Interview with Jan West Schrock

On Monday, I reviewed Give a Goat, written by Jan West Schrock, the daughter of the founder of Heifer International. Give a Goat, is about a classroom in Maine who developed a school project to raise money to buy a goat for families in need.

Jan agreed to do an interview, and here are her thoughts on the book, reading, and Heifer International.

1. As the daughter of the founder of Heifer International, you've probably been surrounded by inspirational stories of giving throughout your life. Why did you choose to tell the story of the children in Maine who raised money to buy a goat? What was it about that particular story that inspired you to tell it?

JS: I was a teacher for many years. My favorite students were middle-school children. Often, they are very idealistic at this age. When a great teacher captures the spirit of giving and ties it with her curriculum, that’s a good story.

When I discovered that Mrs. Rowell captured her fifth grade students’ imagination, to help poor children go to school, and incorporated this vision with a math unit, I knew it was magical. There are plenty of stories, and we have tons of stories in Heifer’s work, about children and other cultures, but few stories about relationships between children in the US and those in the developing countries. Give a Goat establishes that relationship.



2. Give a Goat is not just about helping others in need, but it's also about a community coming together to help raise money for people all over the world. Can you talk briefly about the power of communities?

JS: A unique value of Heifer International is "Passing on the Gift," which is key not only to ending poverty but establishing sustainability for many generations. Another unique value is creating strong communities to become self-reliant.

Heifer assists once-poor communities through training and gifts of livestock. Families that have learned the importance of working in community will often stay together and expand their work beyond the three years Heifer works with them. We see Heifer communities establishing micro-credit and dairy and grain cooperatives, making sure every child is educated, bringing women into leadership roles, establishing partnerships, and continuously finding ways to insure prosperity.

We also see examples of mending the wounds of war as rural communities sometimes are comprised of both sides of civil wars. For example in Albania, Kosovo, Armenia, El Salvador, the Philippines, Cambodia, Rawanda,etc.

Communities, with the right kind of training and future visioning, can turn poverty into prosperity, work for justice, and diminish the instinct for war.



3. Give a Goat definitely has a powerful message that I think will help make a difference in the world. When you were writing the book, what message did you hope would get across to readers?

JS: Telling children and adults, for this matter, about hunger and poverty without providing a way to genuinely help renders feelings of despair and/or helplessness. Sometimes people throw money at the situation and feel removed thinking, “Those people are not us, are not our neighbors. We’re lucky we’re not them.”

But, when children, and adults too, discover an unique way to help, a relationship is established and we as educators, parents, and students become excited about assisting with whatever resources we have. Working together, often in classrooms, civic organizations, and congregations, on a project helps us make a difference amd expand our neighborhoods. Philanthropic projects, begun at an early age, help us work together to become responsible in a world of great need. The “I-Me-Mine Generation ” can become a “We-and-Us-Together Generation.” This is the way to turn greed into compassion and usher in a new age of world citizenship.

In writing Give a Goat, I wanted to lift up the joy of children working together to make a difference for other children in our world.



4. I'd like to switch gears for just a minute and talk about reading. The mission of my blog is to help parents, teachers,etc. instill the joy of reading in the children in their lives because I firmly believe that knowing how to read and also LOVING it can change lives. Are you an avid reader, and if so, what are some of your favorite books?

JS: Recently I’ve been reading books focusing on agriculture and food systems: Michael Pollan’s books, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, Lester Brown’s, Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, and Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest accounts for how collectively we must, we can, and are, changing our environment and our world.

Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Kingsolver’s book reminds me of our sustainable farm in Indiana during my childhood.

Elizabeth Gilberts’ Eat, Pray, Love is inspiring as she describes her very personal year-longjourney in turning from helplessness and dependency to empowerment and caring for others. It’s a personal story very similar to the enlightenment of a Heifer community.



5. What were some of your favorite books growing up?

JS: I read all of the biographies written for children I could find at the library. They were either orange or blue books, a whole row of them at the library: Florence Nightingale, Thomas Edison, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Baker Eddy, Jane Adams. I especially loved the stories of women.

At Christmas time, before TV, we’d huddle around the fireplace as my father read Christmas stories. Our mother would peel apples in a blue bowl and give us slices as we, my four brothers and myself, listened.


