Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Interview with Exquisite Corpse Adventure Authors and IIllustrators!


An Interview with NCBLA Exquisite Corpse Adventure Contributor Lemony Snicket!!

Lemony Snicket is responsible for introducing our Exquisite Corpse Adventure heroes, Nancy and Joe, to the Cradle of Time in Episode 12, and will thrill us with more mayhem in an upcoming episode. Be prepared.


We interrupted Lemony in the middle of a dark and tragic tirade about something or the other to ask him a few questions:

Q- What did you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing an episode for The Exquisite Corpse Adventure?

A- "Trying to persevere despite the primal, overwhelming machismo of Jon Scieszka."

Well there you have it, straight from Lemony's mouth to your ears.

Q- What were some of your favorite books when you were in elementary school?

A- "Dino Buzzati's The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily; Zilpha Keatley Snyder's The Eqypt Game; Edward Gorey's The Blue Aspic."

Makes perfect sense to read about the macabre as a child if you plan to write about it as an adult.

Q- What are you working on now? Do you have a new book coming out this year?

A- "HarperCollins will be releasing my first picture book, 13 Words, which even with fine illustrations by Maira Kalman, manages to be glum and dispiriting."

Do you think Lemony realizes that 13 is an "unfortunate" number?

Lemony Snicket is the author of the famed A Series of Unfortunate Events, as well as other works. Be sure to look for his unique books at your library and local book store.




If you like Lemony Snicket's books, be sure to check out Neil Gaiman's family saga, Anansi Boys, and Keith McGowan's  The Witches Guide to Cooking with Children.

P.S. We regret that we cannot post a picture of Lemony Snicket. Apparently none exists due to a world-wide web conspiracy. Or so he says!


What is The Exquisite Corpse Adventure?
For those not in the know, The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is a series of episodes written and illustrated by famous children's authors and
illustrators. Each author and illustrator inherits the story from the previous folks. It's like taking over a recipe in the middle, you need to understand what's gone into the stew so far and then add your own
ingredients to make it hot and spicy! To catch up on all the exciting episodes, go to Read. gov.

And parents, teachers, and librarians be sure to check out the NCBLA's Exquisite Corpse Adventure Educational Resource Center for great ideas on how to turn the Exquisite Corpse Adventure into a great educational adventure! Go to:
http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html