Name the book that made the biggest impression on you. I bet you read it before you hit puberty. In the time I’ve got left, I intend to write artistic books – for kids – because they’re still open to new ideas.
–Gary Paulsen
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Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet was the first book I read when I wanted to begin my writing. I saw him later at a book festival where I spoke and told him that. He was quite interested and so nice. We chatted about writing for a few minutes. He made a distinct impression on me.
Oh, I’d love to meet Gary Paulsen. I still regret not discovering Hatchel when it was written (it came out when I was in middle school). It made such an impression on me as a college student in an adolescent literature class. I can only imagine how I would have responded as a girl.
I was an avid reader as a child, so I’m sure there are many, but the first book that came to mind was Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye by Lois Lowry. We lived in Florida at the time, and I still remember sitting on the beach reading it. And I’ve read it multiple times since then too.
The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou by Kristin Lattany
I was 12 and in 7th grade. I had never read a book without pictures. When I saw the spine of the book, all I saw was “The Soul Brothers and Sister”. “Lou” was covered by the barcode. But seeing that title “the soul brothers” and what I thought was “sisters”, gave me hope. “This,” I told myself, “is a book I probably can read.” I haven’t stopped reading novels since. 🙂