A Chat with Kate Klise, part 8

This interview was conducted by Emily Brown, Children's Librarian at the Mt. Pleasant Library in Providence, for the 2010 summer reading booklet.  

Question (Emily Brown): Can you tell me how and why you wrote Regarding the Fountain?

Answer (Kate Klise):  I pounded out the first draft to Regarding the Fountain in one week when I was stranded in my little valley due to an ice storm. I didn't have anything to eat in the house other than microwave popcorn, Diet Coke, and coffee. I also had a newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And it was in that paper that I read an article about two guys who designed fountains for a living. I wrote the first draft of Regarding the Fountain that week and faxed it to Sarah [Kate's sister, the illustrator] in the middle of the night. She didn't appreciate that part, but she was glad she picked the pages up off the floor as they fell from the fax machine.

Cumberland Public Library sets sail for the State House on June 12th

Set your Sails to visit the Cumberland Public Library craft table on June 12th. Learn the art of Japanese Paper folding, Origami,  and create a "boat" with Miss Debra!!! Cruise by and say hi!

Avast Ye!

From Victoria Antonitis, Youth Services Librarian, North Providence Union Free Library:
Avast Ye! (That's pirate speak for Hey, get a load of this!) North Providence Union Free Library looks forward to seeing you June 12th at the Statehouse for the Youth RARI Event where Miss Christine will be creating boats out of everyday items. Will they be sea worthy? Come down and find out!

Burning Questions from Rhode Island Readers

Do you have a question to ask Kate Klise? Put it here in the comments and we'll ask her to answer as many as she can when she comes to the RI State House on June 12th. Please hurry - June 12th is coming soon!

Here are a few questions from a mom who attended a Regarding the Fountain book discussion at the East Smithfield Public Library:

1.Do you know the ending of the book before you start?
2. What inspired you to write this book in letter form?
3. Is the main character based on someone you know?
4. Did you have to research the formats and styles for all of the different letters?

So, readers, what are your questions? Ask away!!

Way-Out Water Fountains at the Mt. Pleasant Library in Providence!

In honor of Kate Klise's Regarding the Fountain and Youth Reading Across Rhode Island ... 

Create a  silly, outrageous, weird, way-out water fountain at the Mt. Pleasant Library, Providence Community Library, on Wednesday, June 9th at 4:00 in the afternoon. This program is for youth ages 6 - 12.

A Chat with Kate Klise, part 7

This interview was conducted by Emily Brown, Children's Librarian at the Mt. Pleasant Library in Providence, for the 2010 summer reading booklet.  

Question (Emily Brown): Is there a special place or time when you like to write?

Answer (Kate Klise):  I live on forty acres in the Missouri Ozarks in an old farmhouse I bought when I dropped out of graduate school. It's always quiet, but mornings are especially still and lovely. Most writers like to work in the morning hours before the cranky editor inside us wakes up. We all have an inner Sister Jan who we need to silence when we're writing first drafts and trying to make sense out of chaos.

A Chat with Kate Klise, part 6

This interview was conducted by Emily Brown, Children's Librarian at the Mt. Pleasant Library in Providence, for the 2010 summer reading booklet.
  
Question (Emily Brown): What other things, besides kids books, do you like to write?

Answer (Kate Klise):  Anything and everything. Letters, email, speeches for other people. If I couldn't write books, I'd be happy writing menu copy. I just like fitting words together. William Maxwell, a writer I adore, talked about the happiness of "getting it down right." That's exactly what it is.