Kids say the darndest things! So we asked our creators to tell us their favorite questions they’ve been asked by young readers.
Cale Atkinson
Author of Simon and Chester
“I can’t say I remember as many funny questions as kids wanting me to draw certain things. The two that stand out to me are: ‘Can you draw Kermit the Frog mixed with a chicken nugget’ – to which I obliged and on another occasion, ‘Will you draw a buff baby Yoda’ – to which I also obliged.”
Lana Button
Author of My Grammie’s House
“‘Are you famous?’ I have been asked that more than once when I’ve presented at schools. And my response is that, for now, I am my own ‘roady’ – which means that I pack up all my equipment and lug it from school to school. So, as long as I’m my own roady, I am not famous (yet!) But I do feel rich! Because I love writing books for kids and visiting them at schools. My favorite questions that I get from young audiences are, ‘I lost my tooth last night.’ ‘I have a dog.’ And ‘Today is my birthday.’ I love it when kids share a little bit about themselves during the question-and-answer period. It is a great way to connect with my audience and I appreciate that they are sharing with me what is important in their life. (Besides, they have just listened to me talk for a long time about myself, it’s only fair that they also get a turn!)”
Lauren Soloy
Author of Tove and the Island with No Address
“No funny questions really spring to mind, but kids often say things that make me laugh! There’s always at least one kid at a school visit that is a little fuzzy on what a “question” is – so I’ve definitely gotten the ‘I have a dog named Vincent at home!’ type of statements, which tends to lead to a lot of other hands in the air. Teachers will then do an explanation for what a question is (causing most of the hands to drop) but I love those statements. That kid just really wanted to connect!”
Chuck Groenink
Author of Boy Here, Boy There
“I guess my favorite question I’ve gotten was at a school visit when I had shown a picture of my studio where my cat happened to be sitting on my desk. After fielding a good deal of questions about that cat ‘what’s its name! How old is she’, etc., one kid stuck her hand up to ask me, ‘Do you know my cat’s name?’ That tickled me immensely, but was also such a good reminder that for little kids these visits are in some ways as much about sharing their stories as it is for you to share yours.”
Polly Horvath
Author of Library Girl
“The funniest question I got was also the most charming. An eight-year-old boy came up to me as the kids were filing in and sitting down on the floor and said, ‘They told us you was going to be smart but why didn’t they tell us you was going to be soooo good looking?’ I burst into laughter and his eyes sparkled because he knew we both knew what a charmer he was and that he had managed to relax me and make me feel welcome. It was a variation on something that often happened at the poorest schools I have gone to – some child would come up to me terribly concerned that I might be feeling uncomfortable or homesick and would try to make me welcome before my talk. This is what has touched me the most on tours, those concerned little hearts.”
Rachel Poliquin
Author of I Am Wind
“I’m not sure about a favorite, but I definitely have a most memorable. I was asked what animal I’d like to be. Easy – a least weasel. But on this particular occasion, I had just met one in the woods. Least weasels are very small and very fierce, and this one had danced backwards and forwards on its hind legs, waving its arms at me. I wasn’t sure if it wanted to bite me or marry me. So, I told the story and did the weasel dance for the kids. I heard a boy say, ‘That was weird.'”
The Fan Brothers
Author of Barnaby Unboxed!
“A question that we’ve received a few times from kids is, ‘How much money do you make?’ The first time a student asked us that, I was completely thrown off, and had no idea how to answer it. My instinct was to respond with a heartwarming platitude like ‘money doesn’t matter when you’re doing something creative,’ but then I realized that wasn’t quite honest. Artists have to pay the bills too. I reflected back upon my own decision to go to art college, and the anxiety that that decision brought. All my life I had grown up with the cliché of the starving artist, and was told many times over the years that art was something you did as a hobby, but not as a career. I even had an art teacher once who told me that a career in art would most likely be boring and thankless work laying out ad copy. ‘Don’t think you’ll be drawing magical worlds and monsters all day.’ Even though, on the face of it, the question seems a bit ruthless, I think it reflects some of that same anxiety. Maybe the student was asking because they were also drawn towards the arts, but harbouring those same fears. Maybe they were looking for reassurance that it was possible to be successful as an artist. Or maybe they were just curious. Children are nothing if not completely honest, and it’s a question I might have asked myself when I was a kid. If I’m ever asked it again, I think I could provide a more thoughtful answer than the stammering response I gave.”
Rukhsana Khan
Author of Honk Honk, Beep Beep, Putter Putt!
“I do many school visits [and] sometimes things can get weird. I was at a school in Barrie and a kid asked if I was a man or a woman. (I’m a woman.) And just the other day a kid asked, ‘Who’s your favorite storyteller?’ And I couldn’t think of anyone else so I said, ‘Me!’ LOL (Actually I do like the way I tell stories!) But sometimes I get a really great question! One time after a presentation where I’d related some of the racism and bullying I’d gone through a student asked, ‘If you could go back and change anything about your growing up, what would it be?’ Nobody had ever asked me that before. I thought for a moment. I realized that I was who I was because of ALL the things I’d gone through, including the negative stuff. And because I knew how it felt to receive such abuse, I had vowed I’d never inflict it on anyone else. I looked the student in the eye and answered, ‘Actually I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything I went through was necessary.'”
