Noblemania

World War II in elementary school

2012-01-25T07:22:00.007-05:00

On 1/19/12, I spoke at Stonehouse Elementary in Williamsburg, VA, a town home to events significant to the American Revolution. After, as I was leaving, a fourth grade boy asked my host, the school librarian, for a book on another war, World War II. (Actually, he asked for “another” WWII book.)

Because of my (still-in-progress) efforts to get my WWII nonfiction picture book manuscript Thirty Minutes Over Oregon published, this lifted my spirit and reconfirmed what I’ve been saying: WWII is a topic both appropriate for and of interest to students in upper elementary. (Mine is not the first picture book written about a WWII incident, though given the resistance from some editors, sometimes it feels like it is.)

Even better, the librarian told me it’s not just this boy; the subject is wildly popular with many of her students—and it’s not yet a topic in the classroom. In other words, just because a subject is not on the curriculum (how you doin’, Boys of Steel) doesn’t mean kids don’t and can’t learn about it in school.

"Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood"

2012-01-22T07:02:00.004-05:00

On 7/31/11 (okay, I’m behind, but with, I think, good reason), PBS announced the first animated spinoff—indeed the first spinoff of any kind—based on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. It’s cutely called Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, it’s scheduled to premiere in the fall of 2012, and I wrote one of the first round of episodes.

According to the press release, the show is

based on the next generation of the original Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood characters. All of the original characters have grown up and now have preschoolers of their own. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood stories revolve around a four-year-old Daniel Tiger, son of the original Daniel Tiger, and his preschool friends.

My episode is about a fruit festival, and I will bedevil you by not revealing more as of yet.

I was thrilled (and, naïvely, surprised) to see the enthusiastic reaction in the press to this show. I should not have underestimated the appeal Mr. Rogers still has.

I suspect there will be much more to blog about the series as we near its launch, but for now, I can say I am honored I’ve now been a small part of such a cherished American and educational institution.

Go get 'em, Tiger!

Great ideas for schools #13: Bully box

2012-01-20T07:08:00.001-05:00

In the main office of Waller Mill Fine Arts Magnet, an elementary school in Williamsburg, VA, where I spoke on 1/19/12, I saw a simple yet inspired way to combat bullying—a box for students to anonymously report hurtful behavior.

While I’m all for being creative in approaching this serious issue, at first I was skeptical (but not critical) of this particular method. The box is in plain sight of the office staff. I asked if kids were hesitant to use it because it’s not really anonymous when others can see them dropping in a note.

One of the staff told me the kids do use it—often in groups. Then I realized it may well be especially effective situated in such a prominent location. Every time a bullied student leaves the office, s/he’s reminded that the school is looking out for her/him. And every time a bully leaves the office, s/he’s reminded that the school is out for her/him.

Bring back the Sea World superheroes poster!

2012-01-19T07:09:00.006-05:00

In early 2010, I began to track down a bunch of former Sea World water skiing superheroes to interview them; I ultimately found more than 40, including seven of the ten in the famous poster above.

Not long after, I began thinking "reunion."

Lest there be any misconception, I was not one of them, so I was not doing this for my own benefit, but I sure would love to see it happen on their account. And sure enough, some of them had the same idea and have something in the works for fall 2012.

However, the kind of reunion I had in mind was not only a personal one but also a promotional one at a comic book convention. Because one of the two Sea World locations that featured the superheroes show was Orlando, and because many of these former show skiers still live in that area, it would seem that the best candidate to host such a reunion is MegaCon.

While speaking with MegaCon's head organizer, who seems open to the idea if circumstances allow, we came to the possibility of reprinting the poster, most likely with one small addition (MegaCon logo?) to distinguish it from the original, and distributing it for free at the convention at which skiers appear.

This poster was not published by DC Comics and does not feature DC licensed art, so I was hoping/expecting that the only real hurdle would be securing Sea World's approval. I'm still waiting on that, but in the meantime, because of legal factors including copyright, DC said no.

As you might have guessed, I'm appealing.

(At the least I am eager to learn exactly what the legal factors are.)

The poster has something of a cult following among DC fans and offering a "retro" version in a controlled environment seems consistent with many other reissues and "nostalgia products" DC has approved; one example is the Retro-Action line of DC poseable figures (done in the style of the beloved Mego figures of the '70s), though they are, of course, sold rather than given away.

I think the buzz that reprinting this poster would generate would make whatever obstacles may be present worth surmounting.

Who wants to see this poster reproduced for MegaCon? (I would ask for a show of hands but I don't want the pyramid to collapse...)

The cover for my 2012 picture book on Batman

2012-01-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

Thirty-eight years ago today, Bill Finger, uncredited co-creator of Batman, died. No mainstream publication ran an obituary.

Twenty-two weeks from today, you will see my humble attempt at rectifying that.

Here's the first preview:

Batman hits the streets

2012-01-15T07:27:00.001-05:00

Normally I don’t simply repost interesting images I’ve seen online, but here I’m breaking my own rule because I’ve recently come across two related to Batman (and related to each other in a way, since they’re both a form of street art).

One of many brilliant works by British chalk artist Julian Beever.

I don’t know the origin of this one. But it is a welcome warning.

The drinking problem problem

2012-01-13T07:04:00.008-05:00

Same Bat-tale, same Bat-chatter.

Several claims about Bill Finger (uncredited co-creator of Batman) are widely repeated in circles where people know who Bill Finger is:

Bill was as much if not more of the creator of Batman as Bob Kane—TRUE (subjectively but widely accepted)
Bill was notoriously late when it came to deadlines—TRUE
Bill was bad at money management and often dependent on advanced checks—TRUE
Bill died poor, alone, and anonymously—TRUE
Bill has no heirs—FALSE (and much more about that to come in future posts, not to mention the book itself)
Bill was an alcoholic…

This one is more of a gray area, but my vote is FALSE.

I understand that this does not gibe with the presumption: a writer whose Big Idea was for all intents stolen and who then toiled most of his career without proper credit seems a prime candidate to be a boozehound—especially in an era when writers and alcohol went together on practically a romantic level.

But I don’t believe Bill drank to excess on a regular basis, and I don’t believe this is revisionist history. I interviewed most of the surviving people who knew Bill well and their statements carry infinitely more weight than reheated rumors from comics aficionados, be they fans or pros.

In 2008, Bill’s longtime writing partner Charles Sinclair (who has been consistent and balanced with most of his recollections) told me “Bill…enjoyed a drink [but] was not an alcoholic. He might’ve occasionally moved toward being borderline.”

Also in 2008, Bill’s second wife said with even more conviction that Bill was not addicted to alcohol.

In an interview with writer/editor George Kashdan published in Alter Ego #93 (5/10), Kashdan said the same.

In an interview with Charles published in Alter Ego #84 (3/09), he again said he didn’t think Bill drank like an alcoholic and that he never saw Bill drink too much. He also said Jerry Robinson said that he (Jerry) didn’t think Bill had a drinking problem.

In Alter Ego #39 (8/04), Robinson himself said that anyone treated as Bill was might turn to drink, but that wasn’t the case in the beginning (meaning, presumably, that Bill wasn’t drinking when Bill and Jerry met, in 1939). I believe Jerry is elsewhere on record saying he wouldn’t classify Bill as an alcoholic, though I don’t have that handy. (Ah, the permissive beauty of a blog versus a print article!)

A possible counterpoint: In 2006, the late Jerry Bails told me “Drinking was a common out for writers, and Bill was no exception.” To my regret, I didn’t ask for elaboration, but I think he may have been speaking generally or extrapolating. In any case, Bails did not know Bill as well (or rather as long) as the others quoted here, nor did he live in the same city, and ultimately he did not say Bill was a drunk.

I do realize Bill’s network may simply be protecting their old friend, but some were critical on other issues. Therefore, I suspect that now, decades after Bill’s death, when asked about this by the first person to write a book about Bill, they would see the obligation in setting the record straight, if that was needed.

Everyone agrees Bill drank and most everyone said within safe limits, though some inconclusively. I stand by my FALSE vote and will leave it at that. (The book is for all ages so this is obviously not a topic I am addressing there.)

Part of my rationale comes from what killed Bill. It was not booze, at least not according to the Medical Examiner’s report…which you shall see here as we get closer to the book’s July publication.

6,291 unclaimed trunks = ? copies "Action Comics" #1?

2012-01-10T07:38:00.007-05:00

Forty-nine storage rooms.

One hundred ten buildings.

Six thousand, two hundred ninety-one trunks.

Millions of items, any of which could be worth millions.

In the 8/8/11 New Yorker, a Talk of the Town piece by Nick Paumgarten revealed that there are 6,291 unclaimed trunks of personal belongings in dank storage rooms below Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, a large apartment compound in New York.

These trunks date back decades to the 1940s, when the buildings opened, and of course the reasons they’ve been abandoned vary; the owners of some have died, but most likely most of those reasons will remain as mysterious as the contents themselves.

That is because it does not seem that anyone plans to open them. Well, some have been opened and some have burst open, but the article doesn’t say if there will a systematic cataloguing of the rest of the mass of material.

Which is why I promptly called Rose Associates, the property manager cited in the article.

Thus far, most of what has spilled out of trunks seems worthless—old clothes, canceled checks, ‘70s LPs. But I’m willing to wager that at least one of those trunks, and quite possibly several, contains an original copy of Action Comics #1 (featuring the debut of Superman), Detective Comics #27 (debut of Batman), or any number of other ultra-rare, mega-valuable comics, not to mention other kinds of valuables.

The companies that own the residential complex have been tasked with finding a more profitable use for this storage space. Given the understandably skeeved attitude of the property manager quoted in the article (who describes the air in those rooms as “unsanitary” and who said “I hate to think about the stuff that would come running out” when trunks are moved, etc.), I figured it would be worth a shot to ask if a writer could do research there. For all I know (the article doesn’t say), they might be planning to pulp those trunks.

I didn’t hear back from Rose. I don’t seem have great luck when it comes to New York institutions.

(I proposed holding a signing for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman at the Bronx Zoo both because of the bat connection and because Bill [Finger] lived in the Bronx when he co-created Batman. They said no. More on this in a future post.)

No matter. I will likely try again. After all, in most cases, searching for an Action #1 is as futile as searching for a Bigfoot in your bathtub, but that doesn’t mean one will never be found; and this is a scenario where the odds seem way greater than most any other I can imagine.

The location is right. (New York was the capital of comics.)

The time period is right. (Action #1 came out in 1938 so surely many copies were still lying around when people began storing trunks under Stuy Town.)

And to me, that amount of nostalgia packed all in one place bodes well.

Therefore even I, a person who has trouble concentrating if my finger accidentally grazes a sticky cup holder at the movies, would be willing to become a Detective, slide on gloves, and risk a rat carcass or two if it meant I might discover some Action.

Who’s with me?

The books I remember...beyond the stories

2012-01-08T06:37:00.020-05:00

We all remember certain books we loved as a child, but often there is no story behind the story; there is just a gauzy recollection of joy.

For me, many classics fall into this category: Goodnight Moon, The Cat and the Hat, Caps for Sale, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day, Harry and the Terrible Whatzit, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Leo the Late Bloomer, Humbug Witch, Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Weirdos, Where the Wild Things Are.

Then there are certain books we remember because of a story surrounding them. These personal stories might take no more than a line to tell, and these books weren’t always favorites, but they nonetheless remain a memory.

These are those books for me.

Moose, an out-of-print 1971 picture book by the prolific, diverse Michael Foreman, is a paean to peace and very much a product of its (Vietnam War) era. Of course, when hearing the story as a child, that allegory completely escaped my awareness.

It contains a scene I remember scrutinizing: a bear set up in a room in the woods. The very idea of this—a room with no walls, human trappings blended in with the trees—was riveting to me, and the detailed drawing amplified it:

It’s no surprise that I love superheroes now, and probably no surprise that this dates back to childhood. I remember loving the chunky, portable format of Aquaman: Scourge of the Sea, not to mention the fact that it was about one of my favorite heroes (and one who was the focus of relatively little merchandising, making this a novelty).

Another superhero book I loved—also chunky, but not portable—is one I pored over in the den in our house; I believe Superman From the 30's to the 70's was a Chanukah gift. As an adult researching Superman’s creators for what became Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, I was startled and angered to learn that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s names do not appear in the book even once.

Like many males of my generation, I gobbled up the Hardy Boys. I remember toting the blue-spined hardcovers to my grandmother’s in New Haven and reading them on her chair until what felt like the middle of the night (but was probably only 9 p.m.). Even then I was attuned to—and interested in—the time period that produced them.

Around age six, I stood in the front hallway of my house and pleaded with my mom to let me take the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Golden Book to school. She wasn’t against me reading it or even owning it but did not feel it was appropriate for a Jewish child to bring in a Christmas book for show and tell. Mom 1, me 0.

The Power of Light by Isaac Bashevis Singer had eight stories, one for each night of Chanukah. I can’t say for sure I read one per night but do remember feeling it would make my Sunday school teacher proud if she were to find out I had it.

Chancing upon the novel Frankenstein's Aunt in my town library, I was fascinated to see a story about an icon told from a different perspective and with characters not in the source material; it may have been the first time I’d seen that. Today it’s quite common to see new interpretations of public domain figures.

This is the only cover of this bunch I’m not 100% certain about. I do know that in fourth grade I read a paperback about Squanto. Of all the covers I saw online, Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims came closest to a ka-ching, but I feel the one I read had trees and more color.

Also in 1982, when I was ten and Raiders of the Lost Ark was one, I tried to tackle the paperback novelization, which I got from my dad’s old-fashioned pharmacy/luncheonette in New Haven. A google showed that various covers were produced and at first I didn’t find the one I remembered: blue foil. I started to doubt my recall until I did come across the very one I pulled out in fourth grade free read. The language was tough so I didn’t finish it, but didn’t need to; I knew the film probably line-for-line.

Memoirs of an Invisible Man was another adult novel I read (but this time, at fifteen, I was a ways closer to actually being an adult). In a sense, it relates to the concept behind Frankenstein’s Aunt in that it is an update/twist on an existing archetype. I remember devouring it on my waterbed (sadly true) the summer of 1987 and feeling very grown-up about it.

And permit me to show a few that have no extra story but whose two- or no-color glory compelled me to revisit them with my own children.

The two middle-grade (if that’s what they are?) novels that seemed to linger strongest with me were built around small animals: The Mouse and the Motorcycle and The Cricket in Times Square. I still like my covers better than the various revisions I’ve seen since.

And, of course, this one.

There are more I can’t remember at the moment. I hope I do eventually and will then add to this post.

Bill Finger’s parents

2012-01-06T07:24:00.000-05:00

Bill Finger, uncredited co-creator of Batman, gave few interviews. (It’s not that he wasn’t willing; it’s that he wasn’t asked.) And he mentioned his parents precisely zero times.

What little is publicly known about Bill’s parents comes from two sources: a sketchy biographical sketch from 1941 (sketchy in that it brazenly whitewashes Bill’s involvement on any level with Batman) and Alvin Schwartz, a celebrated DC Comics writer and old friend of Bill’s who passed away 10/28/11.

From talking to Finger family and to FOB (Friends of Bill) who’d not been interviewed before, I learned that Bill and his parents had been estranged for most of Bill’s adult life.

Bill had also become estranged from his only sibling sometime before her wedding—and also, I think, before Batman (1939).

In Alter Ego #98 (12/10), Schwartz is quoted as saying, “[Bill] married Portia because he had to get away from home. He couldn’t stand his parents nagging, the fact that they would show up every payday and take his check.”

[This seems consistent with the comment from that bio in Green Lantern #1 about Bill’s parents wanting him to be a doctor.]

In Schwartz’s 11/8/99 “After the Golden Age” column at World Famous Comics, he speculated that Bill’s dislike of his parents influenced the origin of Batman—namely, that Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered. That is heavy stuff and I hope it wasn’t the case.

Whatever the full story behind the rift, I suspect Bill’s sister sided with her parents; when I tried to find out what had happened between Bill and her, she wouldn’t say, even though this is going back seventy years and even though Bill has been gone for half of them.

