruises. I still have about 20.
We all still remember the line: “Please stop right there for two quick pictures. You can take a look at them later. No obligation!” We’d give them a ticket with their item number.
Some people gladly stopped. Others pretended they didn’t hear us and kept walking. I was known to follow, saying “I can walk as fast as you, maybe faster.” That was as endearing as you would imagine.
We also still remember the cost: “One for five, two for nine.” (One day it poured unexpectedly and the park gave each employee a plastic poncho. We sold those, too—one for five, two for nine.)
At the time, as noted, Lake Compounce was a concert park. When we worked the concert nights, we got to see the show for free. The park booked B+ and legacy acts including Paula Abdul, Chicago, Don Henley, and the Doobie Brothers. (I would grow up to interview some of the women in some of the videos of some of those bands.)
We’d try to guess which concert crowds would be friendly and which would be difficult; we were often wrong. I thought the Doobies fans would be mellow. But that night, one (large, face-tattooed) guy said “I’m trying to decide if I should smash that camera over your head or shove it up your ***.” I chose A. But luckily he was all talk.
Some days, my friends and I would play a prank on the customers, asking if they were staying for the show that night. They’d ask who was playing and we’d name some A-lister the park could not attain like Prince, Madonna, or U2. They’d invariably speed to the box office to see if tickets were still available and we’d quietly crack up.
The crowds were heaviest at the start of the day and two hours before the concert. Our boss, Lou, assigned us a minimum number of rolls to shoot during that evening rush. We’d go extra fast and then secretly burn off the remaining time on the rides. (One of our favorite park characters was the guy who walked around wearing a badge stating he was the “Flume Supervisor.”)
When Metallica played, the crowd ripped a chain-link fence out of the ground; as I recall, no one was hurt, but 42 were arrested.
The summer of 1989 was the height of New Kids on the Block mania. The park attendance capacity was 17,000, but to maximize profits, they let in 30,000. You could barely walk, but you could still scream “Joey!” or “Jordan!” (Weirdly, I remember these trivial stats—42; 30,000—but can’t say for sure which of the New Kids were the most screamed.)
Occasionally, we got to meet the talent.
my friend Mike (right) with RoboCopBut the most notable was Debbie Gibson, who was the same age as we were.
After her show, at about 11 p.m., two friends and I were leaving through the employees-only area where the tour buses parked. Debbie was riding a scooter around. We got her attention, asked for her autograph, and gave her something in return: a photokeychain with a photo of us in it. I’m sure she still has it today. Just as I still have her signature (laminated), which she scribbled on the only piece of paper I had on me:
Funny that we had a camera on us most of the time, yet did not get a photo with her.
Lake Compounce stopped hosting concerts soon after. However, for the new generations of teens who work there, I take heart knowing that the other three perks will always remain, in abundance.
August 21, 2015
The secret origin of author Hans Wilhelm
Author Hans Wilhelm and I have some things in common:
Connecticut (he lives there, I was born there)Germany (he was born there, my wife was)bad reviewsfour-letter first names with an “a” the only vowel and second letter
What we don’t have in common is our entrée into publishing. Here is mine. Here is his, in his own words:
Connecticut (he lives there, I was born there)Germany (he was born there, my wife was)bad reviewsfour-letter first names with an “a” the only vowel and second letter
What we don’t have in common is our entrée into publishing. Here is mine. Here is his, in his own words:
I got published in America because of my accent.
When I arrived in USA some 35 years ago, I had some ideas for children’s books that I’d collected when I lived in the South Pacific. I didn’t know any U.S. children’s book publishers. But somebody suggested to start at the top and go to Random House.
When I arrived at their office, I said to the receptionist, “Hi, I am Hans Wilhelm and I came to show some of my children’s book ideas to your editors.”
The receptionist looked at me. Then she said, “Could you please say that again?”
I repeated it.
“I am sorry; nobody can see an editor without a prior appointment,” she said. “But I love your accent!” Then she added, “Well, let me see what I can do.”
