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Show c ' "i v v' S jKSxlJtt INTERVIEW that have happened to her friends and relatives. My sister and I recalled an instance when our father got a phone call down to the family business in the middle of the night to deal with an attempted robbery, says Sharmat. That turned into Nate the Great and the Pillowcase." In another title, Sharmat recollects how her sisters scarf flew away. Often its something that somebody says to me that inspires me, admits Sharniat,It can be just one sentence and then Im off." BY HLIDI HENNEMAN But Sharmats inspiration isnt completely based on the Great is 30! The classic childrens book character created by Marjorie others. She herself is a amateur detective. I Sharmat and illustrated by Caldecott Award winner Marc Simont love mysteries," she admits. When things go wrong, I reached a major milestone. But dont look for the young detective to take an interest, and love to find things." And find things she does. Like the perfect literary niche hang up his cloak and magnifying glass quite yet. Sharmat, along with her trusted is still cranking out Nate tales left and right, and in honor of the band of for her Nate stories. At the time I wrote the first Nate the sleuths 3l)th anniversary, a new hardcover edition of the first mystery in the series, Great, 30 years ago, easy reading books were just starting wanted to Nate the Great (Delacortc, $13.95, 64 pages, ISBN 0385730179), to become popular," says Sharmat, And in was released. read." 1972, this to make father, book, published recently originally inspired by my easy It was as simple as that. The book was quickly acceptfor Sharmat, writing is all about family. With the help of Mitchell, her husband of 46 years and an author in his own ed by Putnam, which was just starting an easy reading right, Sharmat has just finished her 24th Nate the Gieat title, program. The acceptance letter ai rived on her father's which is set to be published in October 2003. And this is not the birthday. And shortly theieafter, the book was reviewed with a family member. Her fust book Sharmat has by Gene Shalit on the Today show. That night when Sharmats father went to the synagogue, everyone started calling linn Nate sister, Rosalind Weinman, helped pen several titles, and her son, the Great. It was wonderful," recalls Sharmat. Ct.ng Sharmat, a musical director, has collaborated on a few as well, including Nate the Great and the Mnsnal Note. Sadly, before the second title was published, Sharmals father passed The author has always based her characters on those near and told him before he died that would continue writing the Nate away. detec dear to her. The title character, a young pancake-hungrstories," the author says, I knew that I would whether or not they weie because I felt that Nate was such a strong character, and he published tie, was inspired by her father, Nathan Weinman, who was often called Nate by his friends. A novel I had written previous to the was based on suclba wonderful man." Nate books featured my mother and sister, explains Sharmat. Recently, Nate has appealed in a New York Tones crossword puvle and decorated the front of 28 million Gheerios boxes to promote childrens literSo when the idea came into my head for the young detective character, I thought it was time for my father to be in a book, acy. le is also on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. NATE and MARJORIE too." But Sharmat didnt stop there. After 30 years, Sharmat still doesnt know where Nate the Great will lead WEINMAN SHARMAT I wasnt finished with her next. "This was never a preplanned series," says Sharmat, and often my other relatives," she explains, so I Nate writes himself book by book." Sharmat tries to come up with the named the other characters in the book after them." I ler sister solution to every case before she starts writing, but it doesnt always happen that way. Rosamond. Her unde Harry became the misRosalind became the Sometimes its her husband Mitchell who comes up with the crux of the case. He chievous young Harry. And her mother Anne played a part as Nates friend Annie. has so many intriguing ideas, says Sharmat, He is always my first editor, and its And those are just the characters in the first book. been a very happy collaboration." Sharmat admits that many of the events in her books have been inspired by things A kid detective who never grows old part-tim- Nate 1 1 1 1 y -- 1 feline-lovin- g i The story of stories Making life's lessons fun BY ALICE CARY SMITH Those who enjoyed lamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornells previous books (Wierr I Whs Little and Today I Feel Silly) are in for a treat: a brand new collaboration called Like the previous efforts, this one I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little is a joyous romp, filled with humor and lots of understanding about what makes kids tick. chilAs fans know, Jamie Lee Curtis can not only act, she can write drens books. She says her goddaughter inspired this one when she was trying on a dress Curtis had given her and proclaimed, Im gonna like me!" Two narrators, a boy and a girl, do the talking, so the upbeat, funny messages about are squarely aimed at both sexes. The kids alternate by explaining many different Im gonna like me when . . ." situations, some fun but many universally distressing or scary for kids, like getting on a school bus alone and waving goodbye to ones parents, giving the wrong answer in school, or falling down and getting hurt. The rhyming text is short and jaunty: Im gonna like me when I dont run so fast. Then they pick teams and Im chosen last." Curtis adds funny twists to familiar childhood pains: Im gonna like me when I cat something new even if Grandma nukes octopus stew." Matters of politeness and morals are also addressed, as in "Im gonna like me when I open the box and smile and say Thanks even though I got socks." ljura Gsmells artwork is nothing less than exuberant. Her cute, cocky kids have boundless energy and winning smiles, and each page is filled with a multitude of interesting expressions and details. Just watch the bespectacled boy go through numerous gyrations as he sails through the air before falling flat on his face. Watch grandma whip up that octopus stew (after hauling it out of the ocean). Read the various lunch containers at the cafeteria table: on a Stick, No Beef Allowed, Global Watming Soup Thermos and even Pork By the Foot! The humor brings to mind a Ror Chast cartoon. I'm Gonna Like Me is a great way to give a child a little lesson in fact many little life lessons without them ever knowing it! And the best part is, both you and the child will be striding as you read, BY IAN low did stories begin? Writer Marguerite VV. Pavol has come up with an original folktale explaining the answer, one that kids are likely to believe and enjoy, and one that might serve as a good spark for conversation about the importance of stories and how they arc created. Inspired by a Seneca talc called "The Storytelling Stone," The Snake's Tales is also a perfect vehicle for reading aloud, because its full of rhythm and repetition, and Davol created it first as a story for telling, not as a book. Listen, for example, to how The Snakes Tales begins: "Way back in time there were no stories. Season after season, the earth turned from day to night to day. People worked and ate, slept and woke. But they didnt tell stories. Believe it or not, people simply didnt know what stories were! So how did stories finally begin? Listen, and Ill I tell you." A boy, Bcno, is sent out to pick strawberries for his family, and on his way back a serpent glides beside him, promising stories in exchange for the strawberries. The boy, of course, takes him up on the offer, returning home empty-handebut full of wonder at what the snake has shared. Next, his sister, Allita, has a similar experience when she is sent to fetch raspberries. Neither child the tells the parents about this wondrous new thing they have experienced. Finally, their confess secret, sharing two go together to pick apples, after which they finally their new, exciting tales. and people began sharAfter that, so the story goes, the world was never the same, s mother begins children the as ing stories wherever they went. Even art starts here, to weave the tales into tapestries. This simple yet believable new fable hat kens back to Adam and Eve, with its fruit and beckoning snake, and will lure young readers just as the snake lures Beno and AlJita. The artwork of Korean-bor- n artist Yu mi Heo is the perfect complement to the rich atmosa fable. Her primitive-styl- e pencil and oil illustrations convey simple yet for strawberries, on full nibbling touches of amusing phere bunny (a low and red yc instance, or a funny little monkey hanging from a tree). The bright snake grows bigger and bigger as it spins its tales, fully encompassing its listeners. Ik inspired to Young children will be spellbound by Parols story, and may just start spinning tales of their own. lop-eare- d i Self-Estee- best-sellin- g self-estee- i DECEMBER 2002 BOOKPAGE 23 r |