This morning, we, the grade 1 students, teachers and librarians, had the wonderful opportunity to meet and be inspired by master storyteller and author Eric A. Kimmel. Mr. Kimmel, who is a good friend of our G1 teacher and literacy coordinator Ms. Rachel, had kindly agreed to the Skype to answer some of our students' questions. G1 students currently inquire about how "stories can be expressed and shared through the arts" under the transdisciplinary theme How We Express Ourselves and therefore had lots of questions. In preparation for the Skype, classroom teachers had shared several of Mr. Kimmel's stories. During the students' library visit on Monday, we had spent time generating questions we wanted to ask the storyteller and author.
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Since Mr. Kimmel shares lots of information about his personal background, his books and his writing through his website, we aimed at thinking of questions that couldn't be easily answered through the website. Ms. Phyllis and I started by sharing some facts about Mr. Kimmel, which not only answered the most common asked questions in our author inquiries but also provoked new wonderings among our students. Here the information we shared and some of our students' new wonderings:
Eric A. Kimmel - his personal background
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1946
Married to Doris
=> Does he have any kids?
Has a snake, a cat and fish
=> What does he feed his pets?
=> Do his pets get along?
=> Does he also have a dog?
=> How old are his pets?
=> Do his pets get along?
Likes riding horses and bicycles
Started as a teacher and a librarian
Is a storyteller and author
=> Is someone in his family an author or storyteller?
=> Is he also an illustrator?
=> How does he choose his illustrators?
Likes bluegrass music and playing the banjo
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1946
Married to Doris
=> Does he have any kids?
Has a snake, a cat and fish
=> What does he feed his pets?
=> Do his pets get along?
=> Does he also have a dog?
=> How old are his pets?
=> Do his pets get along?
Likes riding horses and bicycles
Started as a teacher and a librarian
Is a storyteller and author
=> Is someone in his family an author or storyteller?
=> Is he also an illustrator?
=> How does he choose his illustrators?
Likes bluegrass music and playing the banjo
Eric A. Kimmel - his books
Has written over 100 books
=> Does he have future plans for books?
=> What is his favourite book that he has written?
=> How many pages does he usually write in his books?
=> Are all his books about animals?
=> Does he write by hand or by computer?
Books are in English and Spanish
=> How many books are written in English and how many in Spanish?
=> Is he good at speaking Spanish?
His books have won several awards
His first book was published in 1974
=> What is the title of the first book?
He writes picture and chapter books
=> What was his first chapter book?
=> Has he written more picture or more chapter books?
=> Has he written nonfiction books?
Has written over 100 books
=> Does he have future plans for books?
=> What is his favourite book that he has written?
=> How many pages does he usually write in his books?
=> Are all his books about animals?
=> Does he write by hand or by computer?
Books are in English and Spanish
=> How many books are written in English and how many in Spanish?
=> Is he good at speaking Spanish?
His books have won several awards
His first book was published in 1974
=> What is the title of the first book?
He writes picture and chapter books
=> What was his first chapter book?
=> Has he written more picture or more chapter books?
=> Has he written nonfiction books?
Eric A. Kimmel - his writing and storytelling
Wanted to be an author since kindergarten
Writing is what he likes to do best
=> Does he write two books or just one book at a time?
"Good writing sings, like a song"=> Is he a good storyteller?
Storytelling is a great preparation for being a writer
=> What did he have to do to become a writer?
"The world falls away when I write"
Writes funny stories
=> Does he also write sad stories?
=> What inspired him to write trickster tales?
=> Has he met Ananse?
=> Are all his books trickster stories?
=> How much time does it take to write a book?
Wanted to be an author since kindergarten
Writing is what he likes to do best
=> Does he write two books or just one book at a time?
"Good writing sings, like a song"=> Is he a good storyteller?
Storytelling is a great preparation for being a writer
=> What did he have to do to become a writer?
"The world falls away when I write"
Writes funny stories
=> Does he also write sad stories?
=> What inspired him to write trickster tales?
=> Has he met Ananse?
=> Are all his books trickster stories?
=> How much time does it take to write a book?
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And then this morning, we got many answers through which we learned so much more about Mr. Kimmel - and especially what it takes to become a writer. Here a few of the things we learned. (He said lots of things that put a big smile on our - teachers and librarians' - faces :)
“There is no rule, whatever works best for you… What counts is how good the story is not how you write the story.”
When he started as a writer, computers weren’t common yet and so he wrote his stories first by hand and then on a typewriter. Nowadays, he types his stories into the computer, prints them out and then edits and revises by hand.
“A story has to be as long as it needs to be to tell a good story.”
While it is usually the story itself that determines the number of pages, with picture books space is limited as they usually have 32 pages. And since the majority of books he writes are picture books, he has to make sure that he fits the story in this given number of pages while leaving enough space for the pictures. So he usually aims at 5-8 pages of text for a picture book story.
“The best thing to do to become a writer is to be a reader.”
“Every good writer loves to be a reader.”
(Oh, did hearing that make us teachers and librarians happy!)
Just like other authors we have met this year, Mr. Kimmel stressed the importance of reading and getting lots of practice with writing. As he says, how can you know what good writing looks like if you haven’t read any of it. He encouraged us to read the best books, we can find, and those that challenge us. Further, to be a writer, “you have to love books and words". He also reminded us that writing is a skill that needs to be practiced – and the more it gets practiced, the better we get at it. He encouraged our students to write every day, to write their stories, to keep journals and diaries.
“I have written a few [nonfiction books] along the way, but my first love is folktales and picture books.”
He has written a few nonfiction books, mainly about history but prefers folktales and picture books. One of the reasons for this is that he enjoys seeing what an artist can do with his words.
