Children are often eager to find out how writers go about creating their stories, so Marie-Louise Gay decided to create a picture book that would help children to appreciate how the writing process works. In the book she answers the kinds of questions she is asked when she visits schools, and she also gives readers some insights that will amuse and entertain them.
Any Questions?
Any Questions?
Marie-Louise Gay
Picture Book
For ages 7 and up
Groundwood, 2014, 978-1-55498-382-7
Marie-Louise Gay is a much loved author whose books have
delighted children (and adults) for many years. When Marie-Louise goes to talk
to children in schools and libraries, they do what all children do. They ask
questions. A lot of questions. Often the children want to know about Marie-Louise
and her life, and then there are the questions that pertain to her stories and
how she creates them. One of those questions that is often asked is, “Where
does a story start?”
A story always
starts with a blank page. If you stare at the page long enough, “anything can
happen.” You might think that a blank piece of white paper cannot possibly
inspire anything, but this is not true. For example, it can give birth to a
scene that is full of a snowstorm. If you start with a piece of paper that is
old looking and has a yellow tinge to it then you might end up telling a story
about a time when dinosaurs walked the earth. Blue paper can lead to an
underwater adventure and green paper can be the backdrop for a story about a
jungle.
Sometimes
stories don’t start with a color at all. Instead, “words or ideas” come “floating
out of nowhere.” Bit by bit pieces of paper with words and thoughts written on
them are collected and sorted, and then they are joined by “little scribbles
and doodles,” which is when the kernel of a story starts to grow. Of course, sometimes
an idea pops up on the page that simply does not work at all. When this happens
an author has to search around for something that does work, which can take a
little (or even a lot) of time to happen. These things cannot be rushed though,
and eventually the right piece of story comes along and the author is off and
running.
In this
wonderful picture book, Marie-Louise Gay explores the writing process,
answering questions that children have asked her over the years. She shows us
how a story is built, how it unfolds, and we see, right there on the pages, how
she creates a magical story out of doddles, scraps of ideas, and tidbits of
inspiration. The little children and animals characters who appear on the pages
interact with the story, questioning, advising, and offering up ideas.
This is a book
that writers of all ages will love. It is funny, cleverly presented, and it
gives writers encouragement and support.
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