Pottery Barn Kids

2012-01-04T07:48:00.002-05:00

Over the last several years, Pottery Barn Kids has carried a variety of Superman- and Batman-branded merchandise, some of it retro style.

What better to do after completing a challenging puzzle than take a nap, and what better to do before a nap than read a book?

Therefore, I have pitched PBK my book Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman. The response: "We'll let you know if we're interested."

That was some time ago.

I will be pitching them again with Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.

If they take it, PBK will then stand for "Pow! Bam! Kapow!"

Year of the Bat

2012-01-01T07:09:00.003-05:00

In 2010, when brainstorming promotional possibilities for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, due in July, the Chinese zodiac inspired me to jot down “Year of the Bat” (which is not one of the twelve actual signs).

A Google proved that not only did someone beat me to it, but it happens to be this year.

Which doesn’t mean I won’t still find a way to use that phrase. In fact, the fact that it’s a conservation effort only encourages me.

If for some reason a bat falls to the ground, it won’t be able to take off; rather it needs assistance, such as a person to put a stick at its feet for it to grasp, then lift it so the bat can drop and go.

And like a bat, this idea won’t fly on its own.

Therefore, I’ve already talked with several bat-related organizations and have one idea in particular that I’m trying to, yes, get off the ground. If zoo read this carefully, you might be able to guess what it is.

Author Edward Ormondroyd in 1969

2011-12-29T07:04:00.006-05:00

Edward wrote one of the most beloved novels of my childhood, David and the Phoenix (published 1957, though my childhood came later).

This year, I interviewed Edward. To my disappointment, he had almost no photos of himself.

Then I met him in person, and surprised him.

Now a friend, Connie Rockman, has unearthed some material on Edward that even Edward did not seem to remember existed, and luckily it includes a photo:

It's from the Third Book of Junior Authors (1972), but because Edward said he was still getting letters about David and the Phoenix "twelve years later," it's apparent that he wrote this in 1969.

Winter camp directory

2011-12-26T07:30:00.007-05:00

Clear and present danger

2011-12-24T07:35:00.001-05:00

This looks like a job for Superman…fans

2011-12-22T07:05:00.002-05:00

In August 2011, a crime was committed in Illinois, home state of Metropolis. (Metropolis? True story.)

Not only did Superman not stop it, he was the cause of it.

Mike Meyer, a 48-year-old part-time McDonald’s employee described as having a mentally disability, let a new acquaintance into his home. While the acquaintance’s girlfriend distracted Mike, the acquaintance switched to his secret identity: a thief.

He stole from a collection of at-times rare Superman memorabilia that Mike had been amassing for decades.

Though I read a few articles about this (it was all over the news), I don’t recall learning how word of this reached the fan community. In any case, people connected to Superman around the world took a page from his playbook and lent a hand in the form of sending all sorts of Superman merchandise to Mike to help him rebuild his collection.

But even before I read of this, I was honored to be asked to send a copy of Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, and promptly did. Then I was tickled to read the following in one of the articles:

A California fan group has contacted actress Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane opposite George Reeves in the original TV series, for an autograph. Neill in fact met Meyer once, Howard said. When Meyer attended the Metropolis Festival several years ago, he got to meet her and stand in Superman’s place beside her for a few minutes.

Other celebrities, including Tracy Lewis of the Superboy series and Mark Tyler Nobleman, author of Boys of Steel, are sending autographed items.

Obviously, and not just because of the “k,” they’re not talking about me.

And, of course, they caught the jerk—as all classic superhero stories end.

"Vanished" Reading Group Guide

2011-12-19T07:53:00.002-05:00

When I was first asked (in 2008) to write the book that became Vanished: True Stories of the Missing, I said no, feeling it would be too tough to find age-appropriate stories.

Today I discovered that Scholastic has produced a Reading Group Guide for it.

How far we've come.

The guide is strong. Someone spent time getting to know the material and teased out substantial questions and suggestions.

When parents or teachers nervously ask about the content, I say that none of the seven stories contain any gruesome actions, three of the stories are about people who did not remain missing, and two of those stories are about young people who weren't just found—they saved themselves. And I do mean young—second grade and kindergarten.

I did not write the book with a lesson in mind but there's a fine takeaway in that.

Insomni-actions

2011-12-16T07:33:00.000-05:00

Jerry Siegel as a young man

2011-12-15T07:42:00.002-05:00

Rather a young man as Jerry Siegel.

This is AW, who read Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman for a school biography project:

This project required students to pretend to be the people they read about, and the photo here shows AW as Jerry.

I'm still beaming about a series of Siegel and Shuster board games some Texas students created, and now I have the privilege of seeing this—an occurrence unthinkable only a few years ago.

I only wish Jerry (who died in 1996) could have seen it, too.

Favorite school slogans #3

2011-12-13T06:48:00.000-05:00

F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School, Guam:

Love the humility and conviction of this one.

Note: This is not a ranking but rather a list in order of discovery.

Pop songs to teach English grammar

2011-12-09T06:43:00.001-05:00

This is great though I'd love to see more songs per category:

Jerry Robinson, pioneering Batman artist, 1922-2011

2011-12-08T17:34:00.004-05:00

It was my great honor to know Jerry Robinson (early Batman artist; co-creator of Robin and the Joker; brave advocate for Superman creators Siegel and Shuster), who passed away on 12/7/11. New Year’s Day would’ve been his 90th birthday.

Many others have already paid tribute to him knowledgeably and beautifully, including Ty Templeton (artist for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman), so all I can add is my brief personal experience with Jerry.

From 2006 (over the phone) to this summer (on camera, for a documentary), he selflessly spent hours telling me about his old friend Bill Finger. One of the most poignant surprises (and fluky twists) in my upcoming Finger book is thanks to Jerry.

At times Jerry would call me—to ask for my address to invite me to an exhibit opening, to ask if Bill’s second wife should be invited to the Bill Finger Awards. I was always surprised he remembered who I was. I suspect dozens of new people thrust themselves into his life each week, and somehow he managed to keep them straight and make time for all of them. I’ve speculated more than once that Jerry probably gave at least one interview a day.

He was a class act in every direction, to all of us whose paths were lucky to cross his. His contributions were not only artistic but altruistic. He didn't need a cape to be a crusader.

You'll still be expected at my book's launch party, Jerry, and now I'm counting on you to bring Bill, too.

Computer versus Brain

2011-12-07T07:28:00.000-05:00

"Boys of Steel" interview for B'nai B'rith

2011-12-06T13:20:00.005-05:00

In high school, I was an eager member of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO).

Recently, B'nai B'rith Magazine interviewed me about Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, and about superheroes and Jews in general. This was a supplement to the cover story of the winter 2011 issue of the print magazine, which showed Boys of Steel:

Edward is the Phoenix: surprise for an author

2011-12-04T00:00:00.004-05:00

Finding out that Edward Ormondroyd, author of the 1957 YA novel David and the Phoenix, was still with us (at age 86) was a highlight of my summer.

Contacting him and convincing him to let me interview him for my blog was as well.

Yet in terms of moving experiences, both turned out to be mere prologue to the Edward-related event that unfolded in Trumansburg, NY, on 12/2/11. I believe it is unprecedented in the known history of author visits at schools.

Like the fabled Phoenix of his book, Edward (as author) has risen again, and it didn’t require a pyre or fire of any kind.

In the interview, Edward said that, but for two “unofficial” (my term) exceptions, he never spoke in schools, as many children’s authors do today.

A humble and happy man, he didn’t say this with any discernible hint of regret or longing, but I saw an opportunity just the same.

By pure, freakish chance, at the same time I had been tracking down Edward, I was also booking an author visit at Trumansburg Elementary in Trumansburg, NY…which, I would soon learn, happens to be the town in which Edward lives.

Yet apparently, the fact that he is a published author is largely unknown among the townsfolk.

More broadly, David and the Phoenix remains beloved by certain adult readers yet largely unknown among the current generation.

I believed kids and Trumansburgians alike would be most interested in Edward’s books and in Edward himself.

So I asked Purple House Press, the exclusive publisher of David and the Phoenix, if they would discreetly donate copies of it to the school so the kids could take turns reading it in the month leading up to my appearance. The publisher kindly obliged and sent 30 paperbacks at no charge. The kids were not told that their assignment to read Edward’s novel had any connection to my upcoming author visit.

Edward had already planned to attend my talk—anonymously, he thought. But about halfway through, I ambushed the whole room.

I flashed a picture of David and the Phoenix, citing it as a childhood favorite. I innocently asked the kids if they knew the book. As I suspected, their reaction was excitement—and disbelief: what are the chances this guest author would mention the very book by an unrelated author that they all just so happened to read?

Then I announced that Edward just so happened to be in the room. I gestured to him to “introduce” him to the crowd—a surprised author greeting surprised fans...for the first time. He stood and endearingly bowed.

For the Q&A segment with which I close my program, I encouraged students to ask questions of either of us (not having cleared this in advance with Edward). To my great pleasure, upon hearing this, quite a few kids turned to Edward and shot up their hands.

Here are both segments on film—the intro (unfortunately, Edward is cut off, except for his bow) and the Q&A:

Edward’s wife and friend had accompanied him; later, his wife said Edward was touched and his friend said seeing Edward get such long-deserved attention brought tears to his eyes. Edward told me he had not thought I would involve him in my presentation, let alone even mention him.

After the presentation, Edward and I posed in front of an important word:

Edward requested this pose.
His wife shrugged and said authors of books for children
never fully grow up.

As if this weren’t memorable enough, the Ormondroyds kindly invited me to their house for dinner (featuring vegetables they grew themselves) that evening. Adding to the honor, fellow author Bruce Coville (whom I’d run into online but never in person) joined us.

Taken in Edward’s library, this photo shows (as Bruce commented) “three generations of David and the Phoenix”—the author (holding the lone first edition hardcover he owns), a fan from circa the first edition (Bruce), and a fan from circa the 1981 Scholastic edition (me):

Let’s recap how many surprises were bundled into this story:

surprise on me: that Edward lives in same town as a school I was booked to speak at
surprise on Edward: that I was going to shine the spotlight on him during my presentation and that the kids read David and the Phoenix in prep
surprise on the kids: that Edward was there and that they'd read David and the Phoenix because Edward was going to be there
surprise on the people of Trumansburg: that Edward lives in town

The press release I'd sent began with this plea: “Due to the surprise nature of this event, please do not run story (or even discuss locally) until after!” The Ithaca Journal (the region’s daily paper) covered it; the Fox TV affiliate WICZ told me they would be there, but they were a no-show.

The day prior, I had seen the film Hugo, in which a younger person shows an older person (silent era filmmaker Georges Méliès) who had a creative influence that he (the older person) is still fondly remembered. I felt like this Edward Experiment was a Hugo moment of my own.

Special thanks to Trumansburg Elementary librarian Gail Brisson who eagerly agreed to take on this additional effort and who managed to keep the whole thing a secret for a month, even from Edward’s wife…who, it just so happens, volunteers in the school.

A warm hometown school vi

2011-12-01T21:52:00.002-05:00

On 11/30/11, I had the pleasure of speaking in my hometown at Garrett Park Elementary in Bethesda, MD.

Their welcome sign made my surname gender-neutral. (I know it was simply a space issue so it didn’t bother me—in fact, I smiled at it—but a kind school staffer apologized for it as soon as I walked in.)

They had booked my presentation for a mere two weeks before the entire school will move to its new facility, so obviously they like a challenge!

A good number of parents volunteered to supervise the kids during the presentation. Though I do encourage it in my contract, parents other than the PTA liaison rarely attend my school presentations, so this was a treat for me.

Bonus: the school sold a good number of Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman beforehand and are now going to feature some of my books at their upcoming book fair.

Searching for Gordon from “Sesame Street”

2011-11-29T07:24:00.004-05:00

Thanks to their new movie, the Muppets are back at the forefront of pop culture, but I remain a bigger fan of Sesame Street…even more so once I learned that the show has gone to the web to find the man who played Gordon only once, in the unaired 1969 pilot.

This is a kind of thing I love. This is a kind of thing I’ve done. So I feel their hope.

It’s been two weeks since the Sesame Street search went public and I haven’t seen any follow-up. This seems the kind of thing that, if anyone knows, the details would be forthcoming immediately. So this episode is brought to you by the letter W, for worried—if even the mighty and beloved Sesame Street can’t find their man, then what chance do the rest of us mere Muggle/Muppet handlers have?

12/10/11 update: I knew they'd find him. Frustratingly, first reports said no details about him would be revealed to respect his privacy, but it appears that he died in 1984. To me, that is all the more reason details should be revealed.

The title of my 2012 picture book on Batman is…

2011-11-28T07:41:00.004-05:00

…Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. Twitter-unfriendly, but still on schedule for a 7/1/12 release.

On 11/22/11, I was thrilled to learn that the book was named a Junior Library Guild selection. (Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman also was, but I didn’t find out about that until the March prior to publication—in other words, four months later than this time!)

What this honor means, and could mean (graphic from the JLG site):

Batman’s in charge; I’m just the sidekick.

Vanished: The Movie Trailer

2011-11-25T14:08:00.007-05:00

I was thrilled to stumble across a trailer for a (nonexistent) movie based on my nonfiction compilation book Vanished: True Stories of the Missing. I didn't know the person who made it but introduced myself!

Those glimpses of Indiana Jones and the Little Prince are not false advertising; both do figure into a story in the book. I especially love the text treatment at the end.

Leftover labels

2011-11-24T07:22:00.003-05:00

Original research for picture books

2011-11-22T07:19:00.004-05:00

Before Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, few of the books I’d written involved original research. And while I was writing Boys of Steel, I don’t think I stopped to think about the fact that I was doing original research. Now I find myself choosing projects because they’d require original research. It’s a good kind of addictive.

By “original research,” I mean digging up previously unpublished information, typically by looking in places no one else has before.

It takes longer. It often leads to more dead ends (how can you be certain you’ll find something useable in any given direction if you’re the first to check?). But it’s also more fulfilling, and not only for the writer.

Just because a subject has never been the focus of its own book before doesn’t mean the research for that book is original. (The reverse, of course, is also true.)

For example, my 2012 book on Bill Finger, uncredited co-creator of Batman, is the first book to focus on Bill, but not because no one before me could find enough material on him. I could’ve written it using only published books such as Batman: The Complete History by Les Daniels (who passed away 11/5/11) as my source material. But that wouldn’t have told the whole (to the extent that’s possible) story. It certainly wouldn’t have told some of the most interesting parts of the story.

While I did refer to Daniels’s book, among others, I also interviewed dozens of people who had not been interviewed about Bill before and tracked down documents no other writer had referred to before.

I don’t know how recently authors of nonfiction picture books began doing original research but this development has gotten some attention lately in the publishing media. The fact that it’s a topic at all is a symptom of the myth that books for young people are (a) not “real” books, (b) easier to write than adult books, and (c) simplistic in both subject and prose. (Can you imagine seeing an article focusing on how the author of a biography for adults did original research?)

In creating nonfiction (or fiction, for that matter), I feel original research is as critical as original writing. It’s not enough to have a good story. We should strive for a good story that is also a fresh story. Adding to the record gives meaning and lends permanence.

Gone South Carolina

2011-11-20T07:20:00.005-05:00

A lovely time of year to visit the Lowcountry. On 11/17/11 and 11/18/11, I spoke seven times at four Charleston area schools. It was so tight because I had to book my flight before knowing how many bookings I would get, and when more came in afterward, I had to ask each school for their understanding with regard to the juggling act that ensued.

At both of the 11/17/11 schools, I happened to know the mom of one of the students, and got to see both. At one of the 11/17/11 schools, I also got to see this:

At the other, I happened upon this cheeky way to recycle an old card catalog:

This took one person two full days!

On 11/18/11, my schedule was so tight that I had to cut short the last presentation to have ample time to refuel and return the rental car and make my flight. Of course, this was the first time in forever where a school's laptop froze during my PowerPoint...meaning we lost even more time while they retrieved and booted up a replacement. Luckily, the kids and staff were most patient and I felt I still fit in most of the material.

My PSA for PBS Guam

2011-11-18T07:12:00.006-05:00

This was one highlight of many on my recent two-week author trip to Guam.

I talked extra slowly because they told me to. I didn't smile because they didn't tell me to. And upon seeing this finished cut, I wish I had talked slightly faster and flashed teeth more.

