Kids books not just for kids

OLGA LIVSHIN

Frieda Wishinsky, a well-known Canadian writer of children's books, comes to Vancouver's Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library this month.

Wishinsky loves meeting kids, her main readers. Before she became a writer, she was a teacher, teaching children with special needs for many years.

Wishinsky has an unusual education for a children's writer: a bachelor's in international affairs and a master's in special education. In one of her interviews, given in Toronto in 2002, she explained the connection: "I think countries relate to each other like kids in the school yard. Studying international relations was a natural transition to writing about Grade 3, because kids and countries act the same. It's just that countries are bigger and have bigger weapons to bully people with. There's a lot of ego, a lot of 'Who's got more 'candy,' more power, more people behind them?'"

Like many writers, Wishinsky has always been an avid reader. "I loved reading about magical places and exotic lands. I also liked reading about the lives of famous people," she mused, remembering her childhood. Later, as an adult, she rediscovered the entire field of children's literature almost by accident, when she was charged with the task of buying books for her school's library. She enjoyed that duty, which involved visiting a Toronto warehouse full of children books, and she found that she liked and disliked the same books her students did.

Another happenstance led her to her current career. Being a good teacher, she didn't want her students to think that writing was a forced activity. For her, it was always fun. "I began writing for kids while I was teaching. When my students wrote stories, I wrote, too."

In the early 1980s, she had a brief, two-month respite from teaching, when her husband took a course in Eugene, Ore. She went with him and wrote at the local library. One day, she picked up books she liked, looked up the names of their publishers and sent them all a copy of her story, Dimple's Delight. She recalled: "One publisher responded very positively and, although she didn't buy the story, her note encouraged me to keep writing. Two years later, I sold my first book."

Wishinsky's first book, Oonga Boonga, was published in 1990. Since then, she has published more than 40 books for children. Although she writes articles for magazines and newspapers, she doesn't write books for adults. She said, "I believe that kids books are not just for kids. They are not 'simple,' if you read them carefully. They go to the heart of a feeling in ways that adult books often do not."

A versatile writer, Wishinsky is always eager to explore new genres and formats. "I write about family, friendship, history and food. I write picture books, chapter books, novels and non-fiction. I write kids books because those were the books that had the greatest impact on me. And I write them because I've never forgotten what it feels like to be a kid."

Wishinsky's children's books cover a variety of serious topics, including immigration, bullying, jealousy and loneliness, because all of these problems affect kids as much as – if not more – than adults. Childhood is the time to learn how to handle such problems and, in that way, Wishinsky's stories could help her young readers.

Many of her books have won major awards and most have captivated readers in various countries, proving that children of any cultural background have many universal questions and worries, and that borders are the artificial invention of adults. Wishinsky's works have been translated into French, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Korean, Chinese, Spanish and Catalan. "They reflect the way kids think and feel. That's the essence of a good story," she said.

Most of her stories are based on her own life experience, as a child and as an adult, mother and teacher. One of the latest, a non-fiction book called Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Weird Stuff You Didn't Know About Food, sprouted from the writer's fascination with food. With the humorous and expressive illustrations of Travis King, Wishinsky wrote the book in collaboration with her friend, writer Elizabeth MacLeod. It started with a simple conversation, which, in turn, led to deep research.

"We researched the way you would for a university paper: books, magazines, newspapers, the web, everywhere," Wishinsky said. The writers dug up the least-known facts they could find: the history of various dishes and their names, traditions and superstitions, recipes and jokes. "We brainstormed and then split the book," Wishinsky explained about their approach. "She [MacLeod] did five chapters, I did five. Our editor said she couldn't tell who wrote what. It was a wonderful collaboration."

Wishinsky's local reading takes place on April 27, at 9 a.m., and everyone is welcome.

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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