She's interviewed at this amazing website that is reviewing 28 African-American children's book authors for Black History Month...Stories help us examine and shape the world we live in. Stories give us hopeful answers and insights to questions no one person can answer on their own -- stories help us share our lives. This is what I love about being a writer.
So says Jerdine Nolen-wife, mother of two, educator, school administrator, and author of numerous picture book titles, at least 11 of which are currently in print: Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm, In My Momma's Kitchen, Raising Dragons, Big Jabe, Plantzilla, Plantzilla Goes to Camp, Hewitt Anderson's Great Big Life, Max and Jax in Second Grade, Lauren McGill's Pickle Museum, Thunder Rose...and her latest, Pitching in for Eubie (Amistad/HarperCollins).I don't think I was ever bored as a child. I was always making up games. I enjoyed the company of my dolls or my little toy lamb, and I enjoyed my own company. Among some of the other things I did to amuse myself, I collected words. I collected words because I liked the way certain words sounded, what they meant, how they made me laugh because they sounded so silly. And I loved putting words together.
My mother noticed this tendency in me and gave me a hand with my deep and abiding desire. She gave me an empty cardboard cigar box. Then we made what would be the equivalent of index cards (the cardboard from my dad's shirts from the dry cleaner, cut to size). Because I loved the sounds of words, some of them would give me a tickle. And certain words-words like "chutney" or "cucumber" or "watermelon"-- these food words would crack me up just to say them. Words I thought sounded mighty silly, I wrote down on my makeshift index cards and kept them in my empty cigar box. It was my great treasure. If I ever needed to be entertained, or have a big belly laugh, I would look at my word supply. And I laughed a lot. Sometimes I played with the rhyme and rhythm or cadence of the words, too. It was fun. I mean it was really a lot of fun. I know what you're thinking...and that's o.k. because you had to be there to see just how fun it was!!!!! :o)
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