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| Susanna Reich |
Q: I was fascinated about your personal connections with
Julia Child; you recount in an author's note that you designed floral
decorations for her 80th birthday party and were able to meet her at that
time. Please tell us a little bit about what you admire about Julia and
what inspired you to write a picture book about her through the eyes of her
cat.
A: Julia was serious about cooking and held herself to the highest standards. Her devotion to her art—the art of French cooking—was inspiring. She also took great pleasure in sharing her enthusiasm and had a wonderful sense of humor. I admired her confidence, her knowledge, her spontaneity, and her commitment to teaching. When she demonstrated a dish, she made you believe that you could cook it, too.
But the key thing about Julia goes beyond cooking. She knew
that putting people at ease and fostering convivial conversation around the
table was more important that the success of any particular dish. In her memoir
she wrote, "Remember, 'No one's more important than people'! In other
words, friendship is the most important thing—not career or housework, or one's
fatigue—and it needs to be tended and nurtured."
By focusing my picture book on Julia's years in Paris and
her relationship with Minette, I was able to share with kids the things I
admire most about Julia—her warmth, her humor, her work ethic, and the joy she
found in cooking.
Q: The illustrations in this book are particularly charming
and greatly enhance the story. I was especially struck by how the
illustrator, Amy Bates, incorporated a small girl who does not appear in the
text but appears in many of the illustrations; were you able to have any input
into the style of illustration that was chosen?
A: As you know, the publisher of a picture book usually chooses
the illustrator, and that's what happened with Minette's Feast. As soon as I saw Amy's sketches, I was captivated.
Her images perfectly capture Paris in the 1940's and also the humor in the
text. I love her color palette and compositions, the rhythm and balance of
closeups and large spreads, and especially the way her figures convey emotion
without ever being overly sentimental or so abstract that little kids won't get
it.
Because this is a nonfiction picture book, it was important
for me to have some input into the illustration process, especially when it
came to historical accuracy. I gave our editor photographs, historical
information, website links, and detailed feedback on the sketches, which were
then passed along to Amy.
Q: I enjoyed the fact that you used lots of French phrases
throughout the story, giving the story local color. Could you tell us a
little about your research process for this book? Did you go to Paris or
cook from Julia's cookbooks to immerse yourself in her story?
A: Like everyone in my family, I love to cook, and I've used
Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French
Cooking for many years. I did find myself using her recipes more than usual
while working on Minette's Feast. I'm
buying more butter these days!
As for the French phrases, I studied French in high school
and have been to France several times. Incorporating French was one of the ways
I played with language in the text. For me, writing picture books is a form of
play.
I approached the research as I would for any nonfiction
project, by reading everything I could find on the subject—in this case,
several biographies of Julia; her cookbooks and memoir, My Life In France; interviews and articles by and about her; and
many of her letters, which are in the Schlesinger Library at Harvard. I also
studied photos and videos of her.
Q: This book includes an informative afterword that places
Julia Child in the context of 20th century women's history. Julia Child
is your second work about a remarkable woman; your earlier work Clara Schumann: Piano Virtuoso (Sandpiper, 2005) is
an outstanding biography for young people. Do you have plans for any
future works dealing with women's history?
A: No specific plans at the moment, but I'm always looking for
a good subject. I don't really think of it as women's history, but as human
history. Both boys and girls should learn about the important, powerful,
creative women who've come before us.
Q: Can you tell us what books are currently on your
nightstand (i.e. that you are in the middle of reading)?
In the first half of the year I especially enjoy reading
some of the National Book Award-winners in the young people's literature
category, as well as ALA award-winners in different categories. I especially
enjoy the Batchelder Award books, because translated books appeal to the
anthropologist in me. On my nightstand right now is Debby Dahl Edwardson's My Name is Not Easy.
Other books I recently enjoyed are G. Neri's Ghetto Cowboy, Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Padma
Venkatraman's Island's End. On the adult side, my nightstand
holds Gabrielle Hamilton's food memoir, Blood,
Bones and Butter, a book of essays and short stories set in Paris, and a
back issue of the magazine Gastronomica devoted
to Julia Child. She's definitely influencing my reading choices at the moment.
To visit other stops on the blog tour for Minette's Feast, check out the following blogs:
Monday, April 30 - Booktalking http://asuen.wordpress.com/ interview with
Susanna
Tuesday, May 1 - Books Together http://www.bookstogetherblog.com/
interview with Amy
Wednesday, May 2 - Tales from the Rushmore Kid http://www.tinanicholscouryblog.com/
interview with Susanna’s cat
Thursday, May 3 - The Fourth Musketeer http://fourthmusketeer.blogspot.com/
interview with Susanna
Friday, May 4 - Original Content http://blog.gailgauthier.com/ review
and discussion of creative nonfiction
Sunday, May 6 - Great Kid Books http://greatkidbooks.blogspot.com/
guest post by Susanna about reading as a child
Monday, May 7 - Shelf-Employed http://www.shelf-employed.blogspot.com/
interview with Abrams art director Chad Beckerman
Tuesday, May 8 - Readerkidz http://www.readerkidz.com/ “Dear Reader” guest
post by Susanna
Posts
2 comments:
Great interview, Margo and Susanna. I've been following the blog tour. If you didn't get to Paris for your research,Susanna, perhaps it's time for a celebratory vacation! :)
Minette is her French friend that she writes her cookbooks with?
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