Interviews

Q: You have written quite a few Middle Grade and Young Adult books, as well as picture books.  What is it then that draws you to writing picture books? Firstly, my audience.  I’ve always loved children and been a keen observer of their interplay with the...

In 1988 I married an Italian and moved to Rome where my two sons were born--and the idea for City Cat.  Rome is teeming with stray cats and I couldn’t help but admire how they masterfully maneuvered through the city streets scavenging for food and comfort.  When my...

1.  Where did you grow up and where do you live now? I grew up in Maine and graduated from Wellesley College and Columbia University.  I worked in the children’s book department of Alfred A. Knopf, and at the National Geographic Society before moving to Rome...

You used to be an editorial assistant at RH and worked with Frances Foster, your current editor.  Could you please describe for us how you made the transition from helping others to publish books to becoming an author yourself. I always wanted to write children’s...

The idea for FOX came to me several years ago when I was talking with Christine Baker from Gallimard. Her daughter had just left for a six month journey far from home. It got me thinking about how life is composed of a series of separations and how important the early...

What I remember about the ERASERHEADS is that the idea came to me in the car on the way home from the Bologna Book Fair a few years back. It just popped into my head and I cried aloud, “The Eraserheads!” I had no notion of what I would do with it but I was sure it...