Friday, September 4, 2015

Proust Questionnaire, Kidlit Edition, round 4

Fifty kidlit authors and illustrators answer a Vanity Fair-style Proust Questionnaire (i.e. short to read, long on insight). Same 10 questions for all (plus, for some, a wild card 11th of their choosing.) The series intro explains more and lists the participants.

Here are the next five:

Caroline Hickey


What is the trait you most admire in others?

Confidence.

What is your greatest strength?

I work really, really hard.

What would your friends say is your greatest strength?

I don’t let things bother me.

How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?

Watching my 3-year-old get stitches over her eye and not falling to pieces.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Family vacations. Worth every penny.

What is your most treasured possession?

My iPhone (yes, I realize how sad that is).

What was your big break?

Signing with my first agent, probably.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My daughters are both really nice kids.

Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?

Axl Rose, because he could drown out my caterwauling.

What is your motto?

“Think it, do it.”

WILD CARD: What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Lack of curiosity.

Jenni Holm



What is the trait you most admire in others?

The ability to be able to turn off “working” all the time.

What is your greatest strength?

I can fold a sweater like no one’s business. I worked at the Gap in high school.

What would your friends say is your greatest strength?

I don’t know—what do you think, Marc?

How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?

?

What is your greatest extravagance?

An original Prince Valiant comic strip illustrated by Gary Gianni. (I am a huge Prince Valiant fan.)

What is your most treasured possession?

My late father’s childhood teddy bear.

What was your big break?

Getting an agent for Our Only May Amelia after a dozen rejections.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Finishing my second book.

Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?

My brother, Matt Holm, of course. We’ve actually performed a duet already.

What is your motto?

“All they can do is say no. Someone may say yes.”

Susan Hood



What is the trait you most admire in others?

Kindness.

What is your greatest strength?

Depends what kind of a day I’m having!

What would your friends say is your greatest strength?

Making friends for life.

How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?

When crewing on a 38’ sailboat from Tortola to Bermuda, we lost power, lights, and navigation the third day out. Terrifying.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Buying books and traveling to as many foreign countries as possible.

What is your most treasured possession?

A quilt made by my mother; our photographs; two picture books signed by the authors: Barbara Cooney and Arnold Lobel.

What was your big break?

Getting laid off in 2009. I got good severance pay, time to write, an agent, and a picture book that went to auction.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Marrying the love of my life and mothering my two daughters.

Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?

Kermit.

What is your motto?

“Look, leap, and enjoy the bounce!”

WILD CARD: What’s your idea of perfect happiness?

Traveling the world with my family. And then coming home.

Laurie Keller



What is the trait you most admire in others?

Being nonjudgmental.

What is your greatest strength?

Being open-minded.

What would your friends say is your greatest strength?

Being a good listener.

How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?

Quitting my job and moving to NYC by myself to become a freelance illustrator.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Traveling.

What is your most treasured possession?

Other than family, friends, and pets (who aren’t really possessions but definitely treasured), my banjo.

What was your big break?

When Christy Ottaviano read my manuscript (which an associate had tucked in her files) and called me that day saying she wanted to publish it.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Learning to trust and follow my gut feelings in all situations.

Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?

Marcus Mumford (of Mumford & Sons).

What is your motto?

“…Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference” by Robert Frost in combo with “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right” by Henry Ford.

WILD CARD: Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

“Are you going to eat those M&M’s?”

Daniel Kirk



What is the trait you most admire in others?

Empathy—but not so much that it makes a person into a doormat.

What is your greatest strength?

Discipline, but not so much that it stops me from enjoying my day.

What would your friends say is your greatest strength?

Probably my productivity. People don’t understand that I get things done by just plodding away!

How have you experienced bravery you didn’t know you had?

I once actually leapt from my car to stop traffic and save an injured kitten, but that was easy. I’d have to say that getting over the fear of public speaking has been my greatest challenge in the bravery department.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I buy the most expensive, free-range eggs I can find, reasoning that the hens that lay them are treated like royalty, so they won’t mind my taking their eggs.

What is your most treasured possession?

Lately I have been selling my oldest, most treasured possessions, all my comic books and monster toys from childhood, and discovering how I can detach from things and still keep my good memories. It’s not so hard to do!

What was your big break?

Professionally speaking, my big break came when I happened to meet editor Howard Reeves, who was starting up a new children’s book division at Rizzoli, and was looking for authors who had interesting work that hadn’t yet been published. Twenty-five years later, I am still making books with him!

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Without a doubt that would be raising my three children, and the joy I take in watching their life stories unfold.

Setting aside the reality of whether or not you can sing, with whom would you like to perform a duet?

Skeeter Davis. She always sang harmony with herself on her records, but I think I have those parts figured out. She’d sound great with male accompaniment.

What is your motto?

“Why not?” If I ask the question, I may come up with a dozen reasons for not doing something. But I may step up to a great opportunity, too.

WILD CARD: Who are your favorite literary characters?

Frog and Toad, George and Martha, and the extended Moomin family—Moomintroll, Moomin Mama and Papa, Little My, the Snork Maiden, among many others!

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