Poet and storyteller, Eileen Spinelli has spun her magic tales for many years. From books on winter, birds, cats, ...just to name a few. It was difficult to pick just one to spotlight for Turkey month, especially since has written two Thanksgiving books. I give you the prolific,
Eileen Spinelli.
When and why did you start writing for children?
I started writing for children when my own children were young. Reading with them and visiting the library together seemed to reconnect me with the wonderful world of children's literature.
What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?
The most valuable advice I can give to a newcomer? Be yourself. Write what you feel called to write--not what you think the "market" is calling for.
What is one of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?
One of my favorite children's books: STARGIRL by Jerry Spinelli. (Smile...)
What are you working on now?
What am I working on now? I'm working on clearing my office clutter! How did my desk get so messy?!
What is your favorite dessert and why?
My favorite dessert is pumpkin pie. Maybe because my favorite month is October. I bought one today
at the farmer's market. The trick is not to eat the entire pie in one day
Eileen had so many awards and kudos that I just pulled the following off her site www.eileenspinelli.com that she wrote about herself.
As a young child I spent Saturdays at the Sellers Memorial Library in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was there that I fell in love with words and decided to become a writer.
My father gave me his old black manual typewriter. The key of Z stuck. Fine. I would not write stories about zebras or zippers. My father made me a desk from orange crates. My mother filled a box with paper. And that's how I began.
In high school I nearly failed geometry. But I won fLrst prize for my poetry. A check for 50 dollars.
After high school I worked at an assortment of jobs. I was a waitress at a local diner. I was a secretary. I answered phones at an airplane factory. And in between the cracks--on the bus, on my lunch break, behind the coffee counter--I wrote.
I married. Had children. And continued to write. At the laundromat. In the grocery line. At home when the children were asleep. Long into the night I wrote. My husband, Jerry, was writing too. We encouraged each other. Shared ideas. Dreamed.
Years passed. The children grew up. Grandchildren arrived. Our writing dreams came true.
I love my writing life.
My office is on the second floor of our home. It's quite cozy. Plants at the windows. My desk, our old dining room table. A Teddy bear. Photos of my favorite people. An overstuffed chair. An electric typewriter. (No, I don't use a computer.) Sometimes I'm so eager to get to work that I don't take time to get dressed in the morning. I just run upstairs in my nightie, with a cup of tea and an idea or two.
Such was the morning I began THREE PEBBLES AND A SONG.
I looked at the trees outside my window. They were turning red and gold. I heard geese honking across the pond. I thought of how much I loved the changing of the seasons. How much I enjoyed getting ready for each one. Summer: dust the patio furniture. Spring: plant my herb garden. Fall: scour soup pot. Winter: play my Christmas cd's. I thought, too, about how important the arts are in all the seasons of my life. I thought about my playful--but unsuccessful--attempts at juggling. And I put the thoughts into words.
And it was a good day.
When I am not writing poems, stories and books for children you might find me . . .pouring tea. . . trying on hats. . . picking herbs. '. . painting in my dream journal. . . browsing in thrift shops. . . dancing barefoot. . . waiting for the mailman. . . star-watching with my husband . . . curled up with a novel. . . taking a nap on the back porch. Zzzzzzzz. ...Eileen
I think this is a very good web site for kids books.I aloe think that these are books that kids parents sould read to there kids. I love this web site very much. The best i have ever seen for kids books.
Posted by: kristen bollenbacher | May 15, 2008 at 04:43 PM