6. As a mother yourself, can you offer any advice for helping parents reach out to reluctant readers?

JS: I taught students with learning disabilities for several years. I would introduce a story suggesting the student look for things that would happen. At times, I’d read along with them, one sentence or one paragraph at a time. Sometimes we'd stop and draw a picture. I would also encourage them to tell their own experience stories and would write as they shared their story.




7. The thing I like the most about Give a Goat is that instead of just talking about the importance of giving to others in need, it actually offers real-life, doable activities. What are other ways kids can getinvolved with their communities and give?

JS: Two eleven-year old girls enticed their congregation to give to a Heifer campaign from Feb. to November raising over six thousand dollars. Their parents and outreach leaders assisted them with their dream. The biggest event was an all-congregation talent show with proceeds going to their fund.

Many children request gifts be given to Heifer instead of for birthday presents at their party. Many children request Heifer gifts for their consecration ceremonies, Bar mitzvah and bat mitzvahs.

The librarian at the Great Salt Bay School, Damariscotta, ME, challenges the whole school to participate in a reading incentive program. Her students take then read like crazy during the harsh winter months. A big celebration ensues in the springtime.

Teachers gather in community support of civic organizations, local businesses, and homes for the elderly to support a reading incentive program. The whole community becomes invested in students’ reading and students become educators about Heifer International’s work, a community endeavor.

Youth in a congregation made dinners of soup, home-made bread, salad and desert for pre-subscribed take-out orders for their local community. They raised over five thousand dollars and had a grand time using the church kitchen, cooking together, and marketing.

Schools in Hong Kong participate in Heifer education and raise funds for Heifer’s work inChina. High school students filmed Heifer’s work in Yunan province and shared the story with their parents and community. This past year they raised over two million dollars.

Youth in 4-H club in Poland learned the care of goats and production of cheese and yoghurt. They marketed to the villages for special events. The funds earned were donated to purchase equipment for a children’s hospital.

In Armenia, a Heifer project provides training in animal husbandry in after-school youth programs. Young people learn to raise goats, primarily. They then will pass-on their gifts to youth in Heifer projects in bordering nations,Georgia and Azerbaijan, an amazing combination of skills acquired, meaningful work, and working for peace.

Many classrooms and whole schools embark on Heifer education and reading incentive programs throughout the US and in several international countries raising funds for Heifer’s work. Learning about what students can do to help other children while they read is a real joy. Learning and reading is the work of children and if they can be assisted to turn their work into a reality and make a difference in our world, they become both philanthropists and motivated students!

Heifer’s work in providing training and livestock, as well as the pass-on requirement, creates prosperity and instills a spirit of giving. Many youth become aware of a wider world and their role as responsible world citizens.



8. With the economy causing people to tighten their purse strings, a lot of families may not have as much money to give to charities as they have in the past. Do you have any suggestions for ways people can help out without having to give a lot of money?


JS: Our project partners have said, “Thank you for the gift of a fishing pole. Our families are no longer hungry and poor. But look around the pond and see thousands of people waiting for their fishing pole. Do you also notice that the water is polluted and running out of the pond? Until you educate yourself and your children about the root causes of poverty, you are not making the big difference.” Heifer International has heard this message and has created a strong education program. We know that it is very important to educate our children about the issues of hunger, poverty, and the environment and their role in restoring a healthy world. They can learn about Heifer’s work through films, stories, and activities, which we supply. They might raise money like the children did in “Give A Goat” or in many other creative ways, and they can also share these stories with others in their school and community to help raise awareness.



9. Do you have plans to write any other books?

JS: I’ve been thinking about writing a children’s book in the context of Heifer’s twelve cornerstones, our values, which are required in every proposal. Our cornerstones and our Values-Based Planning Model are the key components to successfully ending hunger and poverty and caring for the earth. Our cornerstones and our planning model insures sustainability.




10. Do you have any final thoughts?

JS: I wish all children, parents, and educators would embrace Heifer’s methods of creating prosperity. Working together in community is powerful and fun. I love seeing schools create gardens as part of their curriculum. This fall, a school in Maine created a garden and greenhouse to raise produce for their school lunch program and for the education of their students and their parents! Here’s a community working together in a very exciting way. It reminds me of the Heifer way.