“I don’t like to be sad, I don’t like to read sad books. If I want to be sad, I read the newspaper.”
While not all of his books have a happy ending, he prefers books that are funny, that have funny, tricky characters.
“For the most part, I have nothing to do with the artist until the book is finished.”
His editor makes suggestions regarding illustrators. He then checks out the artist’s work online and discusses who to choose with his editor. Everyone was surprised to hear that there isn’t much contact between him and the illustrator. Most of the time he sees the illustrations only once the book comes to him in the mail.
“Sometimes I work on two or three books at once. And I read books that way. I read two or three books at once.”
At times he will focus on one story; at other times he will work on several books. When one story isn’t going the way he is hoping, he will set it aside and work on a different story for some time. He also likes reading several books at the same time. He especially enjoys history books and sometimes even starts in the middle of a book, jumping from one part that interests him to the next.
“The two pets that get along best with each other are the dog and the cat.”
His dog and cat are good friends. They cuddle up together. The snake, however, seems just to be looking for food (the fish tank is nearby), as snakes are solitary animals.
“[Ananse] is tricky, he is greedy, he is nasty, he tells lies, he does everything you are not supposed to do. And it’s really funny.”
He loves the character of Ananse, the spider, to whom he got first introduced to by a storyteller when he himself was a child. He was fascinated by Ananse because he did all the things that you are not supposed to do. He thought that was very funny. (But he warned the children not to be like Ananse!)
“I like to keep writing. I just go from story to story.”
He hasn’t written a new Ananse story for some time since he couldn’t figure out yet how to get Ananse back down from the moon (that’s where Ananse ended up in his last story). But he definitely keeps writing.
When he started as a writer, computers weren’t common yet and so he wrote his stories first by hand and then on a typewriter. Nowadays, he types his stories into the computer, prints them out and then edits and revises by hand.
“A story has to be as long as it needs to be to tell a good story.”
While it is usually the story itself that determines the number of pages, with picture books space is limited as they usually have 32 pages. And since the majority of books he writes are picture books, he has to make sure that he fits the story in this given number of pages while leaving enough space for the pictures. So he usually aims at 5-8 pages of text for a picture book story.
“The best thing to do to become a writer is to be a reader.”
“Every good writer loves to be a reader.”
(Oh, did hearing that make us teachers and librarians happy!)
Just like other authors we have met this year, Mr. Kimmel stressed the importance of reading and getting lots of practice with writing. As he says, how can you know what good writing looks like if you haven’t read any of it. He encouraged us to read the best books, we can find, and those that challenge us. Further, to be a writer, “you have to love books and words". He also reminded us that writing is a skill that needs to be practiced – and the more it gets practiced, the better we get at it. He encouraged our students to write every day, to write their stories, to keep journals and diaries.
“I have written a few [nonfiction books] along the way, but my first love is folktales and picture books.”
He has written a few nonfiction books, mainly about history but prefers folktales and picture books. One of the reasons for this is that he enjoys seeing what an artist can do with his words.
“I don’t like to be sad, I don’t like to read sad books. If I want to be sad, I read the newspaper.”
While not all of his books have a happy ending, he prefers books that are funny, that have funny, tricky characters.
“For the most part, I have nothing to do with the artist until the book is finished.”
His editor makes suggestions regarding illustrators. He then checks out the artist’s work online and discusses who to choose with his editor. Everyone was surprised to hear that there isn’t much contact between him and the illustrator. Most of the time he sees the illustrations only once the book comes to him in the mail.
“Sometimes I work on two or three books at once. And I read books that way. I read two or three books at once.”
At times he will focus on one story; at other times he will work on several books. When one story isn’t going the way he is hoping, he will set it aside and work on a different story for some time. He also likes reading several books at the same time. He especially enjoys history books and sometimes even starts in the middle of a book, jumping from one part that interests him to the next.
“The two pets that get along best with each other are the dog and the cat.”
His dog and cat are good friends. They cuddle up together. The snake, however, seems just to be looking for food (the fish tank is nearby), as snakes are solitary animals.
“[Ananse] is tricky, he is greedy, he is nasty, he tells lies, he does everything you are not supposed to do. And it’s really funny.”
He loves the character of Ananse, the spider, to whom he got first introduced to by a storyteller when he himself was a child. He was fascinated by Ananse because he did all the things that you are not supposed to do. He thought that was very funny. (But he warned the children not to be like Ananse!)
“I like to keep writing. I just go from story to story.”
He hasn’t written a new Ananse story for some time since he couldn’t figure out yet how to get Ananse back down from the moon (that’s where Ananse ended up in his last story). But he definitely keeps writing.
And then Mr. Kimmel surprised us by sharing a new Ananse story with us, a story that no other children in the world had heard before us. Wow! That was exciting! So far he calls the story “Ananase’s Secret Garden” since Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden is one of his favorite books. Without giving too much away of the story, there is an anteater, who loves her flower garden for which she buys flowers which then mysteriously disappear. And then there is Ananse, of course, who likes flowers too but as usual, tries to think of an easier way to get to flowers than having to pay or work for them… Sorry, I can’t tell you more here, just that we LOVED it!
At the very end of our session, Eric Kimmel told us another secret: his mother, who had loved traveling the world, had a favorite city: Hong Kong. Since he has never been to Hong Kong, we suggested he might consider visiting us at HKA one day. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?!
At the very end of our session, Eric Kimmel told us another secret: his mother, who had loved traveling the world, had a favorite city: Hong Kong. Since he has never been to Hong Kong, we suggested he might consider visiting us at HKA one day. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?!
Thank you for sharing your time, expertise, and stories with us, Eric Kimmel. We loved every minute of it - and hope to be able to welcome you at HKA one day!
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