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MEET GENNIFER CHOLDENKO
by Bonnie O'Brian

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

Gennifer Choldenko

When I was a kid, I remember loving: HARRIET THE SPY by Louise Fitzhugh, all the WIZARD OF OZ books by Frank L. Baum, ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS by Scott O’Dell, A LITTLE PRINCESS and A SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett, A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L’Engle, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY by Roald Dahl .

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

I’ve always loved to write. I wrote my first book at age 8 (unpublished thank goodness!) It was called THE AD VENTURES OF GENNY RICE and it was about a grain of rice’s adventures down the garbage disposal. As a kid, I loved to write stories and make up songs and especially I loved to make up words. I made up my own private language. When I was in high school, I collected favorite words and I wrote a lot of poetry. In college, I wrote fiction with a vengeance.

When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)

I have two degrees. One is in English and American Literature – though unofficially I was a creative writing major. The other degree is in illustration. So, yes, I pursued the study of both writing and illustrating in college.

How soon after that was your first book published?

My first book was accepted for publication a few months after I graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in Illustration.

Where do you get your ideas?

Sometimes I know exactly where an idea comes from and other times I do not. With AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS the first idea for the novel came from an article I read in the San Francisco Chronicle about kids who grew up on Alcatraz when Alcatraz was a working penitentiary. The idea for NOTES FROM A LIAR AND HER DOG woke me up in the middle of the night. At three in the morning I began to write in the voice of the main character, Ant. I still don’t know exactly where that voice came from. The idea for LOUDER, LILI a picture book due out in 2007 came from something my daughter said to my son.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

All of my books have had special recognition. MOONSTRUCK: THE TRUE STORY OF THE COW WHO JUMPED OVER THE MOON was a National Parent Association award winner and was on the New York Public Library 100 Best Books for Reading and Sharing. NOTES FROM A LIAR AND HER DOG won the California Book Award and was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. It was also in the 2003 to 2008n Elementary California Collection and in the 2003 to 2005 Middle School California Collection. Al CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS won the Newbery Honor, was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal in the UK, it was an ALA Notable Book and on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list for six months and in the 2006 to 2008n Middle School California Collection. IF A TREE FALLS AT LUNCH PERIOD is in the 2009, 2010 Middle School California Collections.

What are you working on now? When do you expect to start submitting it to publishers?

Today I sent my next novel IF A TREE FALLS AT LU NCH PERIOD (Harcourt Spring 2007) to copyediting! I am very excited about this because I have been working on this novel for about 4 years. I think it is my funniest novel so far, and yet it addresses a topic about which I am deadly serious. It’s a very fast read, but I’m hoping that after you finish reading the last page, you will continue to think about the book for a very long time.

When is your next book going to be in book stores?

My next book is called HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH GIANTS. It is a picture book illustrated by Amy Walrod and it will be in the bookstores in a few weeks.