She got me in touch with a publisher, and I went to meet the editor. I ended up showing it to my children’s book illustration teacher at art school, and she loved it. The story just started coming as I was walking along. I had a lot on my mind, namely how people are all connected to each other. I wrote the original version of the story almost 14 years ago while walking home from the subway. How did “Because Amelia Smiled” come about? Writing can be a way of taking even the worst situation and making something beautiful out of it. My eyes, ears, and heart are usually open looking for stories. Funny ideas I have while I’m watching the world and wading in the world. Feelings or situations I can’t readily explain, that I’m trying to figure out. I remember what it’s like to have other make choices for me and to long for the power to choose for myself.Įveryday life. Even though I’m big, I remember what it’s like to be small and to look up at the world from low down. It was called, Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Bathtub. I remember one time my mom typed up a joke book that my sister and I wrote with her. But I used to draw and tell stories into a tape recorder before that. I didn’t know how to write till I was 5 or 6. I hope my publisher doesn’t read that.)Īrt.
It’s a personal thing that I would do whether I got paid or not. But I’ve always written and drawn for myself. I didn’t know this would be my career until I was about to finish college. Have you always wanted to be a writer/artist?Īlways have been.
The following is a complete transcript of his interview with Cracking the Cover. His latest book, “ Because Amelia Smiled,” shows the far-reaching effect one small action can have. David Ezra Stein is the author/illustrator of nine picture books, including “ Interrupting Chicken,” which won a Caldecott honor, and “ Leaves,” which won the Ezra Jack Keats award and was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.
0 kommentar(er)
