Kids say the darndest things! So we asked our creators to tell us their favorite questions they’ve been asked by young readers.
Ben Clanton
Author of Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth
“A fifth grader once asked me if becoming an author took away from the experience of being a reader. Did I enjoy books as much as I used to? One of the best questions I’ve been asked by anyone of any age. I admitted that it does change the experience as often I find myself analyzing stories with an author’s lens. There is something enjoyable about appreciating the craft, but at the same time, it is harder to lose yourself in the story when you’re deconstructing the elements. It has made the experience of losing myself in a story rarer but also somehow sweeter. Another kid once asked me if I thought an actual real-life narwhal would eat a waffle if it came across one. A waffley good question IMO. My favorite questions are the ones I don’t have answers to . . . yet.”
Anna Humphrey
Author of Buns Gone Bad
“I love kid questions! So much so that’s it’s hard to pick a favourite, but I’ve narrowed it down to two. My second favourite is: “What’s your favourite monster truck?” after a presentation that had nothing to do with monster trucks. Questions that are wildly off topic are pretty standard at school visits, but this one especially delighted me because (and there’s no way this kid could have known) I happen to be a huge Monster Jam fan. And once you’ve seen Gravedigger do a double back-flip then burst into flames in the world finals freestyle competition, the answer’s just so obvious. But my all-time favourite question from a kid has got to be: “Are you a grown-up?” I burst out laughing, but I also took it as an extremely high compliment. Because either it meant I happen to look exceedingly youthful (which, hey, thanks) or that my books speak “kid” well enough that I can almost pass for one myself (and that means everything to me).”
Christina Uss
Author of The Island Before No
“Many of my author visits begin with me telling kids that my books usually have some true parts and some made-up parts all mixed together into a single wonderful, weird story. For The Island Before No, I asked a group of kids ranging from 2 years to 13 years old to guess which parts of the story could possibly be true. I told them I’d made up the part about a walrus being upset when someone took his toothbrush and used it to paint his cat. A kindergartener said, “How do you know it isn’t true, somewhere? I would be upset if someone took my toothbrush, don’t you think a walrus would be too?” I had to agree, and thank the kid for her imagination.”
Vikki VanSickle
Author of Into the Goblin Market
“Once, after a reading, a kid asked me which of my characters I would want to be friends with. This was such a great question and something I had never considered before. There is a little part of me in all of my characters, so there wasn’t one that came to mind immediately, but I’d love a calm, confident friend like Kala (from The Lightning Circle) and wouldn’t mind an adventurous friend like Into the Goblin Market‘s Mina- although I would definitely draw the line at attending spooky midnight goblin events.”
Deke Moulton
Author of Benji Zeb Is a Ravenous Werewolf
“At the release/launch party for Benji Zeb, one of the kids asked me if I was actually a werewolf. It was really cute because he whispered it like he thought it was a secret. It was so sad to disappoint him!”
Rosemary Mosco
Author of There Are No Ants in This Book
“Unfortunately, I don’t do many school visits, so nothing comes immediately to mind. But my niece did ask me once if birds pee, and I sent her a very long video explanation, haha!”
Bruno Valasse
Author of Shine
“A kid once asked why some dogs on a page were so ugly, and if I could draw a ‘kawaii dog’. I had no idea what that meant then, and those were hyenas.”