But overall, it was fun and I am pleased, especially with the zooming-backwards-through-bookshelves effect, which was not a typhoon (common in those parts) but rather just some movie magic.

Doughnut owner's manual

2011-11-17T07:02:00.003-05:00

Metro Man usurps Superman?

2011-11-16T07:08:00.002-05:00

On 9/22/11, I kicked off the 2011-12 year of author visits at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD. The students in attendance had all met or exceeded the summer reading book quota the school had set forth in a challenge.

When speaking at Jewish venues, I like to share a brief, anonymized version of the Moses story and ask the audience who I’m talking about. They always get it.

Then I ask who else I could be describing and usually someone answers as I am hoping by saying Superman.

However, it appears we’ve reached a dispiriting shift. For the first time, a student did not say Superman…but rather Metro Man (technically, the student said Megamind, who is Metro Man’s enemy and the star of the 2010 film of the same name).

The linked origin of hero Metro Man and villain-turned-hero Megamind is a parody/homage of Superman’s rocketed-from-a-dying-planet backstory. It’s hard for me to accept that these two characters from a derivative, forgettable film (whose cast, nonetheless, I do love) now loom larger in some young minds than the world’s first superhero.

This looks like a job for Superman. I just hope we don’t reach the point where a student responds “Super who now?”

Turning the Page #3

2011-11-15T07:55:00.004-05:00

On 11/9/11, I took part in my third Community Night event for the Washington D.C. organization Turning the Page. The format is this:

I show up on time, thanks to the Metro. (This is compared to last year, when I showed up with mere minutes to spare, thanks to the traffic.)
I eat.
I speak for 20-30 minutes to an audience of families.
The kids break go to different rooms for mentor-run activities.
I answer questions from the parents for 30 minutes.
I sign books that the organization generously purchased for every attending family.
I try to find my way back home.

At Tyler Elementary, whose students, parents, and hallways all impressed me, I had an opening act, and they blew me away. Accompanied by a slide show, three young ladies read a short poem entitled "If I Could Be a Superhero," which I later learned is by Steve Lazarowitz. Superman is the only DC hero name-checked in it, but I liked it anyway. Here are murky shots of the last lines:

The books that Turning the Page donated to attendees:

And courtesy of Lee Ziesche and Turning the Page, a few presentation shots:

"Chicken Soup for the Soul: Food and Love" cartoons

2011-11-13T07:42:00.007-05:00

Fourteen of my cartoons appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Food and Love.

Here are four of my favorites:

Just over thirty days after "Thirty Minutes" posted

2011-11-12T07:24:00.008-05:00

In late September 2011, I posted a pitch for a nonfiction picture book I've written that has generated humbling praise from editors but no offers:

Justin LaRocca Hansen

Several days ago, a Denver mother (and librarian) kindly messaged me that her son Owen, age 8, had drawn a picture inspired by Thirty Minutes Over Oregon. She told me that they had not discussed the story since the post went up.

In her words: "Just another reminder that this topic is very compelling to a young person!"

I love the drawing; it depicts two key scenes from the book. I should note, however, that the book (nor the true story behind it) does not contain a scene of a plane crashing and burning. That's Owen's creative license!

Thank you, Owen, for the thought, and thank you, Owen's mom, for sharing. Keep them coming!

Big screen, big shirt

2011-11-11T07:56:00.001-05:00

Pre-blog school visit photo:

New Haven (CT) Register

Looking for elderly females

2011-11-10T07:36:00.003-05:00

If you’re a heterosexual male who (when young and single) thought finding a young female was hard, it’s nothing compared to finding an old female.

Sweet lord no, I don’t mean that lasciviously. I mean research.

Finding anyone old is hard since elderly people are not likely to be on social media or have much other trace online. Finding anyone old and female is especially hard, especially if you don’t know her married name. (At times I have had to look for a woman who intersected with the subject of my book when they were both young, meaning that, to start, I know only her maiden name.)

For my 2012 book on Bill Finger, uncredited co-creator of a fella you mighta hearda called Batman, I found myself interacting with a large number of people over the age of 80. (Bill was born in 1914 and I’d set out to speak to as many of his contemporaries who knew him personally as I could.)

Once I covered the essentials, I dug into the wild cards. One of those had a perfect name for a wild card—Dorcas. In 2006, Charles Sinclair, Bill’s longtime friend and writing partner (on radio, TV, and film, but not on Batman comics), amazingly remembered that a woman named Dorcas had once invited Bill to Thanksgiving.

(I’d normally say you don’t forget a name like Dorcas, but when you’re talking about an event going back at least 50 years, you just might.)

The reason I was so keen on finding Dorcas is because Thanksgiving is a holiday and holidays are when it’s more likely than usual for people to take photos. (So few photos of Bill had been published that I zealously followed any lead that might turn up a “new” one.)

While Charles remembered the first name and the holiday, as well the church through which she and Bill met, that was it—no last name, no state. Yet from those meager roots, I was able to find Dorcas. Here’s how:

I contacted a former priest from the church who allegedly had great memory of church members from from that era. Indeed he did remember Dorcas and gave me both her last name (Young) and last known address, in St. Petersburg, Florida. This was a huge first step in the right direction.
I Googled her—no one by her name in St. Petersburg but one in Davenport, Florida. Even though the phone number for that one was out of service, I figured this was a more current city for her than the St. Petersburg one.
I checked PeopleFinder where I found my Dorcas Young in both St. Petersburg and Davenport, living with a man named Norman (it was indicated that she was 85, he 88).
I Googled Norman in both cities and called info for both cities and both their names. I called a few of the phone numbers this generated. Some were wrong numbers; others were answering machines on which I didn’t bother to leave a message.
I Googled for obituaries and found one listed on a pay site. Much as I wanted to find Dorcas, she wasn’t essential so not worth spending $70 for the one-year subscription required.
I figured out what newspaper covers Davenport. I searched for obits for either and found that Norman did die, in 8/05 (see below).
The obit listed their daughter Kaorin so I tried to find her on Google and People Finder. Neither listed anyone with her unusually spelled first name (love when that happens) in St. Petersburg (or even Florida), but one did list another unusually spelled similar name—Kaaren—age 64, in St. Petersburg. The number I found online was out of service, so I called information and got another for her. I called and got the machine but she sounded the right age.
The obit also listed two churches Norman was affiliated with. I called both. Neither answered. (It was a Sunday.)
The obit also listed the place that held the memorial service for Norman. I called there and it turned out to be a retirement home and…a big “and”...Dorcas lived there! Clair, the woman who answered, told me that Dorcas was totally lucid and that she would ask Dorcas about this. When I told Clair that the Dorcas I’m looking for had invited a lonely acquaintance from her church (who I’m now writing about) to her Thanksgiving one year, Clair said "That sounds like her."

All that, however, was for nothing. Clair (super nicely) reported back that Dorcas remembered that Bill had come to a Thanksgiving, but nothing more. And she had no photos.

By the way, given that my Dorcas quest was five years ago, I should point out that in recounting this story, I am not going on memory (even though the name Dorcas is, as mentioned above, memorable). I recorded this research strand immediately after I did it or else I surely would have forgotten it.

First-ever guest on the Superman Homepage live radio show

2011-11-09T07:05:00.003-05:00

In which I got to talk about my "Super '70s and '80s" blog series (100 interviews with "lost" stars of superhero pop culture), my 2012 book on Bill Finger and Batman, and the never-before-revealed connection between the Superman Homepage and Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman. My segment starts at 12:16 (though the whole show is worth listening to):

Listen to internet radio with SupermanHomepage on Blog Talk Radio

I've known Steve Younis, the gracious ringleader of the Superman Homepage, since 2005. At around 8 p.m. on 11/7/11, Steve messaged to ask if I'd like be a guest on the SH Internet radio show. The first-ever guest, apparently, hard as that was for me to believe! I said I'd be honored and asked when. He said they do the show Monday nights at 11:30 p.m. EST. I said I was already planning to be up that late for other obligations, so we spontaneously scheduled the interview for that very night.

Thank you again, Steve, for the opportunity.

How I became a published author

2011-11-08T07:16:00.000-05:00

People aren’t clamoring for this story any more than they’re clamoring for my first published book, but if I did only what people clamored for, you might never hear from me again.

In 1995, I was working my first job after college—a marketing assistant at Abbeville Press in New York.

The company was known for its coffee table books (particularly art monographs) but had recently launched a children’s imprint.

One of the most popular titles in that imprint was Letters from Felix, a picture book translated from German.

Before I started, the marketing department had developed a simple promotional series of activity sheets based on the book that they sent to bookstores. The publisher wanted to create an entire book of activities. He announced this at a marketing meeting.

I volunteered to write it. Somehow, no one sniggered.

I forgot what happened next (though I did keep a journal at the time, I am relaying this story solely on memory).

Six or so months later, on the Friday before Labor Day weekend, the publisher called me into his office.

“Remember when you offered to write the Felix activity book?”

I said yes.

“Well, if you were serious, the job is yours.”

“Are you serious?” I was 23 with no credits to my name. I now know why at least in part why that was actually attractive: it meant I came cheap.

I was partnered with a friend who also worked in the marketing department. We were hired independently of our day jobs and were not supposed to work on the book in the office. Because my friend was also one of my bosses, she had more responsibility and therefore could devote less time to the book. I (gladly) ended up writing the majority of it and at her prompting (she was a good egg), we adjusted our financial arrangement accordingly.

I remember doing my research, all the old-fashioned way: books only. The Internet (at least as a significant research tool) was still a couple of years off.

Once we had some activities done, I focus-grouped them at a Connecticut elementary school at which the sister of another of my bosses taught. That sister is now a principal and I did an author visit at her school in 2010.

The Felix Activity Book came out in 1996.

I did my first bookstore signing that fall, and a couple more afterward. In 1999, the sequel Felix Explores Our World came out to zero fanfare (except in my mom’s condo).

Then Felix and I parted ways, amicably. But I will always be grateful to him (and Abbeville) for giving me my first break in publishing.

Felix may have been the one writing letters, but I was the one who became an author.

November is Picture Book Month

2011-11-06T06:45:00.002-05:00

The first annual Picture Book Month is in progress, and I'm honored to be one of 30 authors and author-illustrators who are a part of it.

Actually, more than 30 are a part of it.

Regardless of who is on that list, everyone who writes and illustrates this longstanding art form is a part of it.

And you can take part as well, in any number of simple ways:

Read a picture book to a young person.
Continue to support the form by buying picture books and checking them out of the library.
Revisit a picture book you loved as a child but haven't seen since then.
Look behind-the-scenes at some tips and tricks picture book creators use.
Check back every day in November to see what picture books mean to the people who create them, and the people for whom they create them.
Consider that picture books are at once the first books, movies, and stories that we all experience, yet they are for all ages.
Go back to the first suggestion. Repeat daily.

Great ideas for schools #12: Book club and grub

2011-11-05T07:42:00.010-04:00

On Guam, I learned of a program that ran for several years. I don't know what they called it, but I'd call it Book Club Plus.

The idea was this: every month, the Guam chapter of the International Reading Association chose a book club book that included a meal of some kind. The meal would not have be a big part of the book, just enough to be noticeable.

The monthly get-together would take place at the Hard Rock Cafe. The kids would not only discuss the book but share a meal—the meal from the book they'd just read, specially prepared by the restaurant.

Linking reading and eating is but one way such a book club could go. The club could vary the Plus part every month. It could be read a book about baseball, then play baseball before discussing. Or read a book about someone who gets sick, then volunteer reading to kids at a hospital before discussing. The possibilities are as vast as book choices themselves.

Baskin-Robbins' 31 Favors

2011-11-03T22:10:00.003-04:00

1. Surely the Health Commission doesn't want to be bothered about one little rat.

2. We can escort you to your car if you find another customer to watch the register.

3. Swing by in winter, too. We do have heating, you know.

4. Try our new B-r-r-reakfast B-r-r-rurito. Maybe you'll disagree with the focus groups.

5. When slipping on spilled malts, throw up your arms to protect your head on impact.

6. The tip cup is for tipping, not spitting. It may seem obvious but you'd be surprised.

7. Refrain from bringing your own meat-based toppings.

8. Not another sundae. They're such a pain.

9. Be patient. We're still reviewing your suggestion to add rum to non-raisin flavors.

10. If we accidentally sell you one of the fake cakes, return it after your practical joke.

11. Understand that because we provide them gloves, our staff isn't required to wash their hands.

12. We'll stay open a half-hour later than Starbucks as long as you don't trash the place.

13. Shirts and shoes are required for service, meaning you must be wearing them.

14. Yes, pants too.

15. Before holding us up, consider that fudge sauce binds most of our bills together.

16. Have pity on our Deuce Bigelow-fat Rocky Road. We never get the good licenses.

17. Note that ice cream samples are still free but we now charge $0.99 per taster spoon.

18. Remember that we're closer than select Häagen-Dazs.

19. Wipe off sticky fingers before touching restroom door handles and toilet seats.

20. When deciding where to get your RDA of trans fats, keep us in mind.

21. Enough with the "Does the ice cream cost only 31 cents? Har har!"

22. Order Rainbow Sherbet every once in a while. We always make too much.

23. Don't ask again about vanilla and French vanilla. We also don't know the difference.

24. Don't ask to speak with Mr. Baskin or Mr. Robbins. One or both may be deceased.

25. Don't flick ice cream when in the store. Parking lot is okay.

26. You didn't see anything unusual in the Dumpster out back, right?

27. Ask us about our month-old ice cream specials.

28. Excuse the blinding pink.

29. Don't forget the hyphen.

30. Enter our contest to come up with the 31st favor!

Less cool

2011-11-02T07:34:00.003-04:00

Because it’s become so trendy to admit you’re a geek—and because you can now be a geek of things that were formally considered 100% cool (a sports geek, a rock music geek, an organic food geek, etc.)—the word has lost a lot of its meaning.

So there’s an opening for a word to describe people with south-of-mainstream taste. (Nerd doesn’t qualify.)

While you mull over that, mull over this: over the years I’ve come to notice that, whatever else I am, I am also a certain subset of geek—someone who tends to prefer the weaker, lamer, less edgy, or simply less cool member of a famous pair.

It started, appropriately, with me preferring vanilla to chocolate. But in pop culture terms:

Superman vs. Batman – I like Superman better
DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics – DC
Beatles vs. Rolling Stones – Beatles
John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney – McCartney
Fonzie vs. Richie – Richie
Simpsons vs. South Park – Simpsons
Brandon vs. Dylan (90210) – Dylan
Seinfeld vs. Friends – Friends
Bruce Springsteen vs. Billy Joel – Joel (I don’t think many actually size up these two together but I did read a comparison at least once)
The Empire Strikes Back vs. Return of the Jedi – Jedi

This brings me to one pair in which I do prefer the cooler of the two:

Luke Skywalker vs. Han Solo

I trust you can guess which is which.

If you can add any such pairs to the list, please do so in the Comments.

Going, going, Guam, part 4 of 4

2011-11-01T01:11:00.003-04:00

Part 3.

Snorkeling with one of my kind hosts Vickie and (not pictured) her husband Richard:

Walking out to the island:

Once there, a paddleboarder who passed by took a few photos for me, one with the (pink) hotel I walked from in the distance and another with part of the (very small) island in the background. In both, my shirt shows how high the low tide was.

Halfway back:

Robin three times...twice for Halloween

2011-10-31T07:00:00.006-04:00

The character I dressed up as the most for Halloween was Superman (three times); Robin comes in second, at two; I do have a third image of me as Robin, but from summer. (I was Robin this often in part because I delusionally thought I resembled him; hence Batman didn't even place.)

circa 1980; note the inventive color choices

1988

last night; just kidding—today; just kidding—1995

Candy sequels

2011-10-30T07:30:00.002-04:00

Creepy labels

2011-10-29T07:06:00.004-04:00

Second two weeks of October

2011-10-28T06:08:00.006-04:00

Like many authors, my travel schedule is erratic. I can go weeks or sometimes a month or more without having to get on a plane or even a car for school and conference speaking engagements, but there are also times when they run back-to-back.

