Behind in the polls, he has no choice but to follow his handlers' advice: cross the country incognito, living among his people for two weeks in a desperate bid to seem attuned to their plight. You can look over Julie Paschkis's shoulder and get a great view of her creative process on First Light, First Life here.īefore Bill Clinton and James Patterson's entry in the field, Paul Fleischman's president went missing in a wicked campaign-trail satireĪ president walks into a country.but it's no joke for the rich and removed American leader fighting for reelection during the second coming of the Great Depression.

What led to these books? My answer-from my childhood shortwave radio to folkdancing-can be found here. Impossible? Check out our braiding of Cinderella versions in Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal and creation stories in First Light, First Life, both published by Henry Holt. Julie Paschkis and I tell their stories, combining sixteen variants-from Ethiopia to Indonesia to the United States-into one tale. Despite being scorned for being the youngest and smallest, they're always well-armed with cleverness and courage. And what figure faces steeper odds than a child confronting a man-eating giant?įrom Jack to Little Thumb to Molly Whuppie, these valiant youngsters are known worldwide. Tales of unafraid underdogs give us heart. With hearty humor and dazzling art, this sideshow-in-a-book will not only entertain but inspire readers to embrace challenge, curiosity, and play. Consider his friend Georges Perec, who set himself the task of writing a novel without the letter e.Īlphamaniacs is a gift to word-lovers of all ages. Regard Raymond Queneau, whose mix-and-match sonnets would take a million centuries to recite. Marvel at erasure artists like Janet Holmes, who removed words from Emily Dickinson's verses to reveal a wholly different group of poems. Language for them is something to be hacked, played with, and explored, inspiring jaw-dropping quests and arduous treks to its most distant shores.īehold Daniel Nussbaum, who retold the classics using only vanity license plates. They see numbers in letters and art supplies in dictionaries. They're mesmerized by words' shapes and sounds. Not so the wild-eyed figures profiled here! Most of us see words as good only for exchanging information.

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman