Authors Avi and Mo Willems Talk to Students about the Art and Practice of Writing

by Angela Ungaro

Reading and writing are part of the fabric of a Brooklyn Friends School education, and all students are encouraged to see themselves as writers. Every student writes for the preschool and lower school literary journal, Write Now, and there even are “publishing parties” in the lower school classes when students present their original stories in book form. Another very special way in which the school celebrates books and writing is through our annual visits from prominent children’s book authors. This year’s authors were award-winning writers Avi and Mo Willems.

On Monday, April 30, Avi addressed the entire BFS middle school as well as the 4th grade students who have been reading Don’t You Know There’s a War On? as part of their curriculum. During that hour, Avi—who is the author of such favorites as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and the beloved Poppy and Rye series—shared stories about his life and family, experiences that shaped him as a writer, and explained how the writing process works from conception to publication.

“We’ll start with questions,” he said. “You can ask me anything you want. Even the questions they told you not to ask. Like questions about my name, age, money. I’ll answer anything.” Underneath the excited murmurs and giggles of students, a collective groan could be heard from the teachers scattered throughout the meetinghouse. Avi had just opened the floodgates. Was it really a good idea to give some 200 middle school students the freedom to ask anything? What if they ask the kinds of questions that people are genuinely curious about but are usually to “polite” to ask? What if they embarrass themselves or, even worse, the school?

Fortunately, it wasn’t so bad. Name? Edward Irving Wortis. Age? Sixty-nine years old. Money? Well, they never really got to money because when you have the opportunity to talk to someone who’s been an author for over 35 years, has written more than 65 books for children and young adults, and has won multiple awards and honors for his work, there are more interesting things to talk about than money. Once all the “taboo” questions were out of the way, Avi had a lot to share and students had even more to ask.

It comes as no surprise that Avi is a master storyteller. He told a lot of stories that day. He told the students about having a twin sister and growing up in Brooklyn during the 40s and 50s. He told them all about his wife and how she is the smartest person he knows. He even told them how the high point of his short-lived soccer career at Elizabeth Irwin High School was when their team tied Brooklyn Friends School 0-0 in their last game of the season. It turns out they lost every other game that year. On the bright side, Avi moved on to bigger and better things and that experience was inspiration for one of his middle grade books, S.O.R. Losers.

Of all the stories Avi told that day, perhaps the most inspiring was when he shared the struggles he had to endure in order to become a writer. In a journal entry dated March 28, 1955, Avi wrote: “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to become a writer.” But before he could become a writer, Avi had a lot of obstacles to face. To begin with, his family was opposed to him becoming writer. That probably had something to do with the fact that his teachers insisted he get tutoring because his handwriting was so sloppy and spelling so poor, he was barely passing his English classes.

Avi had the evidence to prove it, too. As part of the slide show presentation he brought, he showed the middle school assembly papers he had written for school and how his teacher covered them in red marks and comments like, “A half page of good work is better than 20 pages of sloppiness.” (Apparently, he still gets those red marks, but now they come from his editor.) He even showed a play he had written for fun where the same word was misspelled four different ways.

With little encouragement from family and teachers, Avi continued to pursue his dream. He learned that in order to become a writer, you must become a reader first. He insisted that good writers “don’t write writing, they write reading.” Around the same time Avi wrote about his decision to become a writer in his journal, he was reading three to four books a week. Even now, when students asked, he told them he is reading all the time. Finally, he shared that once you have the reading part of being a good writer down, you must rewrite. “All writers rewrite,” he insisted. “I rewrite every book 60 to 70 times.” Although many students (and teachers) blanched at the thought of having to rewrite anything so often, they had to admit there must be something to his advice if someone like Avi, who struggled so hard to get where he is today, is able to achieve his dream of becoming a writer to the delight of readers everywhere.

Reading, Writing, and Drawing with Mo Willems

Who knew an hour spent with one of your peers could be so entertaining? On Wednesday, May 2, author and illustrator, Mo Willems, visited BFS students in grades K through 3. Mo considers these students his peers since they essentially do the same thing he does—write stories and draw pictures. The only difference, he says, is that he’s taller. Then again, not many lower school students have won multiple Emmy awards for their writing on Sesame Street or gained national attention with their Caldecott award-winning picture books like Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! At least not yet.

During his visit, Mo treated students and teachers to an hour jam-packed with reader’s theatre, a sneak peak at his newest book, and an art lesson. To get everyone warmed up, Mo chose some eager students (and a few reluctant teachers) to help him perform Today I Will Fly!: An Elephant and Piggie Book which is part of a new series of early reader books featuring a pessimistic elephant and an optimistic pig. Next, the author/illustrator read from a galley copy of his soon-to-be-published Knuffle Bunny To A Case of Mistaken Identity. Teachers and students were excited to be among the first to read the sequel to the much-loved Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, both of which take place in our very own Brooklyn. After taking some questions, Mo ended his time with the students by “teaching them how to infringe on his copyright.” With a few strokes of the pencil and some funny sound effects, Mo showed everyone just how easy it is to draw The Pigeon. As students compared pigeons and practiced their technique, you could say Mo Willems certainly left behind a room full of his peers.

More information on Mo Willems and the pigeon.
More information on Avi and his books.

Angela Ungaro is the Lower and Middle School Librarian at Brooklyn Friends School.