My inspiration for writing is all the wonderful books that I read as a child and that I still read. I think that for those of us who write, when we find a wonderful book written by someone else, we don't really get jealous, we get inspired, and that's kind of the mark of what a good writer is.
In a way, my childhood was one long bunch of pages... I read and read and read.
Looking back, I see that I write books about brothers and sisters,
about what makes up a family, what works and what is nurturing.
Sometimes poetry--words--give us a small, lovely look at ourselves. And sometimes that is enough.
Patricia MacLachlan's books are among my most favourites. Her seminal work Sarah, Plain and Tall (Newbery Winner 1986) had a profound affect on me. Even today, many years after my reading of this book, I can feel my eyes filling with tears when I remember the opening scene as Caleb asks Anna about his mother who has died in childbirth. Today I discovered Sarah, Plain and Tall was published during my first year of working in a school library so there is an even greater significance.
Listen to and watch an interview with Patricia from 2013. And here is a post about her work.
I have previously talked about many of Patricia MacLachlan's books:
White Fur Flying (2013)
Just Dance (2017)
My Father's Words (2018)
Little Robot Alone (2018)
Chicken Talk (2019)
Wondrous Rex (2020)
Here is the set of books which began with Sarah Plain and Tall
Skylark: Jacob is a man of the land but for Sarah, the prairie isn't yet her home. So when a drought threatens to devastate their way of life, Jacob must save the farm. But the children go back to the home Sarah knew first, Maine, where there is family and an ocean. But will they ever be a family again on the prairie?
Caleb's Story: "It′s your job now," Anna says as she hands Caleb her journals, asking him to continue writing the family story. But Sarah, Jacob, Anna, Caleb, and their new little sister, Cassie, have already formed a family, and Caleb fears there will be nothing left to write about. But that is before Cassie discovers a mysterious old man in the barn and everything changes. Everyone is excited about the arrival of a new family member except for Jacob, who holds a bitter grudge.
More Perfect than the Moon: Cassie spends her days watching Grandfather and Caleb in the barn, looking out at Papa working the fields, spying on her mother, Sarah, feeding the goslings. She's an observer, a writer, a storyteller. Everything is as it should be. But change is inevitable, even on the prairie. Something new is expected, and Sarah says it will be the perfect gift. Cassie isn't so sure.
Grandfather's Dance: Cassie's sister Anna's wedding brings two lovebirds together, aunts from faraway Maine, a long white dress with a wedding veil, dancing under a clear blue sky, and a world that smells of roses. As the Witting family comes together for this most special day, Cassie sees that life brings the change of seasons, brother Jack on Grandfather's lap, joy, sorrow, and a special dance only Grandfather does
And here are a few more books that I need to read. My Poet; Life Begins and Snow Horses are not yet published:
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