An Inside Look with Alan Gratz
(Author of Ban This Book)
*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.
*I ran a series of interviews for Season #TWO over the summer of 2017. It was great to get back to these conversations, that I decided to run Season #THREE during the 2017/2018 school year.
*Thank you to Alan Gratz for being the EIGHTH author of the third season. I truly appreciate it.
*Here are links to the first FORTY interviews…
SEASON #ONE
SEASON #TWO
*This was a favorite read of mine from this past summer. I remember being at the pool and pretty much reading the entire thing in one afternoon. I absolutely LOVED the story and couldn't wait to reach out to the author and find out more.
*I had interviewed Alan for The Refugee and I was hoping he would be willing to do a second one about this newest novel. He was and I couldn't be more grateful.
*I had interviewed Alan for The Refugee and I was hoping he would be willing to do a second one about this newest novel. He was and I couldn't be more grateful.
*Alan Gratz was kind, gracious, and giving with his answers to the questions. It is an honor to post his responses with my "Inside Look" feature.
*Here is a link to my review of Ban This Book
*Thank you Alan for writing this story for readers and taking the time to share your thoughts with us here on the blog...
Ban This Book
by Alan Gratz (Released August 29, 2017)
How did you come to know Amy Anne?
Amy Anne is based somewhat on my wife, who used books to escape from a chaotic home life when she was a girl. She's a little bit me too though, as I struggled for a time in school with expressing my own opinions about things. I was always more outgoing and talkative than Amy Anne ever is, but I was afraid to say what I believed or wanted, always deferring to other people's desires first. So Amy Anne has her roots in both of us.
What do you think is Amy Anne's most admirable quality?
Amy Anne has a strong sense of right and wrong. I think this is a trait that a lot of elementary and middle school kids share. They know when someone is getting a raw deal, or when someone is being shown favoritism. It's that innate sense of justice that leads Amy Anne to break out of her shell and become an activist.
Is there anything you wish Amy Anne would have changed or done differently in her story?
Well, I wish Amy Anne would have spoken up the first time she had a chance to, at the first school board meeting, but then there wouldn't be much of a book to follow it! She wishes she had spoken up too, and that drives her to become more outspoken as the book progresses.
What do you think Amy Anne can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
I hope that other kids who see injustice in the world--be it book banning or something else--will see that they do have a voice, and that it does matter whether or not they use it. Kids don't have a lot of agency or authority in our society, and unfortunately they learn that people don't weigh their opinions as heavily as they do adults' opinions. I want to show them that when they work together, and they have a strong, consistent message, adults will have to take them seriously.
How did you research Amy Anne and the circumstances she found herself in?
For all the book banning info, I relied heavily on the American Library Association. They track book challenges across the United States, and in addition to publishing a yearly "top ten" they publish an occasional book highlighting all the book challenges and bans throughout time. (It's a big book.) That volume also contains action plans and resources for meeting and countering community book challenges. That book was my bible for Ban This Book!
Do you and Amy Anne share any similarities?
Well, we both love to read! Though I think Amy Anne makes a lot more time for reading than I do, so I respect her for that. She's also very good at making friends and bringing people together for a cause, and I think I'm pretty good at that too. And neither of us likes chaos. :-)
What was the hardest scene to write about Amy Anne?
Probably the quieter moments. As a person who's very comfortable being up in front of people and speaking, those parts of Amy Anne's story were easier for me. The harder ones were the emotional ones where she's alone.
Who do you think was Amy Anne's biggest supporter and why?
Amy Anne's biggest supporter in this book is her librarian, Mrs. Jones. She sees in Amy Anne a reader, an activist, and a future librarian--all things Mrs. Jones is herself!
Why do you think some people have such issues with certain books/stories for children by banning them and others want to expose their children to as much as possible to prepare them for the real world?
Our world is beautiful and wonderful, but it can also be scary and challenging. Some parents react to that by striving to prepare their children to face the frightening and sad parts, and a great, safe way to do that is through books. Kids can experience the difficult and confusing parts of the world on paper first, and develop opinions and responses to them before they have to run into them in the real world. Other parents respond by trying to shield their kids from the horrors of the world as long as possible. They discourage or outright prevent their kids from watching movies or reading books that will expose them to what's to come to preserve their innocence for as long as possible. I think that's at the heart of book banning--parents trying to protect children from the real world for as long as possible. I think that's misguided; I definitely fall into the former camp. But to each their own. Until, that is, they insist that everyone be forced to share their opinion and start removing books from the library...
What do you think Amy Anne is doing at the present time?
Reading From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler!
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