Five Questions for . . .

by Roger Sutton
Jul 02, 2009 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
You might know our monthly Notes from the Horn Book feature, "Five questions for . . ." in which I ask an author or illustrator of the moment questions both pertinent and inane. At ALA next week (yikes) in Chicago, this feature is going live at the Junior Library Guild booth (#2256) right across from ours (#2259) in the convention center. Here's the lineup:

Saturday 10:00 Candace Fleming, who has just won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for The Lincolns.

Saturday 12:00 Neil Gaiman, Newbery Medalist.

Saturday 2:00 Ashley Bryan, Wilder Medalist.

Sunday 11:00 Brian Selznick, for one last walk down the runway before he surrenders his Caldecott crown.

Monday 10:00 Laurie Halse Anderson, this year's winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Chains and author of the much talked-about Wintergirls.

Monday 11:30 Beth Krommes, Caldecott Medalist, and she will be accompanied by Susan Marie Swanson, who has promised to read their House in the Night aloud.

Do come! And do here, in the comments, suggest some questions I might ask any or all of them.

More information about our conference activities--dancing boys! beautiful women!--can be found here.
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

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Melinda

>I've heard of research that states it takes about 10 years of study and hard work before an artist starts creating solid, good work. Has this been the case for each of you?

Posted : Jul 07, 2009 08:06

Jennifer Schultz

>No questions off the top of my head! Wow, Roger...just looked at the schedule and this looks great. I always have a gap between a few sessions, but usually not enough time to leave the area at that time. I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks so much.

Posted : Jul 07, 2009 02:12

Melinda

>What books have you studied intensely, and what issues of craft do you glean from them? Give examples from the text. (That ought to keep them busy for a while.)

Which children's book authors would make the most amusing spectacle when pitted against each other in a Texas cage match?

Texas cage match, main character style: Katniss from Hunger Games or Katsa from Graceling?

What kind of daily goals do you set -- how many hours/day or pages/day do you shoot for to keep the book going?

Posted : Jul 07, 2009 01:37

Anonymous

>Just wondering what you thought of Nicholas Kristof's column listing the "best children's books of all time" (in his opinion, of course). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/opinion/05kristof.html?em

I liked the variety (Lad, a Dog vs. Harry Potter and Alex Rider) but feel like there a definitely a few missing.

Posted : Jul 07, 2009 05:24

Melinda

>What happens if you're writing to meet a deadline and your writing suddenly crashes into a brick wall? What measures do you take to keep going?

Posted : Jul 06, 2009 06:25

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