Three times in the past four years, I've been away for work for two weeks straight.

And strangely, all three times have, for no discernible reason, been the second two weeks of October (which so happens to be my favorite two weeks of the year to be in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic).

In 2008, I was in San Francisco and Ohio (mostly Cleveland).

In 2010, I was in Houston.

In 2011, I was in Guam.

The second two trips were similar in a way beyond the heat. Both were completely organized for me by my kind hosts, from scheduling each school to arranging volunteers to pick me up for and drop me off after each commitment. All I had to remember to do was set my alarm and bring my flash drive.

For obvious reasons, being away on speaking tours for fourteen days is both a rush and a challenge, but in each case, my hosts have made the experience as rewarding as possible.

Going, going, Guam, part 3 of 4

2011-10-27T07:15:00.004-04:00

Part 2.

I just completed my second week, 26th and final school, and 30th hour of talking on Guam. Below are glimpses. I ship out obscenely early tomorrow. But first, I want to share glimpses of a Guam I do not know—Guam after a typhoon.

The weather during my time was mostly fine—always humid and regularly sunny with brief, often intense jags of rain each day. Often, when coming out of an hourlong school presentation, I found that the precipitation situation was the opposite of what it had been when I'd gone in.

Nicole, one of the kind souls who volunteered to drive me from school to school, told me of Super Typhoon Pamela (1976), when she was seven years old. Its high winds knocked out power...and it was not restored for six months.

After the storm passed, people islandwide barbecued so as not to let meat go to waste. With charcoal sold out, Nicole's mother asked Nicole's brother if she could burn his Lincoln Logs; he said yes. Nicole's father would bring back buckets of water from the ocean to flush their toilets.

I'm told the people of Guam experience a super-sized storm roughly every 10-12 years, but the infrastructure has improved since Pamela, so the situations Nicole's family encountered may not be as prevalent going forward.

I did experience one weather-related incident. At one of the three schools on my last day, an unusual circumstance caused one presentation to start slightly late. It had begun to lightning shortly before I arrived. Because some of the classroom doors at this school were metal and because they opened to the outside, the administration waited till the storm passed to let the students out of the classrooms.

Somewhat randomly: There is no AC on Guam. There is only "air con." (To clarify, they don't use the abbreviation "AC" for "air conditioning.")

I love this note so much. Especially the cryptic "octopus."

Many of the kids wore headbands with this custom logo
they designed for me. They also sang for me!

Just your above-average tie weaved out of leaves.

Each member of this class displayed her/his favorite activity from
365 Things to Do Before You Grow Up on a small placard.

The above two images show cartoons kids made in response to
my two books called Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day.

"Hafa Adai" is "hello" in the language of the native Chamorros.
This banner incorporates three of my books and a portrait of me.
The kids (and educators) of Guam go above and beyond
in welcoming guests. Here are more:

Illustration based on an image from Boys of Steel:
The Creators of Superman.

Goals inspired by 365 Things to Do Before You Grow Up.

At one school, the principal gets on a mic and hosts
something like a pep rally every morning; the kids line the
outdoor halls surrounding the courtyard where she stands.
Due to this formation and their enthusiasm, it reminded me of
a gladiatorial spectacle, but without all the mauling.

What an inventive way to reinforce math.

For a relatively small island, Guam is hugely generous.
The schools showered me with gifts including dozens of necklaces,
numerous boxes of traditional chocolates, sixteen T-shirts,
four wooden latte stone carvings, and many other
honors, trinkets, and treats.
The above shot captures only part of the booty!

Part 4.

Pre-dawn interview on ABC

2011-10-25T07:24:00.002-04:00

In Eastern Maryland for several speaking engagements on 10/3/11, I gave a short interview on ABC affiliate WMDT. It was all over by 6:20 a.m., so you will get a full serving of my morning voice.

How schools enrich authors

2011-10-24T03:00:00.003-04:00

On the first day of my two-week author visit to Guam, one of my hosts and I got to talking about Guam in literature. Apparently few authors hail from Guam, and no publishing companies are based there. That doesn’t mean Guam isn’t in stories. It means those stories are rarely originating from the people who know Guam best.

However, an author need not hail from a place about which he writes. Most writers are outsiders to at least some of their topics. One of the best ways to gain perspective on a place is to ask someone who is a stranger there.

It turns out Canadian-born YA novelist Gordon Korman was an author guest on Guam in the 1990s. He later used Guam as a setting in his Island trilogy (Shipwreck, Survival, Escape). This demonstrates a lovely point that did not occur to me until I was on Guam.

Schools bring in authors to enrich students. In doing so, the schools enrich the authors, too.

This is because schools are often exposing authors to settings they might otherwise never know firsthand, and some of these settings may inspire some aspect of a book. This in turn may enrich students again, but in a different way.

If not for school visits (and also conferences related to children’s books), I might never have made it to Kansas, Wisconsin, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Washington State, or, yes, Guam.

Guam invites at least one author every year, and this not only provides a tremendous opportunity for both students and author but also increases the chances that an author will write about Guam. I don’t know if I will be one of them, but either way I will be interested to see the results if someone else is.

And, of course, it may be an author visit that inspires a young person from Guam to become an author him/herself.

Going, going, Guam, part 2 of 4

2011-10-23T02:36:00.039-04:00

Part 1.

I’m halfway around the world and halfway through two weeks of author visits. The people of Guam are among the kindest and heartiest I’ve ever met in my professional travels.

Here is a photo-recap of my first full working week on island; 14 schools down, 12 to go!

Greetings

"Hafa Adai" is "hello" in Chamorro, the language of the natives of Guam. The Hafa Adais I was treated to on Guam have been nothing short of spectacular.

Here are a few:

In seven years of author visits, this the first school whose sign backdrop
is the ocean. (It's that patch of dark blue beyond the palm trees—also a first.)

Another superlative: This vivid welcome sign is, I think,
the tallest that kids have made for me.

Here's one of the longest!

And one of the coolest. This was their play on my superhero work.

The two bottom rows of letters are on reproductions of the cover of
Vanished: True Stories of the Missing.

Speaking of Vanished, at first glance, this promotional flyer
looks like another type of flyer...

No good way around getting the fence in this photo.

At one Catholic school, students had been asked to draw their heroes
using a superhero motif. Some chose religious figures.

Island views

This staircase leads down to a peaceful jungle site that was once anything but;
it's a WWII memorial to a squadron of Japanese who fought valiantly till the end.

I am probably the first visitor ever to go there in
a long-sleeved, button-down shirt.

Tranquil but haunting.

One of several caves Japanese soldiers hid in.

TV appearances

Above two photos: being interviewed by the
ABC affiliate that came to my first presentation.
Next few photos: filming a literacy Public Service Announcement
at the PBS affiliate. I even got to write it myself.

With two of my kind hosts from IRA (International Reading Association),
Jonathan and Nel (far right), and PBS producer Leigh.

I had to stand in front of a green screen. I'm assuming they will use that
to somehow make me look less dorky.

They sold a lot of my books. The island-wide speed limit is 35
and, for added safety, this signed stack is being driven to
my next appearance in a car seat.

The two photos above are from my first-ever workshop held in a coffee shop;
it was marketed to teens but everyone from tweens to adults attended.
It was a really great group.

Local color

Most schools honored me by gifting me bountifully, including a necklace
(variously made of shells, flowers, leaves, beads, or other island jewels).

Guam is in an earthquake (and typhoon, and tsunami) zone.
While I was there, the only one we had a drill for was
the first; luckily, we had no real emergencies.

The coconut crab (shown here) is the world's largest land arthropod,
if I'm remembering correctly without googling to doublecheck.
If one pinches you, it will not let go even if you pound on it.
I've heard two ways you can make it release:
tickling its soft undercarriage or
touching a burning match/object to its rear.
Neither sounds fun, but both sound more fun than
a huge crab permanently clamped onto your finger.

At one school, the color scheme of the room I spoke in was
so serene, I almost felt like I was underwater.
I believe this was the first time I'd seen a gym with a blue floor.

One of the two Friday nights I was on island, I attended the lone
Jewish service available. It was on the naval base; the two photos above
show the sanctuary. In attendance: an active duty Coast Guard member
(the layperson who ran the service), the state archeologist,
a clown (no, not in costume), her two teenaged sons, and me.
Almost halfway to a cast of Survivor, and the right locale for it, too.

Bathrooms

Another something I had not seen before: a sink with only a cold water knob.
I'm told this is because Guam's climate is tropical. Some sinks did have
a hot water knob—but most of the ones I tried didn't work.

This sink had not only a hot water option but also a
built-in water fountain; however, I saw no others like this.

Another bathroom feature I saw only once:
an ice-filled trough for—well, read the sign.

Highlights not covered by the pictures above:

Chickens were wandering everywhere. They belong to people but are allowed to roam free. Apparently they do come home to be fed.
Cars last longer on Guam. Small island = low mileage (in proportion to the age of the car).
Washers and dryers were often outside (though covered by an overhang).
Not specific to Guam, but a reading teacher at one of the middle schools I spoke at told me she loved jazz artist Henry Grimes's story in Vanished...and she and her husband are now listening to his music.

Lastly, in the bay behind my hotel rises a small island; you can see it at the end of part 1 and again in part 4. Though it seemed fairly far to me, I learned that during low tide, one can walk there.

So one day at 3:45 p.m., I put on my reef booties and did.

Outgoing took about 15 minutes; the way back felt longer, maybe because I was already wistful at the thought of abandoning "my" island. On the way there, the only living thing I saw in the clear water was a sea snake. When I arrived on the island, several kayakers were there, but they soon left, leaving me alone with the wee hermit crabs. I'd been told that this baby island was one of the best places on Guam to find nice shells, in part because it's one of the least trafficked. However, I searched an hour (including in the water) and did not find even one keeper.

En route back, as I was nearing the shore where my hotel was, a pregnant Korean woman at the water's edge was shouting to someone snorkeling a ways out. Turns out she spoke English and the person in the water was her husband; he could not, of course, hear her.

I volunteered to walk back out to him to let him know she wanted him. Normally, due to my aversion to both sand and midday sun, I am eager to get off a beach as soon as possible; in this case, with the tropical sunset and my little island still in view, I was happy to stay. (Pretending I was on a miniature "rescue" mission was also appealing. And delusional.)

Part 3.

Trying to landmark a Bill Finger building in NYC

2011-10-21T07:00:00.002-04:00

There is no permanent tribute to Batman in New York, the city in which he was created.

As far as I know, there is no tribute to any superhero in New York, the city in which many of them were created—the unofficial superhero capital of the world.

(Nationwide, the only memorials to superheroes that I know of are for Superman—Metropolis, IL boasts a large statue and Cleveland, where Superman was created, is home to a historical marker and recently installed commemorations at the sites of the former homes of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.)

Though the superhero most commonly associated with New York City is probably Spider-Man, Batman predates him by more than 20 years and his Gotham City is clearly a New York analog. Therefore, I feel that the first superhero memorial in New York (and it’s inevitable that there will be some) should be for Batman.

And naturally, I feel Bill Finger should be the focus. (At the least, the impetus.)

So I proposed it.

Of the various buildings in which Bill lived throughout Manhattan and the Bronx, I felt the one to start with was the building that housed his Grove Street apartment.

Bill's Grove Street building in 1935, roughly eight years before he moved in;
source: Museum of the City of New York

It wasn’t where he lived when he co-created Batman. Or Robin. Or Joker. But in my mind, and in the minds of some of Bill’s peers whom I interviewed, this apartment is “vintage Finger.” He loved Greenwich Village and it was probably quite an exotic departure for him to move there from the Bronx. He lived on Grove during Batman’s early success, from late 1943 or 1944 to 1950, during which time he did create the Riddler.

There are distinctions between landmarks, heritage sites, and likely other historical designations, but I’m not informed enough to discuss them. This much I did absorb: that entire neighborhood is already landmarked, meaning no buildings within it can be individually landmarked.

However, that wouldn’t preclude putting up a plaque. As such, I was directed to the company that owns the building and spoke with a kind man named Alex. (The Landmarks Preservation Commission must approve the location, design, and content of a plaque, but the owner of a building must first approve having a plaque.)

Alex knew of the building’s connection to John Wilkes Booth but (unsurprisingly) not of its connection to Bill Finger. He wrote “If we are going to place a plaque, it would also be helpful to combine the more important historical details on the building together with the Batman details.”

Though various notables have indeed passed through the building, I inferred he was referring primarily to Wilkes Booth.

In my proposal, I’d written, “I believe the Batman connection is [more significant than the Wilkes Booth one] because Finger was not a visitor—he actually lived in the building. And as of now, there are no other Batman commemorations in New York, so if we were to install a plaque at your Grove Street building, it would be Batman fan destination #1.” In other words, I felt that a potential plaque doesn’t need to include the building’s other history to be worthwhile.

I sent additional info to hopefully further explain Finger's impact. I acknowledged that he’s no Lincoln, but emphasized that Batman has had as much influence on our culture as a fictional character can.

In early July 2011, which was about two months after first contact, Alex and I spoke again. He said his kids had Googled me and were excited about my proposal, even suggesting that the laundromat currently occupying the bottom level of the building be converted into a Batman store. (I’m all for that.)

This seemed positive.

But the problem, he told me, is that it’s a residential neighborhood already crowded by tourists, and the owners don’t want to encroach upon their residents’ privacy. He did ask where I envisioned placing a plaque but was able to shoot down each of my suggestions. (Street-level stairposts—they have six or eight sides which are too small for a plaque. Stairs—if people trip trying to read it, they could sue. Front door—people need to take the stairs to get to the front door. You get the idea.)

What is the word for such a post with six sides? Hexagonical? No, a hexagonal prism.

His suggestion was to contact the block association to ask if we could install something on the window box on the corner. That seemed weak tea to me but in case it was my last option, I did leave the block association president a voice mail. He didn’t call back.

I tried one more time with the building owner, trying with all my passion to convey the grander reasons for agreeing to this relatively small gesture.

His response: “We have made our final decision. It is not workable for us to have any kind of plaque in front of the building.”

I have begun to inquire elsewhere with promising results.

“Moneyball” and Bookball

2011-10-19T07:27:00.006-04:00

In Moneyball, the nonfiction book by Michael Lewis and now a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt, a character believes pro baseball teams should buy wins not by buying players but by buying runs.

The most talented baseball players, naturally, command the highest salary. The budget of the Oakland A’s is far lower than that of the New York Yankees. Therefore, the Yankees can afford players considered “better” than what the A’s can afford. So how can a poorer team like the A’s compete? How they can ever conquer?

By dividing.

I’m wobbly at both baseball and math, but here’s how I understand it (using hypothetical figures): Instead of shelling out, say, $7 million, for a star player, a team of less means could pay three average players $250,000 each. It’s okay if none of those three individually gets as many runs as the $7 million player—as long as collectively they do. So a team would be bringing in the same number of runs using three people instead of one—but for a fraction of the cost.

Baseball purists and long-timers saw this Moneyball model as controversial, absurd, or both. Yet it appears that it works, at least enough of the time for it to be taken seriously.

I see a parallel for the publishing industry. More and more, publishers want books that come with a brand—an already-famous name (i.e. Madonna) or company (i.e. Food Network) or blog (Stuff White People Like).

But brands are fallible. Not every book with a built-in brand does brisk business. I feel publishers often overlook something that can be more valuable than a brand.

To put this in Moneyball terms, I feel editors should buy books not by buying brands but by buying platforms. In other words, a great book by an unknown who promotes could be a better investment than an average book by a star.

What I mean by “platform” (and this may differ than how others use the word) is a position from which to generate excitement. It’s best if you start with a great book, but even if you don’t, and you’re a great promoter, you may still have a winner. (Please note: I am not advocating weak books; I am simply emphasizing the power of promotion.)

In our iWorld, so much of a platform comes from social media, but it shouldn’t end with that. There still is—and will always be—much to gain from in-person promotion. Writers who are committed to speaking and appearing at events related to their work have an advantage that social media doesn’t provide: it’s easier to charm face-to-face.