She disappeared behind a door and came back soon with a broad smile. “Mr. Ole Risom said he has five minutes for you. He is the editor-in-chief. Just go right into his office.”
And five minutes later, Ole Risom bought my first children’s book. When I got home, this was attached to my door:
The only reason why I got to see the top editor in the children’s book market at that time was my accent. Without it, I might still be struggling.
I was told that my accent has gotten worse since then, which may explain why I was able to publish over 200 children’s books.
August 17, 2015
My Phi Beta Kappa cartoon controversy
In 1998, upon revisiting my bucket list, I began drawing single-panel cartoons (aiming for 10 a week) with the sole objective of selling one to The New Yorker. At least 2,000 cartoons later, I haven’t (and in fact haven’t tried since about 2003), but I hope to resume that pursuit one day. In the meantime, I ended up licensing cartoons to more than 100 other publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Barron’s, Good Housekeeping, the iconic Punch (in the UK), and the venerable Saturday Evening Post.
Another was The Key Reporter, the magazine of Phi Beta Kappa, the university-level national honor society for academic achievement, of which I am a member.
The first time TKR published one of my cartoons was in its spring 2001 issue, which was also the first time the magazine published any cartoon.
The summer 2001 issue ran a second cartoon of mine—and also a three-page article entitled “Do Phi Betes Have a Sense of Humor? Some Philosophical Thoughts about Jokes.”
I found it intriguing (and, at first, strange) that the traditionally staid publication would run a cartoon and a treatise on humor in back-to-back issues. Then I realized that this defense of the value of laughing was because of me.
A 1972 alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania had sent TKR a letter in which he stated:
My first controversy! Well, my first “controversy.”
I was surprised that TKR had not told me about this before the issue went out. (More so, I was surprised that someone would have such a reaction to a particularly innocuous cartoon.)
But I was thrilled at the sly way TKR chose to address the criticism. Rather than stop running my cartoons, or place any parameters on the cartoon topics I submitted, they published a thoughtful analysis on the nature of humor itself. Looking back, that seems like the only approach an esteemed organization like PBK would take.
More than thrilled, I was proud that my little cartoon (indirectly) took up so much real estate.
And it wasn’t over yet.
In the fall 2001 issue, under the headline “That Cartoon Critique,” two letters were printed. Excerpts:
letter 1:
Amen.
Another was The Key Reporter, the magazine of Phi Beta Kappa, the university-level national honor society for academic achievement, of which I am a member.
The first time TKR published one of my cartoons was in its spring 2001 issue, which was also the first time the magazine published any cartoon.
The summer 2001 issue ran a second cartoon of mine—and also a three-page article entitled “Do Phi Betes Have a Sense of Humor? Some Philosophical Thoughts about Jokes.”
I found it intriguing (and, at first, strange) that the traditionally staid publication would run a cartoon and a treatise on humor in back-to-back issues. Then I realized that this defense of the value of laughing was because of me.
A 1972 alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania had sent TKR a letter in which he stated:
As a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Professor in a University School of Medicine and a practicing physician, I was distressed by the cartoon on page 16. This derogatory, abusive and near-slanderous depiction of the physician as buffoon is inexcusable and deserves an apology.
My first controversy! Well, my first “controversy.”
I was surprised that TKR had not told me about this before the issue went out. (More so, I was surprised that someone would have such a reaction to a particularly innocuous cartoon.)
But I was thrilled at the sly way TKR chose to address the criticism. Rather than stop running my cartoons, or place any parameters on the cartoon topics I submitted, they published a thoughtful analysis on the nature of humor itself. Looking back, that seems like the only approach an esteemed organization like PBK would take.
More than thrilled, I was proud that my little cartoon (indirectly) took up so much real estate.
And it wasn’t over yet.