Thanks Jan. It was an honor and pleasure!


*All photos used with permission by Tilbury House Publishers.

Interview with Jim Averbeck, author of In a Blue Room

There's quite a buzz in the kidlitosphere about Jim Averbeck's new picture book, In a Blue Room (read my review here).

I recently had the fortunate opportunity to interview Jim Averbeck. Here's what he had to say.

Where did you get the idea for In A Blue Room? Did you base it on any of your own childhood bedtime memories?
You know, so much of writing happens on a sort of intuitive, subconscious level that it is hard to pinpoint when an idea is born, much less where it came from. I do know that with “In a Blue Room” I had decided to write a story that was a combination concept book (about colors) and a bedtime book. Then I threw in the concept of the five senses and story of a mother/daughter relationship. I tossed a few more things into the mix hoping that from all this complication simplicity would be born.Then, through multiple revisions, I somehow ended up with the 221 words that make up the story. If anything of my own childhood crept into the story, it was the love and care I received from my own mother. No doubt Alice’s patient mom finds her roots there. Of course, my mom had six kids, so I doubt I ever got the kind of time and attention Alice does in the story.

This is your first book. What inspired you to write for children?
The untold riches available to children’s authors… Seriously, when I was in the corporate world I realized that so much of your life is spent at work, that you better love what you do. I thought about what I spent most of my leisure time on: Reading! I thought it would be a coup if I could get someone to pay me to do that. Until I figure out how, I decided writing was the next best thing. I write for children because I am really just a big kid.

How long did it take you get published once you decided you wanted to write this book?
The oldest version I could find in my files was from September 2002. So, I guess that means it took 5-1/2 years from inception to publication.

Is Alice named after anyone in particular?
When I wrote In a Blue Room, I knew I wanted it to have the feel of a classic picture book - simple lyrical language about a timeless, universal experience -with a twist at the end. So when I chose a name for the little girl in the story, I chose a name from a classic of children’s literature. She’s named for Lewis Carroll’s Alice.It was probably pretty presumptuous of me. I also liked the soothing sound the name has.

What were your first impressions of the illustrations when you saw them?
When I first received the black and white sketches, I was blown away. Tricia had extended the original ending in a way that I found breathtaking. I don’t want to say too much, because I want people to experience it for themselves, but she leaves the reader with the idea that the blue room of Alice’s story is our shared “blue room” of planet earth, which helps explain why, even though Alice’s room is yellow at the beginning, the text saying Alice is “in a blue room” is correct. It’s really quite a remarkable interpretation.

Do you have another favorite book that Tricia Tusa has illustrated?
I teach a class on how illustrators can bring “more” to a picture book than the text shows without hijacking it. One way is for them to bring a broad, universal story down to a personal level. I use Tricia’s book “The Magic Hat” (written by Mem Fox) to illustrate this. I love the ending, where the great, powerful magician of the story, the owner of a magic hat that transforms those who wear it into something else, removes the hat and is revealed to be a little boy. I suppose Tricia does just the opposite for “In a Blue Room.” She brings a very personal story up to a universal level, literally.

What do you love the most about writing?
Too many things to name:Getting lost in the story… The way word choice can support what you are trying to say... The puzzle-like beauty of language… Oh! And then there are the hours, which are basically whenever I make them. Punctuation, however, I hate.

Did you have any favorite children's books when you were a child?
D'AULAIRES' NORSE GODS AND GIANTS was one I read over and over.I couldn’t pronounce half the names in it; Thor was always wielding his hammer mjolnir against Utgardsloki while Odin sat on Lidskjalf.What a bunch of jawcrackers! But I loved the stories.I also remember being moved (though I wouldn’t have called it that in the first grade) by The Giving Tree.

What authors have most influenced you?
Maurice Sendak and Ray Bradbury

When you're not writing, what can we find you doing?Mostly feeling guilty because I’m not writing.

What can we expect to see from you next?
That depends on the labyrinthine course of publication. I actually sold my first book, “Little Spoon-Ears,” in 2002. About once a year, the publisher contacts me to tell me they’re 100% behind the book. Maybe they’ll accidentally publish it in the next year or so.

What do you hope children get out of In a Blue Room?
I hope children get pleasant dreams and their parents get a good night’s sleep.