Another advantage to live promotion, particularly for authors of books for young people who speak in schools, is that when we put on our speaker hats, we almost always have a captive audience. In the case of school visits, the kids are forced to sit on that gym floor and listen to me whether or not they would choose to otherwise. Many kids have not heard of me beforehand, but my presentation may win them over to the point that they would then want one of my books that they would normally not notice. As a good number of other children’s authors have discovered, you can typically sell more books after you present.

Let’s recap:

Moneyball—buy wins by buying runs, not players
Bookball—buy books by buying platforms, not brands

In Moneyball, the underdog was hindered by a lack of funds. In Bookball, the underdog is hindered by a lack of fame. In either case, there are cost-effective (if not outright profitable) ways to circumvent these obstacles.

I feel publishers must consider an author’s promotional conviction as an asset just as they do lyrical writing, a sticky premise, or a memorable main character. If you write a great book and you are dedicated to promoting it for the long haul, you may find that your platform has become a brand.

Going, going, Guam, part 1 of 4

2011-10-18T07:25:00.018-04:00

On 10/12/11, I flew the three hours from Maryland to Houston. Then six hours to Honolulu. Then seven hours to Guam. Then 10 minutes from the airport to a hotel, but that was by car. All told, it is the farthest away I’ve ever been.

And naturally, that means that I am experiencing a world unlike any I’ve seen before.

This two-week engagement will include presentations at 26 schools, a library talk, a teen writing workshop, a teacher workshop, two radio interviews, and the filming of a PBS public service announcement to encourage reading. Plus snorkeling and, time permitting, learning how to husk a coconut.

However, my hosts scheduled no presentations for my first full day; instead, they toured me around the island from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That was a long day and the island is relatively small (30 miles long, 12 miles wide at its widest), but there were still areas I was left wanting to see.

Here are highlights of what I have seen/done so far:

My warm (and well-attended) airport welcome!

The warm welcome (print edition).
I love the Guam slogan “Where America’s Day Begins.”
I also love their confidence in believing I will make a difference.

Two Lovers Point is the legendary site of an ancient young couple
who tied their hair together and jumped from a cliff
rather than be forced apart by the societal rules of the time.

The island is lousy with abandoned Japanese bunkers from WWII.
You can even enter some—no admission fee, no safety barricade,
no accompanying gift shop. Also no light and no guarantee that
you won’t encounter something creepy-crawly.

One of only two (or possibly three) prewar homes still standing
on the island (which was heavily bombed during WWII).

Before the Japanese and Americans (but after the native Chamorros),
the Spanish occupied Guam. Remnants of a lavish palace complex
still stand, though much of it is in disrepair.

This is a “chocolate house.” No, chocolate was not made inside.
People would go there for the equivalent of afternoon tea.
Today, it is home to a homeless person, whose shopping carts
and sleeping bag were strategically not visible to take this photo.

Above the doors of this bunker are three Japanese symbols
(whose meaning I don’t know), plus a fallout shelter sign.

Appropriate timing: I got to see this and other WWII-era
Japanese artifacts within two weeks of going public with my pitch
for my nonfiction picture book involving a WWII Japanese pilot.

I did an hourlong radio interview (though two others were part of it,
so luckily for whoever was listening, I didn’t talk the whole time).

Magellan landed here.

These 17th century Spanish church ruins are the
oldest manmade structure on Guam.

My hosts think these trees inspired Dr. Seuss, who was apparently
on Guam during or shortly after the war.

Carabao, a kind of domesticated water buffalo, graze the island
(under care of humans). This one, his owner, and I became fast friends.

More scenery:

On 10/15/11, I was the speaker at the International Reading Association Guam Council meeting.

The audience of more than 150 was hearty and fun. You can see that I have repurposed the name of my presentation. You can also see that they weren’t kidding when they said I’d be signing a lot of books; this is a partial showing:

And this was only the first presentation day of two weeks.

This time of year, the sun sets around 6 p.m. on Guam, which is far earlier than I was anticipating.

But just as gorgeous as I was anticipating.

Part 2.

Map of Superman’s Cleveland

2011-10-17T07:11:00.003-04:00

Happy birthday, Jerry Siegel.

In 2008, when going down every road of promotional possibility for Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, I discovered that (speaking of roads) there is no Superman-themed tour of Cleveland, the city in which writer Jerry and artist Joe Shuster created him.

Joe (pointing) and Jerry (pointing)

In March 2008, I made a list of potential stops with the intention of finding someone interested in pursuing the idea. In fact, one of the big hotels in town, the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, expressed interest in running a tour originating from their lobby, so I shared the list (since updated):

Glenville:

Jerry’s house: 10622 Kimberley Avenue. Currently a private home with a commemorative Superman fence (featuring the original Superman S emblem made from stainless steel) in front.

courtesy of CapedWonder

Joe’s house: No longer standing. Now an apartment/duplex at corner of Parkwood and Amor with a commemorative Superman fence (displaying a blown-up version of the first Superman story) in front.
Ohio Historical Plaque: corner of E. 105 and St. Clair. The first (and, for years, only) official acknowledgment of Siegel and Shuster in Cleveland.

front

back

And "Siegal"? Please fix.

The Shuster Studio: Euclid Avenue between E. 105 and E.101. No longer standing.

Joe's studio was in the far right building of this 1939 photo;
today, this area is a hospital complex.

Downtown:

The Bell/SBC Building. At one time alleged to be the model for the Daily Planet, though Joe dismissed this in his later years.

Cleveland Public Library. Joe and Jerry took the streetcar there almost every weekend. They were both voracious readers.
Newspaper Enterprise Association cartoon offices in Lakeside Place, West Third Street. Now mostly legal offices, this was the syndicate that published the daily Superman strip.

University Circle:

The Commodore Hotel: corner of Euclid and Ford near Case. Now an apartment building, Jerry and Joanne were married there and lived there for a time.
Cleveland Museum of Art. Often cited as a place Siegel and Shuster would visit. Joe took classes at the old Cleveland School of Art.

University Heights:

Jerry’s house with his first wife Bella and son, Michael: 2402 Glendon Ave. Jerry is said to have had a full-size Superman costume in the front closet to show to kids who would knock on the door and ask for Superman. The house is still a private home in a residential neighborhood.

The sites are rather scattered so a walking tour was out, and given the logistics required in organizing such a thing, it proved impractical for the hotel to take on the task.

Therefore I was thrilled to discover that Cleveland’s enterprising Carol and John’s Comic Shop took on the challenge. They didn’t go so far as to set up a tour but did create this spiffy and thorough map (designed by Matt Kuhns) to help people take a self-guided tour; they also kindly gave me permission to post it here.

My only suggestion: move the compass so it’s fully visible and use the Superman S emblem not as its center but rather as the “S” for “south.”

First-ever interview with Edward Ormondroyd, author of “David and the Phoenix,” part 2 of 2

2011-10-16T03:00:00.002-04:00

Part 1.

What was the second book you published and what was it about?

Next came The Tale of Alain, published by Follett. It was beautifully illustrated by Robert Frankenberg and showed an advance in writing skill, but I no longer care for it. It is too moralistic, a kind of secular Sunday school tract. There is no point in discussing it.

Which of your books was the hardest for you to write?

Castaways on Long Ago. I was some sixty (or was it eighty) pages into it before I realized that I had gotten off to a hopelessly wrong-footed start. I threw away the pages and began again with a little incident that becomes a leitmotif throughout the story. Things went well from then on.

How many picture books did you publish and what are the names/subjects?

Seven. In chronological order:

Jonathan Frederick Aloysius Brown. A small boy gets separated from his mother in a crowd. When she next sees him, he is on an elephant leading the circus parade.

Michael the Upstairs Dog. A confined German Shepherd finds his way to the street. A pack of new canine buddies follows him back to his apartment where chaos ensues.

Theodore. A scruff teddy bear is mistakenly run through the wash, making him so clean that Lucy, his owner, doesn’t recognize him. He takes adroit steps to render himself scruffy and recognizable again.

Broderick. A country mouse teaches himself to surf in a nearby lake, and with a human companion goes on to fame and fortune.

Theodore’s Rival. Thinking that Lucy’s new toy panda is a bear, Theodore is consumed by jealousy. Learning that he is still the bear of the family, he masterminds a thrilling rescue of the lost panda.

Imagination Greene. A Colonial farmboy “invents” the automobile, the telephone, and television while clowning for his younger sister. [MTN: Because of its clever premise, I bought a used copy of this out-of-print book, which was published in 1973; I was surprised to see that the back flap bio of Edward does not mention David and the Phoenix, which seems to be his most well-known book.]

Johnny Castleseed. A boy and his father build a beautiful sandcastle by the drip method. Some spectators begin to imitate them, showing the invisible Johnny Castleseed has passed by, scattering castle seeds.

Are all of your books for young readers?

Yes, but adults can enjoy them too. I used to read a lot of terribly boring picture books to my kids and vowed that if I ever wrote picture books, the read-aloud adults would enjoy them along with their children.

Which book is your most personal and why?

Time at the Top. Absolutely. It was such a pleasure to write, maybe because I put myself in it under my own name as one of the characters. A very close second is the sequel, All in Good Time, where I again do something that advances the plot. But all my books are personal. You can’t write fiction impersonally.

Did you ever consider a sequel to David and the Phoenix?

I not only considered it, I was fool enough to write it. Disaster! I threw away the whole book.

What was the sequel about? When did you write it? Did you save no copy?

Well, the Phoenix was irrevocably gone, so I substituted a gnome-like figure, and he and David set out on a quest, carried by a flying suitcase...but of course without the old Phoenix it was as useless as Gone with the Wind without Scarlett O'Hara. I can't remember when I committed this literary crime. No copy. My wastebasket is a receptacle of no return.

If at one point you stopped trying for publication, when and why?

My writing career ended some time in the early 1970s when I realized that the reason I was so hopelessly bogged down in a new book was because the gift of invention had left me, and it was time to get a day job. Fortunately, one was waiting for me.

What was it?

Joan and I had come to Ithaca, NY by then. In 1973 or '74 I applied for and got a job as Head of Technical Services in the Finger Lakes Library System.

Which, if any, of your out-of-print books would you like to see reissued? Is it the one you see as most commercial to a modern readership?

Castaways on Long Ago has been reissued by Green Mansion Press. Purple House Press has reissued Time at the Top in addition to David and the Phoenix. A dramatic reading of the latter is available from Full Cast Audio: I read the narrative and actors read the dialog. The first reissue of Time at the Top has sold out, so Purple House Press plans to reissue it again along with its sequel All in Good Time in one volume this fall. Dial Books for Young Readers reissued Theodore with colorful new illustrations, then abandoned it when the economic meltdown left it dead in the water. I would like to see Theodore, Theodore’s Rival, and Broderick reissued, but don’t have any expectations that it will happen.

Do you read any fantasy novels of today?

I don’t seek them out as such. This question led me to the realization that some of my favorite novels are indeed fantasies: Norman Douglas’s South Wind, David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, Peter Carey’s My Life as a Fake, Nabakov’s Pale Fire.

Have you ever spoken in schools?

Well, I’ve read two of my picture books to gratify my grandson Connor (and his kindergarten teacher) and once at the instance of my wife who volunteers as a teacher’s assistant in a local grammar school.

Please tell me about your wife and children.

Joan and I met when we were both working for the Contra Costa County Library System in California. She had four children and I had three. They are all grown now and living on the west coast, to our sorrow: Karen, a psychotherapist; Jeff an agroecologist and consultant in carbon sequestration; Evan, an architectural and industrial model maker; Gordie, a construction contractor; Claire, a lawyer working for the county personnel department; Aster, an events coordinator; and Beth, a quilter.

Our grandchildren are Brian, who is in college studying architecture; Connor, who just graduated from high school and wants to be a wilderness educator, and Jade, who is in middle school, plays cello, and has distinct artistic abilities.

Where do you live?

Trumansburg, NY, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, one of the most beautiful landscapes in America.

Do people in your community know you are an author?

Some do, probably most don’t.

Edward today

When was the last time you were asked to speak or appear as an author at an event?

Approximately forty years ago. I told a group of children’s librarians the story of David and the Phoenix—inception, wandering in the wilderness, publication. I learned a little later that what they had wanted to hear about was Time at the Top. And so it goes (as Kurt Vonnegut was so fond of saying).

Have you saved any articles that have been published about you, and if so, when/where are they from?

I’m not aware of any article having been published about me, but a lovely one was published about David and the Phoenix. It was published in 2009 by Roaring Book Press in a book titled Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book. People from all walks of life tell about the children’s book that meant the most to them. The essay on David and the Phoenix was written by Professor Gerald Early of Washington University and contains the most flattering words and author can hear: “After I finished reading it, I immediately reread it.”

What interests/activities occupy you these days?

Gardening, practicing piano, trying to keep up with the too-many periodicals we subscribe to, reading new books and rereading old favorites, birdwatching, walking, concert-going. Joan sees to it that we have a lively social life.

How are you feeling?

My joints creak, my bones ache, my vision and hearing are declining—but I feel great!

Are you still writing, and if so, what about?

I’ve made some stabs at it—a couple of poems, memoir-essays—but my discipline is not what it was.

What was your reaction when you learned why I was contacting you?

I was overawed when you introduced yourself as the author of some 70 books. I was intrigued, too. Although I am computer-illiterate I know about blogs, but never dreamed of actually appearing in one.

How do you want people to remember you?

You know, I hadn’t even thought about this until you asked. On reflection, I’ll take a cue from Marianne Moore. As a writer I’d like to be remembered as a maker of imaginary worlds with real characters in them.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Lots, but I’m tired. Aren’t you?

Note: The only authorized publisher for Edward's books, including David and the Phoenix and the newly-released, first-ever combined edition of Time at the Top (1963) and its 1975 sequel All in Good Time, is Purple House Press.

First-ever interview with Edward Ormondroyd, author of “David and the Phoenix,” part 1 of 2

2011-10-15T04:09:00.007-04:00

As a boy, I read and loved a novel called David and the Phoenix.

A few years into my professional writing career, I rediscovered the book, which had recently been reissued by Purple House Press.

Much more recently, I discovered the author himself, the charming Edward Ormondroyd. After several attempts, I managed to get his attention and asked if I could interview him.

I continue to be surprised whenever I find that someone whose work I loved in a younger day has almost no or literally no online presence—barely a photo and nary an interview. But then I get excited because it means maybe I can be the one to help change that.

As is the case here. For Edward kindly agreed to an interview and generously shared a richer tableau than I could’ve rightfully asked. (Then again, I did ask a lot, to which Edward wrote “Cry you mercy, sir! Forty-one questions!”)

Here are his (approximately) 41 answers (among them, another reminder that a rejection is not always the end):

When and where were you born? Where did you grow up?

1925. Wilkinsburg, PA. From age 5 to 12, Swarthmore, PA. From 12 through high school, Ann Arbor, MI. I’m still growing up...I hope.

What was your childhood like?

Suburban, mildly affluent, for the most part idyllic. In those Depression days children were not densely scheduled as they now seem to be. Once chores (lawn mowing, carrying out the garbage, weeding) were done, I was free to roam with my friends through a landscape much more accessible than any comparable one now.

Did you have a favorite book as a child?

I loved so many that it is impossible to pick a favorite. All of A.A. Milne. Kipling’s Jungle books and Just So Stories. Treasure Island and A Child’s Garden of Verses. Heidi. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Later I came under the spell of Arthur Ransome—in fact, I’m still under his spell.

What kind of student were you?

Pretty backward in arithmetic, but pretty adept in other subjects. When math became more interesting, at the algebra stage, I began to catch on and catch up. I was a dud in sports (but a good swimmer).

What were your feelings about serving in WWII? Did you see combat?

I couldn’t wait to join up. It wasn’t patriotism so much as allure of a great adventure. I joined the Navy as soon after high school as I could (1943). It was an intense learning experience for a well-bred, well-educated, sheltered boy to be thrown in with roughs and rowdies, Southerners still sore about losing the Civil War, older men, kids from the working class, from farms, from big cities. And I loved being at sea.

I never saw combat in the sense of being involved in the great Pacific naval battles, but my ship, a destroyer escort, was close astern an aircraft carrier when the carrier was hit by a kamikaze and caught on fire. The fire could not be controlled and the ship had to be abandoned after the aviation gasoline and ammunition locker exploded. I was on the bridge as a scared and horrified witness of the whole disaster. It was enough action to last me a lifetime.