In the fall 2001 issue, under the headline “That Cartoon Critique,” two letters were printed. Excerpts:
letter 1:
I am a retired professor of surgery and pediatrics, and I’d like to twit my fellow PBK for being so exercised over a cartoon which depicted a physician as a buffoon.letter 2:
I found the quote from the Phi Beta Kappa alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania regarding the Reporter’s Spring 2001 cartoon rather unsettling.
…
The inability to find humor in the Spring 2001 cartoon conveys to me an elitist state of mind. As in, “I am a physician AND a PHI BETA KAPPA member...how dare you poke fun at me or anyone like me.”
Both in law school and now professionally, people feel a need to share lawyer jokes with me. And you know what? I like them. I usually have the ability to top them with some of my own.
No one is above being the target of good-natured humor.
Amen.
August 12, 2015
Five library talks in three days
From 8/3 to 8/5/15, I zigzagged around my home state of Connecticut to speak at five public libraries. They were in Easton, Brookfield, New Canaan, Marlborough, and Norfolk.
New Canaan News wrote up one of those talks.
Here is what greeted me and attendees there:
The final stop was Norfolk Library, as charming as it is (apparently) haunted.
New Canaan News wrote up one of those talks.
Here is what greeted me and attendees there:
The final stop was Norfolk Library, as charming as it is (apparently) haunted.
August 9, 2015
What Bill Finger left behind
In a way, it makes sense that the primary creative force behind Batman would be something of a mystery, but Bill Finger took that took far—or rather, circumstances (some but not all beyond his control) took that too far.
When Bill died in 1974, his son Fred took care of what little he had to his name. The fate of most of his personal belongings is lost to time. I’m told Fred offered to donate Bill’s now-legendary gimmick books to DC Comics, but DC declined. (Unbearable.) Presumably, Fred then tossed them. (Again unbearable. But understandable.)
What of Bill’s did survive?
A paperweight.
A sculpture of his first wife, Portia. Here is Bill’s longtime friend Charles Sinclair gifting it to Bill’s granddaughter Athena (2014).
A signature (1945).
Another signature (1963).
A letter (1965).
Another letter (1965).
Photos (more than most people knew about, but still too few).
Most hauntingly, a page in seminal Batman artist Jerry Robinson’s guest book, circa 1942. It is the longest known example of Bill’s handwriting that survives, and it is reproduced on the last page of Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.
Oh, and, of course, Batman himself.
When Bill died in 1974, his son Fred took care of what little he had to his name. The fate of most of his personal belongings is lost to time. I’m told Fred offered to donate Bill’s now-legendary gimmick books to DC Comics, but DC declined. (Unbearable.) Presumably, Fred then tossed them. (Again unbearable. But understandable.)
What of Bill’s did survive?
A paperweight.
A sculpture of his first wife, Portia. Here is Bill’s longtime friend Charles Sinclair gifting it to Bill’s granddaughter Athena (2014).
A signature (1945).
Another signature (1963).
A letter (1965).
Another letter (1965).
Photos (more than most people knew about, but still too few).
Most hauntingly, a page in seminal Batman artist Jerry Robinson’s guest book, circa 1942. It is the longest known example of Bill’s handwriting that survives, and it is reproduced on the last page of Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.
Oh, and, of course, Batman himself.
August 8, 2015
Discoveries I made while researching Bill Finger
Most of this has already been covered here, but I recently stumbled upon an encapsulation I wrote several years ago so I am posting it for one-stop shoppers.
Bill Finger was not well documented in his lifetime by either interviews or photographs. He received no obituary in any mainstream publication. Few instances of his actual words have been published.
Bill married Portia in the 1940s. They had one son Fred in 1948. They eventually divorced and Bill quietly remarried in the late 1960s, to Edith. They had no children together. Bill died in 1974. Portia died in 1990. Fred died in 1992.
