Dear Mr. Biggs
Where I go back to school and learn a few things.
We all know that the business of making children’s books is, in fact, a business. And it’s a business of grown-ups. The author of the book is a grown-up, and so is the illustrator. Their agents are grown-ups. The editor is a grown-up. The art director is a grown-up. The people in sales and marketing and acquisitions are all grown-ups. The people who sell the books, and, finally, the people who buy the books are all grown-ups. All of this work by all of these grown-ups, the writing and drawing, and the editing and selling, it’s all done at the service of an eight-year-old kid named Finn, who goes to an elementary school in suburban Philadelphia, and whom I had the distinct pleasure of meeting two weeks ago.
Finn is why bookstores sell books. Finn is the reason publishers publish books. And Finn is the reason I write and draw them.
When I started writing and drawing children’s books 22 years ago, my own kids were the inspiration for these drawings and stories, and they were also the reason for making them. But they’re 26 and 24 years old now, and while I try to channel my inner 8-year-old in everything I do, it’s sometimes easy to worry more about the grown-ups I work with than to remember Finn, the audience for these drawings and stories.
I spent most of March and part of April visiting fourteen elementary schools1 in the Lower Merion, Marple Newtown, and Lower Dauphin school districts here in Pennsylvania. Through these visits, I got to meet thousands of kids like Finn2. I gave presentations in theaters and gyms and cafetoriums where I talked about inspiration and I had chats in school libraries where I explained how I make my drawings. My favorite part of these visits, though, is when I get to have lunch with students. The way it typically works is that a few students from each grade are chosen to head to the library where we sit around a table, and they’re supposed to ask me questions. Where do you get your ideas? How long does it take to make a book? What is your favorite book?3 But I get great joy in turning things around, and getting the kids to answer my questions: Where are you on vacation going this summer? What’s YOUR favorite book? Who is your favorite Philadelphia baseball player? What the heck is that in your lunchbox? I suppose it’s research, but really, I’m just interested.
The answers are a delight and the conversations are amazing. I’m not a teacher, I’m not their parent. I’m this grown-up who makes these books that they love reading4 and they let their guard down. When I visit these schools I enter some exclusive club of grown-up that gets high fives in the hallway and the occasional hug5. And they tell me about their cats. And we debate Bryce Harper’s hitting. And they want to complain about their sister. And I listen to all of it, mentally taking notes. Maybe these notes are for some book I’m working on. More likely they just sit in my brain and remind me that it’s not about the publisher or the bookstore or the agent or the editor. It’s about Finn, who drew that picture of me up there. And Alexa, who proudly wanted to tell me about her autism. And Marjorie, with the cat on her head. And Silas, who also has an orange cat named Basil.
THE THAnK you notE
A few weeks into these visits, I began receiving huge envelopes from the schools that contained hundreds of letters from the students. And this last Saturday I sat down and read every single one of them.
Here. Take a look.
And a couple of more complicated messages:
I’m not an extrovert, but I can play one for a few weeks, and now I’m happy to get into my studio and get back to drawing pictures. I miss Alexa and Silas and Marjorie and Finn, and I’m going to pin these letters up here on my bulletin board. To, you know, remind me, when I’m dealing with all of these grown-ups, who I’m really drawing these pictures for.
Are you a school or some other person or institution that wants a visit from a guy who writes and draws children’s books? Let me know in the comments.
There’s a really good interview with Charlotte Gunnufson, author of Hard Hat Hank, up on Picture Book Builders right now. And a really good review of Hank up on Kirkus, too.
Cat Content:
Thanks for reading!
Belmont Hills, Gladwyne, Cynwyd, Penn Valley, Merion, Russell, Culbertson, Loomer, Worrall, Nye, Conewego, Londonderry, East Hanover and South Hanover. Thanks to all y’all.
Though, to be clear, none were really like Finn.
Answers: Everywhere. About a year. When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead.
They do make it clear that they’d rather meet Dav Pilkey and Mo Willems if given the opportunity, but that’s okay.
Once, years ago, a few days after a local school visit, I was at Target with my kids, shopping for kid’s clothes, when I saw a boy pointing at me and I heard him tell his mom “that man was at my school last week and GAVE ME A HUG!” I had to calm mom down and explain…
I wanted to write a comment on how brilliantly you've captured what school visits can bring to the heart and soul of an author/illustrater. Well. I guess, this is all I can manage to praise this article. Well done. Very relatable.
I also love it when there is a Q&A and I am forced to say: "That is a really good question." (Thinking: Blimey. I have never ever thought about this. I need to come up with an answer. Quick!) Unfortunately I always forget to write those questions (and my answers) down.
This gave me all the feels. All of ‘em.