What was your college experience?

I was one of the horde of veterans that poured into UC Berkeley on the GI Bill. The administration had to set up a circus tent to process us through and the line of applicants snaked around several city blocks. I majored in English literature. I was so hungry to know that I wanted to take every course in the catalog. Except for an intense spell of depression, for which I could not account (nor can I now), I had an exciting and enjoyable freshman year.

As a sophomore I acquired two roommates, a physics major and a public health major who was a refugee from wartime Vienna. We rented a third-floor apartment, sharing the rent of—hold on to your chair—$32.50. We called the place Heaven’s Cellar. We did our own cooking, most of it edible, and lived very well on our government stipends of $65 a month. We even had jug wine (one dollar a gallon) with dinners and thought ourselves immensely sophisticated. I later returned to library school at Berkeley and took an MLS degree.

Folk songs were all the rage; it was the time of Burl Ives, Richard Dyer-Bennett, John Jacob Niles. Classical music was a shared interest, too. I joined the staff of the campus literary magazine and published a story and a poem. Of course went to the home football games to cheer the team, whistle and howl at the drum majorettes, and make indelicate gestures at our opponents, especially Stanford. It was one of the happiest times of my life.

What was your first job after college?

Nothing in my education prepared me for a white-collar job and I had no interest in becoming a member of academe. The chronology of my work experience is hopelessly mixed up in my memory but my first job was in a paper processing plant, one of the many small factories in the western end of Berkeley. I learned to operate a cutting machine and joined a union. Later I clerked in a bookstore. I thought of it all as a way of subsidizing my career as a writer. I was writing not-very-good stories and keeping a journal. I learned to play the recorder, which in later years led to a position in a Renaissance band. A shortage of sailors led me to ship out for a time as an AB seaman with Standard Oil—tanker runs from the refineries of Richmond to Alaska and Hawaii. This was so lucrative that I could live on my savings for long periods without working at all. It will be no surprise that after library school I got a job as a librarian.

When did you realize you’d like to write books?

By the end of high school I knew I wanted to write—but I didn’t know what to write about. The idea of writing a book, let alone a children’s book, didn’t occur to me until I found myself composing David and the Phoenix in college. I’m still surprised that it happened. It was as if the choice made me rather than the other way around.

What inspired you to write David and the Phoenix?

As I explain in the foreword to the reprint of David and the Phoenix by Purple House Press, I was walking on the Berkeley campus when a vision flashed in my mind of a large bird hurling itself out of an upstairs window and becoming entangled in a rose arbor below. It’s a complete mystery to me where that came from. Alpha Centauri, perhaps? That the bird might be the Phoenix might have been suggested by a scene in T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, which I had just read. I was familiar with the Phoenix legend [i.e. that there is only one at a time]. My bird’s character may have been suggested by Major Hoople, a fat and pompous character in a newspaper cartoon called Our Boarding House. Perhaps the notion of David riding the Phoenix’s back came from The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlöf, in which a very small boy is carried to various adventures on the back of a goose.

from the 1957 (first edition) jacket

Edward circa 1960

I know it was your first published book but was it the first book you wrote with the intention of publication?

Thereby hangs a tale of coincidence, mystery, and irony. I wasn’t consciously thinking of publication when I began David and the Phoenix. An intriguing idea had come to me and I was having fun seeing what I could do with it. I think my main motive was to amuse two dear friends, Shirley and Josh, who eventually became the dedicatees. Of course, publication did become a goal as I proceeded, but I was totally in the dark as to how one achieved it. At last, here was this thick completed manuscript—now what?

Here’s the coincidence part. Just about this time I somehow learned that Follett Publishing Company in Chicago was launching a contest: previously unpublished writers could submit their juvenile manuscripts and the winner would not only be published but awarded a substantial cash prize. I sent in my book, and after a long period of hopes and fears, got it back with blandly-worded regrets.

Now began the seven-year period that I think of as the years wandering in the wilderness. I didn’t know that I could have gone to the public library to be supplied with a plethora of publishing information—names and addresses. So yet again it was…now what?

Not long after the return of my book, I got a very nice note from a very nice lady. (Would that I could remember her name, to thank her or her memory for this kindness and a later one.) She said that she had been on the panel of judges for the Follett contest, had liked my book very much, and wanted to see it published; send it to—and she gave me the names and addresses of some juvenile editors. I thanked her and duly sent off the manuscript to the suggested editors. It was duly rejected by each one.

At a party I met a young lady who told me she was off to New York shortly in the hopes of becoming a literary agent. “Exactly what I need!” I said. She read my story, said she loved it, and set off. And vanished. She never got in touch with me, I didn’t know how to get in touch with her, and the rest, as they say, is silence.

Then there was the delivery service. It didn’t attempt to sell your book but for a fee would deliver it to three publishers’ offices. I retype the manuscript from the carbon copy and sent it off. A very long silence, at the end of which I wrote to ask what was up. The apologetic answer: they had lost the manuscript.

While poor David and the Phoenix wandered in the wilderness, I was busy writing between or during jobs. Having written a children’s book was all very well, but I thought a real writer’s goal should be the Great American Novel. I went through a lot of literary turmoil to discover that I didn’t have the chops for the Great American Novel, or even an ordinary American novel.

Then something amazing happened. Years after her first note, the very kind lady wrote me another. She said she had been waiting a long time for my book’s appearance on some publisher’s list and was disappointed not to find it. [She recommended some agents and I selected one at random.] It was the turnaround moment.

Muriel Fuller knew her stuff and had a great sense of humor. She liked David and the Phoenix, I liked her, and we were in business forthwith. She began collecting rejections, too, but because she could talk directly to editors she also began to get valuable suggestions. The most cogent was that the manuscript was too long. She agreed. I probably balked at first but was finally persuaded to get out my chainsaw and scalpel. The story was cut by at least a third and I had to admit that the leaner version was the better one.

Ms. Fuller finally sold it—to Follett, the very first publisher to have rejected it seven years before. Not only that, she placed it in a Sunday school magazine for children, name and denomination now forgotten. Best of all, she sold it to the Weekly Reader Book Club.

By chance do you still have the rejection letters?

I collected them for a while, then discarded them all. There was nothing to be learned from their bland, [similar] wording. [They were] printed up in advance, of course, and I can understand and appreciate why. Still, if some editor had scrawled on a scrap of paper “We don’t like your story and wouldn’t dream of publishing it,” I would not only have saved the letter, I would have framed it!

Which job from the list above was your day job while writing David and the Phoenix?

I believe most or all of it was written while I was being supported by the GI Bill. Sorry to be so vague, but it all happened more than half a century ago.

Do you remember how long the book took you to write?

It was not written in a single stretch of time. Other matters intervened at least twice. Let’s say, all in all, about six months. A major revision made at one editor’s suggestion must have taken another month, at least, because all the decisions I had to make were not easy.

Did you write it longhand or by typewriter?

I wrote it in longhand first ([probably pencil because the first ballpoint pens were so frustratingly unreliable) and then typed it up when the cross-outs, interlineations, and marginal additions threatened to make the whole page incoherent even to me. Of course, the typed version would be put through many revisions, too. I wrote all my books this way.

Do you remember how you reacted when you learned it would be published?

No, but I must have been elated after all those years of wandering in the wilderness. I think I also had a naive conviction that I was on the brink of fame and fortune.

Did you do signings or other appearances to promote the book?

No, in those days it was the publisher’s job to promote a book, not the author’s. I have since done signings but under only the most local of circumstances, and not in the interest of promotion.

What was the reception to David and the Phoenix from reviewers, teachers, kids?

I never read any reviews of the book—they were published in newspapers and periodicals that I didn’t subscribe to or didn’t even know about. No one clipped them out to send to me. The local Bay Area reviews must have been positive because the Commonwealth Club of California awarded me a silver medal for the best juvenile of 1957. I had to give a speech at their annual literary awards dinner. (Terrifying!)

I began to hear from teachers, and occasionally still do, who enjoyed reading it to their pupils, whose letters they would include along with their own. The most heartening responses are from now-middle-aged readers who tell me how much they loved it as kids, and how much they look forward to sharing it with grandchildren, nieces. and nephews.

Was there ever talk of turning David and the Phoenix into a film? If so, what happened? If not, would you like that?

Oh yes, lots of talk, mostly by graduates of film school who fantasized about making a film but didn’t have the necessary contacts in the industry. Ten years or so after publication, a caricature of a Hollywood [producer called and] offered me $10,000 for the rights. “Ask for more,” a friend suggested. I did, and that was the end of that. I might have suspected a put-on except none of my friends would have been capable of such a prank.

The [following] story is so amusing that my wife Joan still tells it to general hilarity at dinner parties. Disney wanted to make it into [one of] its trademark animated cartoon[s]. [When they first called, Joan thought it was a promotional call for Disneyland, said “We’re not interested,” and hung up. The Disney person, now puzzled, called back and said they wanted to make a movie.]

The money on offer was, by industry standards, stingy. [Plus] Jill Morgan, my new publisher at Purple House Press, and I simply didn’t like what Disney does with its “properties.” On the very brink of the deadline, a young man burst on the scene begging us not to sign with Disney. He had loved David and the Phoenix since he was a boy and was determined to organize a film himself and do it true to the story. He was in the industry and had plenty of contacts. So convincing was he that we told Disney no and gave him our blessing.

He has aroused a lot of interest wherever he’s taken it, but at the end of seven years has still not found someone to put up the money. I would like a film to be made, but only if the spirit of the book is kept in the transition.

As a coda, a more upbeat story: Bruce Coville formed a company called Full Cast Audio to record dramatic readings of children’s books in which the author reads the narrative parts and actors read the dialogue. He invited me to record David and the Phoenix. It was a fascinating—and exhausting—process. The company has since succumbed to the economic downturn, but the recording is still available, and occasionally outsells the book itself.

By the way, my favorite of my books, Time at the Top, was made into a movie for TV by Showtime. When I read the script, I was so appalled at what had been done to my beloved story that I have never been able to bring myself to watch it.

Part 2.

Note: The only authorized publisher for Edward's books, including David and the Phoenix and the newly-released, first-ever combined edition of Time at the Top (1963) and its 1975 sequel All in Good Time, is Purple House Press.

Picture book experiment: "Brain Burps" interview

2011-10-14T07:00:00.006-04:00

After learning of the unusual and quite possibly unprecedented picture book experiment I ran on my blog, tireless author/social media maven Katie Davis kindly interviewed me for her popular podcast Brain Burps.

What did I (nervously) ask seven well-known kidlit artists to do for me?
Why did I do it?
What has the response been from others in children’s publishing?

For those answers and more (but not so much more that it will eat up your whole day), click here.

Here is the Permalink to the interview.

Here is the story that it's about:

Kevin O’Malley

To review the show on iTunes:

Open iTunes store.
Search “Brain Burps.”
Click on the podcast (and if you feel like copying and pasting, do same for the podcast app after).
You will see the list of episodes. Scroll past them (not in them) to bottom of page where it says "REVIEW THIS SHOW."
Follow instructions from there.

Thank you Katie.

Thank you listeners.

Thank you everyone else who has helped spread the word about my experiment. Please keep sending me your feedback!

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: Thank you to all who participated

2011-10-13T07:06:00.009-04:00

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Between 12/09 and 7/11, I compiled this series; what started as a few unconnected interviews ended up being an expansive, cohesive feature that, when pasted into Word, fills more pages than I would be sane to reveal.

Along the way, I was fortunate to meet seven of the people I interviewed, most of whom I’d been curious about since childhood. As it happens, those seven people represented five of the ten subseries in this series without repeats.

Thank you again to you seven...

with Jody Spence and Reyna Blasko, Sea World skiers
April 2010, Las Vegas

with Bo Rucker, the pimp from Superman: The Movie
May 2010, New York

with Liberty Williams and Michael Bell, the Wonder Twins from Super Friends
July 2011, Los Angeles

with Garrett Craig, Captain Marvel from Legends of the Superheroes
July 2011, Los Angeles

with Mick Smiley, "Magic" singer/songwriter
July 2011, Los Angeles

...and, of course, the other 93.

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: “Ghostbusters”—Mick Smiley, singer-songwriter of “Magic”

2011-10-12T04:49:00.003-04:00

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

This is the 71st and last installment of this series, which began in July 2011.

This post is perhaps the most far removed from the others, and from my work in general, because it is about a musician. Yet this is a musician associated with a fantastic—and hilarious—ghost story, and I have dabbled in ghosts myself so perhaps you’ll be charitable about the reach.

But more to the point, the song still has a big following yet I have found nothing online about its background.

Mick Smiley was yet another in this series who was not easy to find. But he was well worth it. Many a summer day in 1984, I was eager to get home from camp to listen to the Ghostbusters soundtrack, but only two tracks mattered to me. One was the title track, but since that was on the radio constantly, it came down to “Magic.”

A friend of Mick’s told me “[Mick] was like the missing link between Alice Cooper and Green Day. What Billy Joe Armstrong does now, Mick was doing back in ‘79.”

At least as of 2010, there was a Myspace page dedicated to finding Mick. Here is what the owner of that page wrote about Mick (it is pasted directly—no editing):

“Currently, all that is known of Mick Smiley is that he is most well known for writing and performing the greatest song of the 1980’s, (Magic) which can be purchased on the newly remastered ‘Ghostbusters’ Soundtrack. Mick Smiley also performed as a musician (bass) with Billy Idol. He also penned Lita Ford’s hit, “Kiss me deadly.” His whereabouts are currently unknown. If you have any information about Mick Smiley please let us know so we can post it here. In addition, this page makes no representation or claim that we are ‘Mick Smiley.” This page aims to honor the man, the legend. If anyone has any additional media, please send it here for review, and if it passes certain standards it may get posted here! Help us locate and honor all that is Mick Smiley!”

Fascinatingly, the woman who was in the “Magic” video wrote in there to ask if Mick would post it. Here it is.

And here is the song as used in the movie:

Almost as mysterious as ghosts themselves, Mick nonetheless allowed me to ask him some questions.

What was your background before contributing “Magic” to the Ghostbusters soundtrack?

I was a musician (bass player) in the Mick Smiley Band playing all the LA clubs—Whiskey, Troubadour, Starwood, Madame Wongs, etc.

Did you write the song for the movie?

No, the track was produced by Keith Forsey in the hope of getting me a record deal. I knew Keith and had played bass on his production of Billy Idol’s first single “Mony Mony.”

How did the song end up on the soundtrack?

It was submitted by Mike Dixon to Ivan Reitman, who liked it and lobbied the producers to include it in the film. I was the only artist [with music in the film] not signed to Arista Records.

Did you tour in the wake of the movie?

No, but I continued to play in and around Los Angeles.

Was “Magic” released as a single?

No.

What was your reaction to that?

I was shocked. A video had been shot (no Arista involvement) and had been submitted to MTV; [they] said they would play it as soon as it was officially released as a single by Arista. Arista declined to release it. I was told that since the album had gone platinum and I was not signed as an artist to Arista that it was not in their financial interest to release it as a single.

What was the video shoot like?

It was great. Shot in Santa Monica by my friend Dominic Sena, it was groundbreaking (glorious black and white) and featured a biracial love affair. Cutting edge at that time and his career took off after that.

Do the video ever air on MTV?

As far as I know, it was never played on MTV.

Did you perform “Magic” on any late-night talk shows?

No.

What was your reaction to another song called “Magic” (by the Cars) becoming a smash hit the same year Ghostbusters came out?

No reaction.

What if anything did the song do for you professionally?

Not much. I did get a Grammy nomination (Album of the Year; Purple Rain won and deserved it, too) but I failed to get a recording contract.

What path did your career take after recording “Magic”?

Another song I wrote, “Kiss Me Deadly,” was recorded by Lita Ford and was a big hit (platinum).

What was your opinion of Ghostbusters?

I liked it at the time. I haven’t seen it in many years. Does it hold up?

Did you attend the premiere?

No, however I did see a cast and crew prescreening on the lot.

Did you do any press for the movie?

No.

Are you still writing/recording in any capacity?

