I wrote the words in red, Ame Dyckman wrote the words in black, and Dan Yaccarino wrote the words in orange. Thank you, Ame and Dan!
*I connect with librarians, teachers, and readers...
AME: because I LOVE people who love books! There’s an instant “I get you! And you get me!” magic link there.
AME: were amazing! Fantastic kids who read for fun asking me about writing? I grinned for days! (And Katherine’s my hero for starting the camp!)
*Boy and Bot are...
DAN: best friends. Because friends come in all shapes, sizes, colors—and materials.
AME: Ditto what Dan said! Boy and Bot don’t care that they’re different on the outside. And that proves they’re the same on the inside.
Ame Dyckman’s text…
DAN: was a joy to illustrate. She provided just enough for me to be able to tell my half of the story, too!
*Dan Yaccarino’s illustrations…
AME: are brilliant and sweet and funny and perfect! I couldn’t love Boy and Bot more.
DAN: Awww! Really?
AME: Affirmative!
DAN: are an art unto themselves. Many people—even adult and upper grade authors—think that a picture book is easy to write and that it's just a short, dumbed-down book. It isn't. It's a delicate balance between words and pictures where if either the words or pictures were taken away, it would tell less than half the story. They NEED each other. As Aristotle said, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
AME: Was Aristotle the one in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure?
DAN: No, that was Socrates.
AME: Oh, yeah! “So-crates!”
DAN: Focus, Ame!
AME: Right! Picture books are entire little universes that fit on 32 pages.
*Reading is...
DAN: COOL!
AME: a peppermint.
DAN: A peppermint?!
AME: Yeah! Reading is a peppermint for your brain! Sometimes it’s KAPOW! Sometimes it’s Ahhh! But it’s always good.
DAN: I’ll never look at a peppermint the same way again.
*Mr. Schu, you should have asked us about...
AME: the time I scribbled down a story idea while parasailing! And about my next book, Tea Party Rules, illustrated by K.G. Campbell (Viking; Fall, 2013).
DAN: some wonderful real estate opportunities in Florida, because I have loads of swampland property down there. (Do you like alligators?) And about my next book, Kate and Nate Are Running Late by Kate Egan (Feiwel & Friends, October 16, 2012).
Not because I illustrated it, but because it's a wonderful book that I just happened to illustrate.
AME: Thanks for having us, Mr. Schu! Thanks, everybody! Keep on reading, and… be excellent to each other!
DAN: Ame!
AME: Couldn’t resist!
AME: Thanks for having us, Mr. Schu! Thanks, everybody! Keep on reading, and… be excellent to each other!
DAN: Ame!
AME: Couldn’t resist!
The Sharp-Schu Book Club is discussing Boy + Bot on October 3, 2012. I hope to "see" you there.