Thanks so much for your time Jim, and I wish you the best of luck!

Interview with Catherine Ipcizade

I recently had the opportunity to interview Catherine Ipcizade (pronounced ip-chi-zah-deh), author of recently released 'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day, a very cute book written in verse adapted from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Read my review here.




Thanks, Catherine, for taking the time to talk!

What inspired you to write 'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day?
A few things actually inspired me to write the book. Watching my own kids and the kids in my son's classroom "eat up" information about animals was exciting. They'd pick up any book that had an animal on the cover and devour it. But I quickly realized books fell into one of two categories--either they were exaggerated fiction or they were strictly non-fiction. All too often, the kids would pick up a book expecting one thing and be disappointed with too much "over their head" information. So I decided to do something a little different--to put a clever twist on non-fiction and to create a factually correct but entertaining book about animals. Sylvan Dell was the perfect publisher for the book because their books inform while entertaining.


Do you have a favorite zoo animal or a favorite zoo? Did you use a specific zoo(s) for inspiration when writing 'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day?
Ooh! Good question! I DO have a favorite zoo animal--giraffes! I've learned so much about them. For example, did you that giraffes have slimy, blue tongues that can reach 18 inches in length? And did you know that one the reasons their tongues are blue is to prevent them from getting a sunburn, since they spend so many hours eating each day? :)

In answer to your zoo question, I love all zoos. I think, no matter how big or small they are, they all have something special to offer and teach us. However, in my own area, I love the San Diego Zoo. You can't beat the setting and the wide array of animals. In some way, all the zoos I've visited throughout the my lifetime (San Diego Zoo, Orange County Zoo, Santa Ana Zoo, Phoenix Zoo, etc) provided inspiration for the book. All you have to do is take a walk around the zoo or take the tram tour and you'll see amazing things--lazy rhinos "tanning n the sun," monkeys hanging every which way, zebras in groups, appearing to "talk," etc. Once, at the San Diego Zoo, we passed a group of monkeys frolicking in the grass. One mother monkey was holding her baby and looking at the tram in this, "stay away, folks" kind of way. It reminded me that all creatures protect their young...and that message found its way into 'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day!


What was your first impression of the illustrations when you first saw them?












I adored the illustrations from the start. I had envisioned bright, bold illustrations for this book, and Ben Hodson couldn't have done a more amazing job. I was particularly amazed with the animal facial expressions--he captured the essence of the story flawlessly and added such clever twists to the text!




What do you love about writing? What is it about children's books you love?
I love writing because I loved reading. As a child, I read everything I could get my hands on--I'd even sneak hardware catalogs out of the Sunday paper and read them under my covers at night with a flashlight when I couldn't find anything else--it's true! Personally, I love to write because it's a creative release for my soul. I love writing children's books because they allow children to imagine themselves somewhere else, with character like themselves or completely different than themselves. Children's books are magical--writing them allows me to remember what it's like to be a kid, to imagine without boundaries.


What authors and/or books have influenced you the most?
When I was a kid myself, I couldn't get enough of Dr. Seuss. I must have read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish about a million times. In elementary school, I loved the Serendipity books, and those little Beatrix Potter books. As I got older, I became entranced with Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, and Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. And Judy Blume books! Oh, I devoured them every chance I got--brilliant! All decidedly different, these books had one thing in common--they reached me somehow, on some level, enough that they somehow became a part of me.


When you're not writing, what can we find you doing?
Besides writing, I'm the mom to two lovely kids, ages seven and four. I'm also back in school, working toward my Master's Degree in Education. In my spare time, you'll often find me with my camera, taking lots and lots of pictures, or in my kitchen--this writer LOVES to cook!


What can we expect to see from you next?
Ooh, lots of things are in the works. I just had three books released from Capstone Press (African Animals: Giraffes; African Animals: Lions ; African Animals: Zebras), which were a lot of fun to write. I'm currently submitting a picture book about a mischievous elf in a library and switching genres a bit to work on a novel-in-verse for middle-grade readers. I'm also working on some greeting cards for the adult market--the life of a writer is never dull!

Thanks for hosting me. It's been wonderful "chatting" with you.


No, thank YOU Catherine, and best wishes!