I am. I will let you know if I am happy with the outcome.

What was your reaction when you heard why I was contacting you?

Not much really. You seem like a very passionate man so I decided to answer some of your questions.

Have you been interviewed about the song before?

No.

How often do “Magic” fans locate you?

They don’t.

What is your opinion of the song today?

I like the second half of the song. First half is a bit sappy (although it was heartfelt when I wrote it).

Would you be open to “Magic” being used (officially) in a movie, TV show, and/or commercial today?

Yes.

If you keep up with popular music, who are some contemporary artists you like?

The Killers, Muse, Duffy, Phoenix, White Stripes, Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga…

Anything else about the song you’d like to add?

It worked very well in the pivotal scene when the ghosts escape and invade NYC. You would think it was written for the movie.

Mick Smiley and me

Is Mick Smiley your real name?

[Mick Smiley is not] my given name. “Smiley” is my middle name (a family name) and Mick was my father’s name. I liked the sound of it. Very rock ‘n’ roll, n’est-ce pas?

And so concludes this interview…and this series.

Appropriately enough, it is a Saturday morning.

(July 30, to be precise. Yes, I had to get this in order that far in advance. Thanks for reading!)

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”—Heather Kenney (North) (Daphne 2, beginning in season 2, 1970)

2011-10-11T07:23:00.009-04:00

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Introduction to subseries “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” (including list of interviewees).

What were you doing professionally before you were cast as Daphne?

I had worked since I was 11 years old in everything from TV episodes to theatre and musicals. At the time, I was a recurring character on Days of Our Lives.

What were you told and/or shown about the show before auditioning? Did you know what Daphne would look like?

I wasn’t the first Daphne, but their original left to get married. When they went to recast, I ended up going to the audition because of my roommate Nicole [Jaffe] (see answer two questions down).

How old were you in 1970, which was, I believe, the year you started on Scooby?

I was going on 20.

Did you know any of the other voice actors on the show beforehand?

I went on the audition with Nicole Jaffe, my roommate at the time, who ended up becoming Velma.

How would you describe Daphne?

She was a pretty and sincere girl who had a penchant for being “danger prone”!

Did you like the show?

I did.

Do you have a favorite episode?

I most liked the episodes with guest stars: Batman, the Globetrotters, Jonathan Winters, Dick Van Dyke, Phyllis Diller, etc.

Any funny anecdotes about working on the show that you’ve told to friends over the years?

Most of us would use our breaks to get coffee or use the bathroom. Not Casey Kasem! He was always on the phone arranging a deal. We all loved him!

Did the voice actors ever joke about the show and the characters—i.e. if Fred and Daphne were a secret item, if there was drug innuendo like so many people speculate, etc.?

No, it never even occurred to us!

Did you do any appearances for Scooby-Doo at the time?

No.

Did you receive any fan letters while you were on the show?

A few.

What did you do after you left the show?

I had already become a wife and mother, and I focused on that.

What are you doing these days professionally?

I am retired.

What do you like to do when not working?

I participate in my church’s women’s and community service programs and continue to take good care of my family.

Do you have children?

One son, Kevin. [NOTE: Special thanks to Kevin, through whom I arranged this interview.]

What did he think growing up with a mom who played an iconic character?

For my son and grandchildren, it has always been a nice “claim to fame” because the show maintained its popularity for so long.

Any funny stories about your kids’ friends when they learned your Daphne connection?

There is one pair of little boys from our family who always referred to me as “Gramma Scooby-Doo” growing up.

Do you ever rewatch your Scooby-Doo episodes? If so, how do you think they hold up?

I don’t, but they clearly have stood the test of time!

Did you stay in touch with any of the other Scooby-Doo voice actors after you left the show? Are you in touch with any still?

Not really, though I did attend Casey Kasem’s star induction on the Hollywood Walk of Fame many years afterward.

How similar to your everyday voice was your Daphne voice?

Fairly similar, but I added energy and a little higher pitch.

Have you ever been recognized on the street by voice as Daphne?

No.

Have you ever been interviewed about your Scooby-Doo work before, and if so, when/where? Do you remember the earliest instance?

Yes, for both DVD releases and other interviews.

screen shot from bonus material on
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Series DVD

Do you own any Scooby-Doo memorabilia (dolls, books, DVDs, etc.)?

Quite a bit…certain action figures and original drawings, things of that nature.

Do you have any of your original Scooby-Doo paperwork—scripts, your contract, letters from Hanna-Barbera, birthday cards from the cast, fan letters (from the 1970s), etc.?

I do, including the “Scooby-Doo Bible” (the handout which explains the characters, plotline, etc.).

Do you have a continuing relationship with Warner Bros. re: Scooby-Doo? For example, have you been invited to the live action movie premieres, etc.?

No.

Do you still receive residuals for Daphne?

Yes.

Would you be open to appearing at a pop culture convention to meet fans and sign autographs? (Have you already done that?)

Nope [to both].

How do you look back at your time on Scooby-Doo?

Very fondly.

Did you have any sense at the time that this show would have such staying power?

Certainly not!

Next (and last): Mick Smiley, singer-songwriter of "Magic" from Ghostbusters.

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”—Nicole David (Jaffe) (Velma 1, 1969-74)

2011-10-10T07:04:00.012-04:00

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Introduction to subseries “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” (including list of interviewees).

What were you doing professionally before you were cast as Velma?

I was doing You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The people from Hanna-Barbera—director Gordon Hunt—came to see the show. I must’ve sort of looked like the girl.

Did he approach you after the show?

Yes, he sort of said something after the show and then my agency called me and said he wanted to meet me. They showed me the drawings and gave me lines to read. They must have shown pictures of Velma. She looked like me enough that I could see why he wanted me to come in. He hired me.

What were you told and/or shown about the show before auditioning?

I don’t know if you should write this. In those days, I wanted to be Daniel Day Lewis, Emma Thompson. I was not interested in being in voice-over. I needed to make a living and wasn’t doing anything else at the moment. [With Scooby-Doo], I didn’t think I was doing something iconic. It was like getting a soap opera when you wanted to be in a Scorsese film. I thought it was like a drive-by.

How old were you in 1969?

I don’t remember but young. In Charlie Brown, I played Peppermint Patty. I could see afterward why [Hanna-Barbera] wanted me. I played Patty like a know-it-all, which I guess I am. That character is kind of like Velma. [But] she was sweeter than Velma.

Did you know any of the other voice actors on the show beforehand?

No. The only person I knew was Heather North, but neither of us had any idea what this would be like. Heather was more of a girl next door. She was a great girl. I assumed everyone would look like their character on some level. I don’t even think I thought about the dog. I thought this was a stepping stone to paying my rent and I would go off and do greater things.

Did you socialize with them at the time?

Never. I don’t know what voice people are like today but in those days, I thought they were kind of weird. Somebody of 40 was playing somebody of 20. Somebody was playing a dog. It wasn’t like doing a movie when everybody bonds. Before the show, Heather was on Days of Our Lives. I don’t know how we met. We shared an apartment on Crescent Heights. But I didn’t consider her a voice person. I considered her a normal actress.

You were not living together when on the show?

I don’t think so. Heather would remember.

Did you like the show?

I loved Mr. Barbera. He was very handsome. I loved Gordon Hunt. They were two really regular terrific people. They were very nice to us.

What about the show itself?

I don’t really remember. I can tell you when I first really appreciated the show for real. I met Lauryn Hill (the singer) and she must’ve found out that I did that show and she was so impressed. She happens to be really smart. She was an amazing young woman. When she started saying how great the show was, I watched three or four episodes to figure out what she was talking about. That was many years [after I was on it]. I would say twenty years ago.

[When I was on it], I certainly didn’t understand the things everybody [would talk] about later. I was not smart enough when I was young. I had no idea that I was stoned eating those snacks [refers to Scooby Snacks]. Not because I wasn’t ever getting stoned. [But in general] this was not my life. I was in acting class with Lee Strasberg. I knew about great acting. I didn’t know anything about voice actors. Heather is probably a better judge.

Do you have a favorite episode?

I don’t.

Any funny anecdotes about working on the show that you’ve told to friends over the years?

One of the highlights was that they fed us. They gave us expensive cookies. This was an amazing thing. I had no money. I remember thinking they must be very rich. I remember how really good Casey Kasem and everybody was at their jobs. They changed from one voice to another in an amazing fashion.

Have you had interaction with them since the show ended?

I think all the original cast got called back to do a few more of the movies. That was maybe five years ago. That was the first time I saw anyone since the day we finished. That was very different this time. I was glad I didn’t have to do it anymore. I could see that my voice had changed. It’s lower now. I didn’t do it anywhere near as well as I had done it before. I also noticed that I liked my character after Lauryn Hill said she liked my character. Other people over the years have told me about my character.

Were you using your real voice for Velma?

No, I created a voice. It wasn’t that far away but I created a voice.

Were you all recording at the same time in the same room?

I don’t remember. The most recent time I think we all were at a table with mikes. When I auditioned I was in a booth.

Did the voice actors ever joke about the show and the characters—i.e. if Fred and Daphne were a secret item, if there was drug innuendo like so many people speculate, etc.?

No. I didn’t care if they were an item.

Did you do any appearances for Scooby-Doo at the time?

I don’t think so. I was busy. I don’t know if they did. When I came back all those years later, the difference between Casey between any other star was that he knew was a star and he was treated like a star. Not a bad thing because he was famous.

Did you receive any fan letters while you were on the show?

Yes. I still receive fan letters and people asking for autographs.

Still have any of the 1970s ones today?

No, I threw them out. I wouldn’t have kept them.

What did you do after you left the show?

I think I did a movie with Elvis Presley. I’m not sure if that came first. [NOTE: That came first.]

I realized on that movie that I did not like acting. I wasn’t very good and wasn’t interested in being good but I was interested in helping people that were good. Someone suggested I agent—[which I did] and I loved it.

What are you doing these days professionally? Still agenting?

I am. I work with music people, actors for movies, TV, and whatever they want to do. Not voice-overs. [clients have included Elijah Wood, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Lauryn Hill, Melanie Griffiths, Cher, Patrick Swayze, Roseanne]

A few notes from a 1/13/96 article in The Independent (UK) that add to Nicole’s background:

almost always on phone
five feet tall
“one of Hollywood’s most powerful”
can influence how a script is written
high school dropout
born in Canada
met shoe salesman Arnold Rifkind, who had sharp business mind; combined with her understanding of actors, they formed small talent agency which was eventually bought by William Morris
“both are now rich”
“I would not be good at having kids and I know having them would make me a worse agent. But the quality of mothering is used in every aspect of my work.”

What do you like to do when not working?

I’m married. I like spending time with my husband. I like movies, reading, going for walks. I like working with Keep a Child Alive, a charity run by a wonderful woman that brings medicine to children with AIDS.

If you have children, how many/ages?

I do not have children.

Did you have any sense at the time that this show would have such staying power?

I didn’t have any sense of what the show was. I’m happy that children love it so much.

Have you ever been interviewed about your Scooby-Doo work before?

I have, once, but I’ve never given such an honest interview [as this one]. [That first time] I think I wrote my answers.

Do you own any Scooby-Doo memorabilia (dolls, books, DVDs, etc.)?

I think I may have some of those animation cels. I think I’ve sold most of them for charity or given them to children.

screen shot from bonus material on
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Series DVD

Do you have any of your original Scooby-Doo paperwork—scripts, your contract, letters from Hanna-Barbera, birthday cards from the cast, fan letters (from the 1970s), etc.?

Probably somewhere.

Do you have a continuing relationship with Warner Bros. re: Scooby-Doo? For example, have you been invited to the live action movie premieres, etc.?

I have really good relationships with Warner Brothers but not about Scooby-Doo.

Would you be open to appearing at a pop culture convention to meet fans and sign autographs?

Yes, I would. I think it’d be interesting; it’d be an education.

Have you been asked before?

I don’t think so. If you go to a convention, bring me with you.

Next: Heather Kenney (North) (Daphne 2, beginning in season 2, 1970).

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”—Rose Marie Mook and Nick Mook, widow and son of theme co-writer David Mook

2011-10-09T07:48:00.013-04:00

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Introduction to subseries “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” (including list of interviewees).

[NOTE: “Mook” rhymes with “book.”]

Rose Marie Mook:

Tell me about David.

He was born in Brooklyn. He was very well educated. He went to the best schools. He loved music from when he was young. When he graduated from NYU, he decided to go into music. He was going to be an English teacher but he visited his cousins from Austria who founded the [music] company Hill and Range in New York City. They loved country-western music.

One day around 1961 David walked up there, said I’m looking for work, and I’d love to learn. So they hired him. They were really the best in the business. They were famous, doing things that no one else did. They also signed Phil Spector, Burt Bacharach, many others. He was responsible for “Little Songs that Teach,” a book and record. When he passed away I had to renew the copyright to Scooby-Doo. When a composer passes away the next in line, which was myself, has to renew the copyright. He also produced The Banana Splits.

When was he born?

April 15, 1936.

How did he become involved with Scooby-Doo?

He did a lot of projects for Hanna-Barbera. We moved out here. He opened a music company, a California office of A. Schroeder. He started circulating, meeting the music people out here. Hanna-Barbera had this idea to do a cartoon show about a dog whose name was going to be Scooby. They called David and said we need a song and you’re going to write it with Ben Raleigh, one of their freelance songwriters. We need an opening song. It’s gotta be catchy.

Ben lived in Palm Springs at the time. So David called him and said they want us to write this song together. He said it’s just a trial but we’ve got to give them something. He drove to Palm Springs on a Tuesday. They write the song, David brings it back, presents it to Hanna-Barbera, and they loved it. And the rest is history.

How do you remember it was a Tuesday?

Everything good that’s ever happened in my life has happened on a Tuesday.

Did Hanna-Barbera give David any visuals first?

Oh yeah. They called him over there. They showed him the diagram of the dog, went over the format.

Did David and Ben already know each other?

Yes, from New York and out here. They had met.

They wrote the song in a day?

In one day. David left early in the morning and was back that evening.

Did he perform it for you that night?

He sang the catchy tune to it.

David and Rose Marie Mook 1976

Did one write the music and one write the lyrics?

David wrote the lyrics and Ben wrote the music.

Did I read somewhere that they wrote the song the week the show was supposed to air?

Yes, it was very fast. [NOTE: Assuming Rose Marie is correct about David and Ben meeting on a Tuesday and the song being fast-tracked, and knowing that Scooby debuted on Saturday, September 13, 1969, this means we can pinpoint the exact date on which the Scooby theme was created: September 9, 1969. Those who know me know how much I love when an event can be triangulated like that.]

Do you remember watching it for the first time on TV?

Oh yeah. When they did the films a few years ago, they invited me to the premiere. I was so disappointed with what they did with the dog. He looked so devilish. David would’ve had a fit. In the cartoons he’s still adorable. Have you seen 127 Hours? My Scooby’s in that. I was thrilled that it was in there and the way that it was incorporated.

What instruments did David play?

Guitar, drums, and piano.

How many children do you have?

Two sons.

Were either born before Scooby-Doo debuted?

My older was born in 1967. He always watched.

Was this something special for David or just another job at first?

He never looked at anything as just another job. Everything he did was special. This is going to be weird for you but you know Charles Manson?

Yes.

Manson walked into my husband’s office peddling some demos he had! This was before all that happened. David looked at him and thought “This is a very strange person. I’ve got to get him out of my office.” David said he’d always listen to anybody’s material.

How soon after that did the horrible things happen with Manson?

About a year [after], I think.

Did David right away make the connection when the news broke about Manson?

Oh yes. He couldn’t believe it.

Did David ever say anything specific about the inspiration for the Scooby-Doo lyrics?

No. He knew the format and they just wrote.

What did writing the Scooby-Doo theme do for David’s career?

It did a lot. It boosted his career as a writer. But at the same time he had his own publishing company. He was independent so he was able to submit music to motion picture companies. His pride and joy was Randy Newman, who he discovered out of UCLA. When David came out here, he was looking for a doctor. Everyone in the business recommended a Dr. Newman. So David went to see him. Randy was still going to school at UCLA. David told Dr. Newman what he did and Dr. Newman said “My son is a genius, been composing since he was four years old, and if you don’t mind we’d love you to listen to his tapes.” David heard the music and loved it and signed him as an in-house writer.