Among the information I uncovered:
HEIR: for years, fans had publicly discussed rumors of an unnamed, uncertain Finger heir yet no one seemed to know the original source; though I doubted it, I inadvertently found that there is indeed an heir—Athena Finger, the lone known grandchild, born two years after Bill died
VOICE: Bill was recorded (audio only) on a comics convention panel in 1965 and for a 28-minute interview in 1972
PHOTOS: in seven decades, only the same two grainy Bill photos have been published over and over (one other was published in 1940 but not since); more than one comics historian told me with conviction that no other photos exist; by contacting literally scores of people who knew Bill privately (i.e. not comics colleagues), I found eleven more during my research and several others after my book was published; one is his high school yearbook photo (he attended the esteemed DeWitt Clinton in the Bronx), never-before-found because he had another name at the time that I was the first to uncover
SISTERS: in 2007, via cemetery records of Bill’s parents, I found Bill’s sister Emily (born 1920), whom he’d never mentioned and who I know of only via the 1930 census; I assumed she would either be dead by now or be unfindable (due to a married name); because Bill was estranged from the family since before her wedding (early 1940s), she did not want to speak much to me; after my book was published, the 1940 census was released and it revealed a second sister, Gilda (oddly, one source says she was 10 in 1940 while another says she was 20 in 1940, but in either case, she did not appear on the 1930 census)
SECOND WIFE: no one knew he had one; she was once Edith and had since changed her name to Lyn
WRITING PARTNER: his name is Charles Sinclair, so Google barely helps; it took a while but I finally found him once I learned his middle initial; he was a true gentleman, giving me details never previously revealed about Bill—and he also gave me the paperweight that sat on Bill’s desk
NIECE, NEPHEW, FIRST COUSINS
HANDWRITING: I got a copy of the only known example of Bill’s handwriting (aside from a signature)—a charming note he wrote in Batman artist Jerry Robinson’s guest book in the early 1940s; it is reproduced in my book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman
Bill Finger was not well documented in his lifetime by either interviews or photographs. He received no obituary in any mainstream publication. Few instances of his actual words have been published.
Bill married Portia in the 1940s. They had one son Fred in 1948. They eventually divorced and Bill quietly remarried in the late 1960s, to Edith. They had no children together. Bill died in 1974. Portia died in 1990. Fred died in 1992.
Among the information I uncovered:
HEIR: for years, fans had publicly discussed rumors of an unnamed, uncertain Finger heir yet no one seemed to know the original source; though I doubted it, I inadvertently found that there is indeed an heir—Athena Finger, the lone known grandchild, born two years after Bill died
VOICE: Bill was recorded (audio only) on a comics convention panel in 1965 and for a 28-minute interview in 1972
PHOTOS: in seven decades, only the same two grainy Bill photos have been published over and over (one other was published in 1940 but not since); more than one comics historian told me with conviction that no other photos exist; by contacting literally scores of people who knew Bill privately (i.e. not comics colleagues), I found eleven more during my research and several others after my book was published; one is his high school yearbook photo (he attended the esteemed DeWitt Clinton in the Bronx), never-before-found because he had another name at the time that I was the first to uncover
SISTERS: in 2007, via cemetery records of Bill’s parents, I found Bill’s sister Emily (born 1920), whom he’d never mentioned and who I know of only via the 1930 census; I assumed she would either be dead by now or be unfindable (due to a married name); because Bill was estranged from the family since before her wedding (early 1940s), she did not want to speak much to me; after my book was published, the 1940 census was released and it revealed a second sister, Gilda (oddly, one source says she was 10 in 1940 while another says she was 20 in 1940, but in either case, she did not appear on the 1930 census)
SECOND WIFE: no one knew he had one; she was once Edith and had since changed her name to Lyn
WRITING PARTNER: his name is Charles Sinclair, so Google barely helps; it took a while but I finally found him once I learned his middle initial; he was a true gentleman, giving me details never previously revealed about Bill—and he also gave me the paperweight that sat on Bill’s desk
NIECE, NEPHEW, FIRST COUSINS
HANDWRITING: I got a copy of the only known example of Bill’s handwriting (aside from a signature)—a charming note he wrote in Batman artist Jerry Robinson’s guest book in the early 1940s; it is reproduced in my book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman
