Friday, February 27, 2009

Interview with Barbara Worton, author of Too Tall Alice

Today is a special day for The Girl at Diary of an Eccentric! She is thrilled to welcome Barbara Worton, author of Too Tall Alice. (You can read our joint review here.) This is her very first author interview, and she's very excited.

The Girl: Is Alice based on a real person?

Well, Alice is a little bit of me. I was kind of tall when I was little, and even as a grown-up I can remember feeling really uncomfortable about being tall. Alice is also a little bit of a little girl I once knew. She was kind of tall and skinny and had that crazy curly hair like Alice. And Alice is also a little bit of every little girl or boy who thinks they're different than everyone else. It can be tough to feel like you're different, and I just wanted everyone who read Too Tall Alice to know that they are absolutely great just the way they are.

The Girl: How did you get the idea for this book?

I was feeling sad one day. I wasn't having fun at my job, which is writing, and I told a friend. She suggested that I write a story just for the joy of writing, so I did. The story and Alice just popped into my head, and it made me feel happy again. It made me feel really happy when I read it to other people and they liked the story and liked Alice and the message she had for them.


The Girl: How long did it take you to write this book?

It only took me a few days to write Too Tall Alice. It took many months for Dom Rodi to do the illustrations and for us to work together to figure out which words went on each page and what all the characters would look like. It took a very long time to get Too Tall Alice published--years, in fact, but now she's out there, and people are loving her, and that is making me very happy.

The Girl: What is your favorite children's book?

I have many, many favorite children's books, but here are those that are at the top of my list: Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Stinky Cheese Man, Where the Wild Things Are, Wind in the Willows, and all the Harry Potter books. I think they're great.

Thank you so much for your questions and for reading my book. It really means a lot to me that people like what I write and understand the message that I'm trying to communicate.

Thank you for your time, Ms. Worton!

17 comments:

Kaye said...

Another fine job by The Girl! I like the book cover. Alice has knees like Olive Oyl, Popeye's girlfriend. ( of course, both of you are far too young to remember Olive Oyl!) Glad you enjoyed the book.

Julie P. said...

The Girl is awesome. Watch out b/c she's almost ready to take over your blog! ;)

bermudaonion said...

Fantastic interview by The Girl! I'm so impressed with her.

Serena said...

The girl has some mighty fine questions...were you coaching her? LOL I know these must be her own questions....she's very inquisitive.

I think Julie may be right...The Girl is ready to usurp your blogging power!

Anonymous said...

Great interview. Your girl had some great questions.

Jeannie said...

Girl, you did a fantastic interview. Great job!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Congratulations on a great first interview!! I've posted about it at Win a Book. My thinking was: 1. It's your first interview and special and ought to be shared and
2. if you liked this book enough to interview the author about it, then it's a book that others ought to know about, too.

Read on, read well, my friends!

avisannschild said...

What a great interview! I'm going to pop over and read the joint review now. I'm thinking this one might make a good gift for my 6-year-old niece!

KR said...

I really need to win this for my kindergarten class. Great interview!

Luanne said...

Thank you for the great interview Girl!!

The Bookworm said...

great interview! The Girl is good :) way to go.

I will be reading and reviewing this book too, the illustrations are so cute.

http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Anna said...

Kaye: I remember watching Popeye and Olive Oyl as a kid, and The Girl has seen the shows, too. I don't remember them when they were new, though. LOL

Julie: Thanks! I think you're right. It's my own fault, though. I told her she was too young for her own blog.

Bermudaonion: Thanks! You made her blush!

Serena: Of course they're her own questions! I just asked her what she wanted to know about the author and the writing of the book, and she came up with them on her own.

Carol: Thanks!

Jeannie: I think her head is starting to swell. ;P

Susan: That's so great of you! I showed The Girl your post, and she was so happy. Thank you very much!

Avisannschild: Thanks! You'll have to let me know if you get it for your niece; I'd love to hear what she thinks.

MJ: Thanks!

Luanne: She's happy you enjoyed it!

Naida: We're looking forward to your review!

Marie Cloutier said...

Another great interview! Thanks for doing these! I really enjoy reading them.

Ladytink_534 said...

I was always the tallest girl in my class as a kid so I can relate! Somehow I did stop growing though (I think the Mountain Dew did it) and by the time high school started I was one of the shortest! I've been teased about it ever since lol but I don't really mind now :)

Great interview!!!

Serena said...

I knew the girl was too smart not to have her own questions.

Wendi said...

What a fun interview! Thanks for sharing. I've always wondered what the hardest part of children's books was, and how hard it was to do the illustrations!

Your interview has been added to About the Author - An Author Interview Index!

~ Wendi

Anna said...

Marie: Thanks!

Ladytink: I hope she stops growing soon. She's going through clothes too quickly for my wallet to catch up!

Serena: You know it! ;)

Wendi: Thanks!