David sent one of Randy’s songs to the Beatles called “Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear.” And they recorded it. And that’s what broke Randy Newman into being a big star. It was on one of their hit albums. [NOTE: I found record of multiple artists covering the song, but not the Beatles. Rose Marie felt certain they had, so perhaps it’s actually an unreleased demo?]

Did he receive a flat fee or royalty for the Scooby-Doo theme?

Royalties for life.

Was that standard in the business then?

Yes, and it still is.

How does that exactly work? The song must run many times a day around the world…

It used to be a lot more. Now it gets picked up for different projects like commercials, movies. BMI keeps track of every time it airs. I’m very popular with them. David was a BMI writer. They have their sources on everything that’s played.

Was that song the most lucrative song that David worked on?

Yes, because it was completely his.

Shared with Ben, I presume?

50-50.

Any funny Scooby-Doo anecdotes, like how someone reacted when they learned David co-wrote the theme?

Everybody said “I grew up with that song!”

How did David react to people being so excited?

He was happy, he was cool. He was happy that it became a copyright for his family.

What do his kids think of that aspect of their dad?

My younger son works for a lot of people in the music business. Every time they hear “Mook,” they say was your dad David Mook? He was a great music man. He was a great writer and knew great talent.

Do you have grandchildren?

I have two granddaughters, one eight and one ten.

Are they Scooby-Doo fans?

They like it but they don’t watch it. Our 10-year-old likes iCarly. And the little one doesn’t like music at all.

David Mook 1994

When and how did David die?

He passed away in 1996. He was sick for five years with cancer.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a makeup artist. Presently I work in a salon and also do freelance.

Did David stay in touch with Ben Raleigh?

They would speak through the years. And whenever something [business-related] came up they would speak. Ben died three months after David did.

Are you in touch with the Raleigh family?

No. I never knew his widow. Ben was quite a bit older than my husband. His widow did sell her part of the catalog to Music Sales in New York. They came calling at my door and I said no, never, because that’s one thing David always said: “Never sell your copyright.” I’m the one that has final say on every project.

In touch with anyone else associated with Scooby-Doo?

Hanna-Barbera. Everybody at Warner/Chappell. They’re all my friends over there. Susan De Christofaro is a very good friend.

Do you have any Scooby-Doo memorabilia?

Not really. I have a couple of fun things—the dog on my desk. It’s not a stuffed animal. It’s kind of metal.

What about any notes, lyrics, etc., of David’s?

I don’t have anything on paper. I have it on CDs. I have the first time he sang the song on cassette. I have it put away somewhere. I think it was the one they presented. He kept a copy. They used to make a lot of copies.

Was David ever interviewed about Scooby-Doo?

I don’t think he was.

What did you think when you heard why I was contacting you?

I didn’t know what this was going to be about. I’m happy to interview. It was a year after David passed away when Scooby started to really come forward and become big. I got a lot of calls for commercials, films.

I wish he was here to see this. Thanks for doing this wonderful thing.

Nick Mook:

When do you recall learning that your dad had something to do with Scooby-Doo?

Probably not until 1975 [Nick was born in 1971]. I remember that he wrote it and sang it, not the business details. I remember him dancing around the living room, playing the bass guitar and singing it to me as a kid. I found it very funny and never took him seriously.

Meaning he said he was the one who wrote it and you didn’t believe him?

I was a typical five year old. He used to sit in his underwear on Saturday mornings jamming with his bass guitar and amplifier, hitting the chords perfectly. Whenever the song came on, I’d yell from across the house for him to come and join in with me.

Was your brother involved?

He was around. But not jamming.

Were you a Scooby-Doo fan as a kid?

Big time. Hooked on it. I vividly remembering all the artist friends of my dad. I was one of the first latchkey kids and I would sit watching Scooby-Doo and other cartoons with a bowl of cereal.

How much of your fondness for Scooby-Doo came on your own and how much was related to your dad?

A good 80% was on my own. When they made the newer one in the ‘80s with Scrappy, it wasn’t the same. I remember all my friends from elementary to high school, when I told them about my dad’s involvement, everybody was just amazed by it.

Do you remember any anecdotes involving your friends when they found out your dad co-wrote the Scooby-Doo theme?

In high school, when I was out with my friends, making mischief, partying, I would bring it up and it would be the big thing.

Do you feel your dad got proper credit for this accomplishment?

Not at the time. I think after he passed away it really came, when they started making the movie. It’s unfortunate that he was really never able to see it.

Do you think he recognized his own contribution to pop culture?

To some extent. That was one of his larger accomplishments in the industry. I think he would’ve been proud of the way it brought income in to support my mother.

So it was only with the movie that the income was more significant?

That’s right.

What is your dad best remembered for professionally?

I would say this one is really up there. Some of the music themes on television. He worked with Jimi Hendrix to Linda Ronstadt to quite a few different artists, but this is really up there for him.

Was he proud of it?

Absolutely. I know he was.

Do you have any Scooby-Doo paraphernalia?

No. I’m not the type of guy that would keep stuff like that. Nothing inherited from my dad. Just his sense of humor. He had a big one.

What do your kid(s) think of Scooby-Doo and their grandfather’s role in it?

She loves it. She thinks it’s great. She brags about it to her friends. And they go crazy, these 9- and 10-year-old girls.

So she watches Scooby-Doo?

You know what, she hasn’t. She knows the music. She saw the movie but she hasn’t seen the original ‘70s series. She’s not really into cartoons.

What do you do for a living?

I’m an arborist, a tree doctor. I work in high-end residential homes so I work with a lot of celebrities and the like. Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and the valley. I bump into a lot of people that my dad knew.

What did you think when you first heard why I was contacting you?

I thought it was great. I was surprised. I thought that it was a dying thing. I thought it was very interesting that you picked up on this. There were a lot of old guys that made a huge impact on the industry that never were discussed.

Do you have the Scooby-Doo theme on your iPod/iPhone?

Uh…actually, no I don’t. But I don’t need it. I’ve got it in my head. I’ll have that for the rest of my life.

Next: Nicole David (Jaffe) (Velma 1, 1969-74).

Super ‘70s and ‘80s: “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”—Danny Janssen, producer

2011-10-08T07:29:00.009-04:00

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Introduction to subseries “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” (including list of interviewees).

What’s your background?

I come from a family of ten children. I don’t remember my parents arguing a single time. I’ve buried most of my family. There are four left. I’m the youngest. The oldest has been dead for years. If she was alive, she’d been 95. My oldest brother is 93 years old. He’s still alive. They left me with all kinds of wonderful, warm memories.

My background is quite different than anyone you’ve run into. I’d compare myself to Clive Davis or Billy Rose. He was a business guy who did music. In 1971, I made $11 million dollars and only $1.5 million of it was from music.

I was a master teacher in Chicago and California, which means I taught other people to teach. That’s as high as you can go without being a principal. The last year I was teaching school I was paying far more in taxes than I was earning.

I was a really good athlete. I was asked to play pro football in Canada. I’m too small for that.

We did 14 [TV] series. There was a time when I believe we were number one in all four time slots [on Saturday morning] and then we went on to do The Partridge Family, which was number one for five consecutive years. I have an honorary doctorate and it was given to me for some of the work that we’re talking about but other work, too.

What was your role on Scooby-Doo?

We wrote all the songs and produced them. I was the head producer.

1973 (from BMI Magazine)

How old were you at the time?

I was in my twenties. I think 27.

What was your business besides music?

A partner and I owned 23,000 acres of land in California.

How did you get involved with Scooby?

They asked me do the show. I wrote things like [sings] “C’mon, Get Happy” [for The Partridge Family]. You know it. There was a show called Josie and the Pussycats. I interviewed 68 girls and I picked three of them to be the main ones. One was Patrice Holloway; she [co-]wrote [sings] “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy.” She was black. And no one had ever used a black person [for animation]. My dad was a minister. I was taught everybody is equal. I didn’t notice she was black. She was the best singer. Another girl picked by me you know as Cheryl Ladd. The third singer was operatic. Austin [Roberts] would know her name. He paid more attention to the women. [laughs]

When I picked Patrice, Hanna and Barbera called me down to the office. I didn’t need the money. I was a multi-millionaire before I walked in there. I was in my twenties. I might have had more money than either of them. They said good news and bad news: We’re going do the show but we can’t use Patrice because she’s black. I said I can’t do that because it’s against my religion. I can’t tell her Patrice she can’t do it because she’s black. About three weeks later they called me down. I said, “You got a new show?” They said, “No, we’re going do Josie and the Pussycats.” I said, “Don’t do that to me. I won’t do it unless Patrice does it. Just paint the storyboard black.”

Did Patrice know what you did on her behalf?

Obviously, they were all there. I’m the one who didn’t realize what I was doing. I was just doing my job.

I mean did she know you threatened to walk off the project unless they hired her?

I don’t think Patrice knew I refused to work on the show unless she was hired. [Back to Scooby-Doo], I came down to do the first segment of Josie and I couldn’t get a place to park more than 2-3 blocks from the studio. I go in there and Elvis and all these others had sent over their bands. And the guy who was the fifth Beatle. Billy Preston. [NOTE: I didn’t get the connection between this last anecdote and the Josie story, but I left it in because it’s cool in and of itself.]

They liked Josie so much they wanted to do Scooby-Doo.

When we did Scooby, my friend who became the president of the union Local 44—we grew up together—he said I got a kid I want you to meet. His name’s Austin Roberts. He said Austin has a good commercial voice. He ended up singing the theme. Austin and I kind of rewrote that whole song for them. I don’t want to make fun of them but Hoyt Curtin and those guys wrote it. [NOTE: The songwriters of the original theme were David Mook and Ben Raleigh, though Hoyt Curtin wrote other Hanna-Barbera themes, including a later Scooby-Doo one.] It was a little flat. We were more commercial writers and gave that to them.

What did you think about the concept?

I enjoyed Scooby. I brought Austin in. I enjoyed children. The only thing I didn’t like—the dog. I wanted a more talkative dog. They had a bird that gets killed in the segment. I said let the bird go on. That became the Road Runner. [NOTE: I didn’t get the bird reference and Road Runner debuted in 1949; perhaps he was mixing up stories?]

You know why I did Scooby-Doo? You’ll never guess.

Why?

I had an awful lot of fun teaching kids. When I was going to leave teaching, 40 years ago, the principal of my school said I should also be a principal. I said I can’t. He said, “Will you promise me you won’t forget the children? You’re so good with them.” Every year ever since, I’ve done something for kids including series like Josie and the Pussycats and Scooby-Doo and The Partridge Family.

Do you have children?

I never could have children because I got hurt playing football. People [would say], “That must be great having all those gold records.” But then people said, “What are you doing for Christmas?”

What were [Scooby-Doo theme co-writers] David Mook and Ben Raleigh like?

Who was David Mook? I’ve heard the name David Mook, maybe from Austin. [NOTE: I told Danny who they were and he didn’t remember them but most likely because their paths never crossed; David and Ben had written the song before Danny became involved with the show.]

Did you also work with Larry Marks [who sang the theme for the first season]?

I don’t know Larry Marks.

Why was the theme rerecorded for season 2?

We were better. I don’t remember Larry Marks. I’m sure he’s a nice guy. I always thought the year we came there was the first year they did it, until you just said it. Part of it’s just my attitude. You got to believe in yourself. [NOTE: He then clarified that he means no disrespect to Larry Marks, whose version of the theme he was not familiar with.]

Did you have a favorite of those songs?

Not honestly, no. I have 478 songs out there. It’s hard for me to remember.

What are you doing these days?

It’s hard for me to explain to you in a minute or two so I won’t really try, but there’s been an industry trying to be built for the last 12 years and I’ve been watching it. It involves holograms and billboards. They asked me to help them build this Canadian corporation and I said I will if I can stay home. Once in a while I’ll go down to the studio. We do experimental things at malls. They do digital signage in the malls and the advertisers are concerned because they want guarantees of the exposure they’ll get a month.

So it’s a digital way to track or count customers in a mall?

Not track them. Not count them.

I’m not clear on just what you mean. Can you say what industry?

I don’t care to. I can tell you [when] we’re far enough along. The only people right now who can compete with us are guys like Steven Spielberg and he’s not looking to do it. I told [my business partners] I’d help build this company if they’d just leave me alone. [laughs]

I take care of a gal, Sheri, who used to be married to a guy in Supertramp. I traveled for almost two years with her husband. He was divorced from Sheri. They’d married way too young, at 17. They had a cute little boy. Now he looks Tom Cruise. The boy really liked me. He’d been living with his dad. He wanted me to meet his mother. I said alright. In 1992, at the restaurant at the Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, right when I was [walking to her table] to meet her, and I don’t remember this, I went into a coma for 11 days. It was a full-fledged heart attack. I actually died. Sheri got a fireman and policeman to give me mouth-to-mouth because 911 couldn’t get there in time. She saved me. She came to the hospital every day. She took care of me. She paid my bills. [Then] she came down with multiple sclerosis. We spent $40,000 to redo a room in my house for her. I’ve taken care of her for [the past] 18 years. She’s 58 now. She’s been bedridden for 6 years. She can’t walk anymore. She’s a friend, not my wife.

[NOTE: We had a side talk about this in which I said how touching I found both of their actions.]

What was your reaction when you heard why I was contacting you?

I didn’t think anything. Scooby-Doo to me is like playing football when I was a kid. I enjoyed it [but it was not a defining moment for me]. Our beach house was in the middle of [homes of] Ryan O’Neal, Bob Dylan, others. My ex-wife used to throw parties [when I got] gold records. There’d be over 100 people there. She was well-liked. [Meanwhile] I’d be in the back room working on something else. I was never a social guy. I got a letter from Lastrada [Entertainment] about you. Sometimes it takes me a year to get to things. [NOTE: Lastrada was one of the companies I had contacted to try to reach Danny, though ultimately I got to him another way.]

Have you been contacted before for an interview about Scooby?

No. My biggest fear is you say something to somebody and it comes in backwards. Somebody wrote I was the first to bring blacks into animation. But I wasn’t a fighter. I liked Hanna and Barbera. I just had a different philosophy of life.

Have you heard from Scooby fans?

People occasionally want me to meet their kids for having done Scooby. When I got the honorary doctorate…I hate giving a speech. I look in the mirror and say, “Did you do all those things?” Truth: I didn’t do any of them. God did them through me.

From which university did you receive the doctorate?

One of the Concordias. In St. Paul, Minnesota. I spoke at the graduation in 1995 [May 27]. When I [was a student] there, it was just a small school. I went there for junior college. I went on to another school. I wanted to learn music.

Do you have any personal notes, letters, contract, etc. related to your Scooby work?

My next statement is going to come back to haunt me. [Scooby-Doo] just wasn’t a big enough deal to me. I did it because I loved kids. I never realized they’d be sending me money 41 years later. I’m sure there’s stuff out in the garage. All kinds of articles.

Are you still in touch with any of the people you worked with in music in the early 1970s, like Patrice Holloway or the Partridge Family cast?

Not even with Austin Roberts and I gave him his first gold record. [laughs] But he calls me and I return his calls.

How are you feeling these days?

My heart stopped and I died in 1992. I have an enlarged heart. My religion would not let me get a heart transplant or take any medication. The last operation I had was on January 10, 2000. Most people didn’t make it through the operation but I’m still here. I exercise every day.

[I asked for a “then” and “now” photo and later, after he’d sent them, he said the following]

I never let anyone take a picture of me. There’s a personal reason for that. I was brought up with a lot of Mafia guys. I didn’t want them to know what I was doing. When a friend heard I was sending you photos, he said “Boy, have you changed!”

Danny Janssen now

Anything you’d like to add?

In 1970, Bobby Engemann—[onetime] lead singer of The Letterman and one of the nicest guys I ever met—said I was one of a group of only 10 people who had written more than one gold record by himself. It’s been a really fun life. A line I wrote for the closing of a Christmas show was the most meaningful thing I ever wrote: “I wish people all around the world would have as much as me.”

Next: Rose Marie Mook and Nick Mook, widow and son of theme co-writer David Mook.