Meet the Authors

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Katherine Paterson

Biography

Both a children's activist and a literacy-library advocate, author Katherine Paterson's books for young people are among the most-honored books in our time, are read around the world and have been translated into 21 languages. She is the winner of two National Book Awards, for The Master Puppeteer and The Great Gilly Hopkins; two Newbery Medals, for The Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob, Have I Loved; and one of the few American recipients of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, often called the Nobel Prize of Children's Literature. She is author of “The Eyes and Ears of the Public” in Our White House: Looking In and Looking Out (Candlewick, September 2008). As board vice president of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, she works tirelessly to promote reading and books for children. She lives in Barre, Vermont.

 2008 Webcast
 2004 Webcast
 2001 Webcast

The Scoop

What sparked your imagination for your newest story "The Eyes and Ears of the Public" in Our White House: Looking In and Looking Out?

To be honest, it was the image of Helen Thomas being sent from the front row of the press corps to the back of the room.

What challenges do you face in your writing process?

I have to learn all over again how to write every time I start a new book. You see, I've never written this book before and whatever I learned writing previous books won't be all that much help.

How do you overcome them?

I try to listen very carefully to how this particular story wants to be told. For example: I don't like to write in first person, but two of my books refused to be written in any other way. I finally realized that Louise in Jacob Have I Loved and again, Robbie in Preacher’s Boy were so self-involved that their story had to be written entirely from their point of view.

What tips or advice can you share with young students who hope to start writing?

Read. Read. Read. That's how I learned how language works and how to construct a story.

Can you suggest a fun writing topic to get them started?

Well, fun is where you find it, and what might seem like fun for one person might feel very painful to someone else. For example, if I ask you to write about school lunches, as you remember them from first grade, would that be fun or awful?

What is your list of favorite children or teen books?

Too many to name, but to list a few:

• The Secret Garden
• The House at Pooh Corner
• Charlotte’s Web
• The Good Master
• Horton Hatches the Egg
• The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
• Ramona the Brave
• Kidnapped
• Little Women
• Because of Winn-Dixie
• Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party
• The Land
• The Yearling

How do you decide on themes for your books?

Themes seem to emerge as I am writing the story. I don't feel as though I decide on them so much as discover them.

How important is research in the development of your books?

Very

Can you explain the process as well?

Well, first I read as much as I can, then I begin to write, which helps me discover all the stuff I don't know and have to learn ,which, in turn, makes me read more and begin to look for people who know a lot about the subject and who might help me answer my questions. Then I go back to writing until I hit another snag and have to do more research. It's a very messy process.

What is your advice to parents for passing the joys of reading on to their children?

Read to them and don't stop when they learn how to read. Share with them books you love and tell them why you love them. Talk about books, about characters, about questions the story raises. Ask genuine questions, ones that trouble you, not ones looking for a "right" answer.

If you were not writing and promoting reading and books for children, what do you think you would be doing?

Paying more attention to my family, my dog, my house and my garden.

Book Covers

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