BIO

Andrew Clements is the author of the enormously popular FRINDLE. He has been nominated for a multitude of state awards and has won the Christopher Award and an Edgar Award. His popular works include EXTRA CREDIT, LOST AND FOUND, NO TALKING, ROOM ONE, LUNCH MONEY, A WEEK IN THE WOODS, THE JACKET, THE SCHOOL STORY, THE JANITOR'S BOY, THE LANDRY NEWS, THE REPORT CARD AND THE LAST HOLIDAY CONCERT. Mr. Clements taught in the public schools near Chicago for seven years before moving East to begin a career in publishing and writing. He lives with his wife in Westborough, Massachusetts and has four grown children. His website is andrewclements.com.

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AUTHOR TALK

August 2008

In this interview, Andrew Clements --- author of numerous books for children, including FRINDLE, THE REPORT CARD, LUNCH MONEY and the Edgar Award-winning ROOM ONE: A Mystery or Two --- describes where he gets inspiration for story ideas and discusses how fathering a set of twins helped him to write about Ray and Jay Grayson, the main characters of his latest book, LOST AND FOUND. He also recalls the roundabout way he became a published author, explains how his experiences as an elementary school teacher have affected the quality of his writing, and shares some of his fans' frequently asked questions.

Question: Ray and Jay Grayson are identical twins --- and you and your wife have your own set of twins. How much of the book was drawn from your experiences with your sons?

Andrew Clements: None of the specific details or events of this book are based on the experiences of my own twins or any other twins I know. But having been able to watch twin boys at close range over the past twenty-some years certainly gave me a lot of insights. Most twins have a relationship that's unique, a special bond. They each know the other better than anyone else does. And for twins who look a lot like each other, sometimes the unavoidable comparisons can become a burden. I don't think I'd have written this story if I hadn't been able to observe our own twins the way I have.

Q: On the first day of school, Ray stays home sick and Jay discovers that the school has lost one set of their records. They decide to keep the fact that Ray exists a secret and to find out what it would be like not to have a twin. This is a pretty big scam to play --- what was the biggest scam or prank you ever pulled when you were in middle school?

AC: I was actually a pretty tame kid when I was in middle school. I heard about the kids who skipped school, and I heard about the kids who threw eggs at the science teacher's car, but I never did any of that myself. I preferred to get my thrills in the adventure and mystery books I was constantly reading. I had plenty of friends who didn't seem to mind getting called into the principal's office, but after it happened to me once when I was in first grade, I did my best to keep clear of trouble and risk. I didn't do many risky things at all until I got to high school and college, and even then I was careful. So I guess this means that many of the middle school kids in my stories are a lot braver than I ever was.

Q: You must get lots of fan mail. Are there any particularly interesting questions you've been asked by your readers?

AC: I do get a lot mail, and a lot of questions, and I'm amazed at how similar many of the questions are --- which is only natural, if you think about it. Readers want to know about the story, they want to know a little more about me and my family, they want to know how I got started writing, they want to know about new books --- things like that. But I've also gotten questions like this: What happens after the last chapter? Will you dedicate your next book to me? Will you make the main character in your next book someone with my name? Will you come and visit my school? Can we be pen pals? Did you like being a teacher? Did you get good grades when you were my age? I think some of my favorite letters are from kids who tell me about their lives, about how they feel about books and reading, about how they are trying to learn to be better writers. And I always enjoy hearing about how a particular part of one of my books meant something special.

Q: What were some of your favorite books when you were in middle school?

AC: I loved adventure stories, mysteries, and also nonfiction. I read a lot of biographies of inventors and explorers and adventurers. One of my favorite authors was Jack London. After I read his novel, THE CALL OF THE WILD, I read just about everything else he wrote. I read all the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, all the Hardy Boys, all the Tom Swift books, all the Perry Mason mysteries, all the Edgar Allan Poe mysteries. I also loved THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, all the novels and poems of Robert Louis Stevenson, the stories of Robin Hood and the novel ROBINSON CRUSOE.

Q: A lot of people think the hardest part of writing a story is coming up with the idea. Where do you get your ideas?

AC: I think there are lots of story ideas, and I think there is such a thing as thinking like a writer. Part of thinking like a writer means that as you observe the flow of everyday life, you keep seeing beyond what is happening at this very moment, and you imagine what might have happened yesterday or last year, and you think about what could happen tomorrow or next month or next year. A story is just a series of events that are strung together on a time line of some kind. And in that string of events in any story, there is usually one event that the writer either experienced or read about or imagined first. It might be the first event or scene in the story, or it might be one in the middle, or near the end. For me, there is usually one moment or event or snippet of talk, or a sentence I've read that lights up and catches my attention, that gets me imagining and wondering and thinking. And since I've become a professional writer, I'm always on the lookout now. And the ideas keep coming because life doesn't slow down.

Q: Before you were an author, you worked in publishing, and you were a songwriter and a teacher. Did you always know you wanted to be an author?

AC: I didn't know at all. Ever since I was about eighteen, I had been writing one thing or another, but never with much focus or any thought of publication. It wasn't until I worked in publishing and learned about the process and the business that I began to think I could write. My years as a teacher were crucial. I taught fourth grade, eighth grade English, and high school English, and now I have written books for kids from kindergarten through grade twelve. And I have kept focused on writing for kids for the same basic reasons that I went into teaching. When I decided to become a teacher it was because I felt certain my work would have a positive influence on the lives of kids and families and communities. And I think good children's literature works toward those same ends.

Q: What do you think are the most important elements to include in books written for elementary school kids?

AC: A book --- no matter what age reader it's written for --- should be entertaining, compelling, thought provoking. I tend to be a pretty hopeful person, and I think I owe it to young readers to keep my vision more positive than negative. It's not like there aren't bad or sad things in my books, because I have written about divorces and deaths and anger and jealousy and all sorts of typical life problems. But I happen to think that it's realistic to be hopeful, and to trust that most of the time there's a positive way forward in life.

Q: Do you read any of the contemporary authors who write in your genre? If yes, what about their books do you think sets them apart?

AC: I actually try to avoid reading children's literature these days. I tend to be too busy with my own thoughts, and I don't want to get pulled into someone else's thought-orbit --- because that's what a great book will do. It will grab you by the mind and pull you around for days and days. Which is a wonderful thing --- unless you happen to be trying to keep your own little narrative flow alive, trying to keep your own novel moving forward on the page. But I have a great solution. My wife loves to read, and she reads most of the great new books that keep coming out, and then she tells me about this or that story that captured her heart and mind. So I get inspired summaries, and I get to feel like I still know what's going on without having to immerse myself.

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