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This month The Edge of the Forest chats with Elizabeth Bluemle, author, teacher,
and co-owner of Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vermont, about what's hot with her young readers.
The Edge of the Forest: Hi, Elizabeth. Thanks so much for taking time out from your busy schedule to chat with me.
Elizabeth: Hi, Kim. It's a pleasure to be here.
The Edge of the Forest: Before we learn about your young readers, let's talk about Flying Pig Bookstore. Where are
you located and what makes your bookstore unique?
Elizabeth: We're in northern Vermont (near Burlington) in a town called Shelburne, very close to the Vermont
Teddy Bear Factory and the fascinating Shelburne Museum. Vermont is a great place to visit from May through October, but
you take your chances the other months (during the aptly named twig and mud seasons). You ask what makes our bookstore
unique? Every independent bookstore is unique almost by definition, which is why they're so wonderful and vital. An indie
bookstore's stock is like a set of the staff's fingerprints: every book has been selected by the people who work there, who
not only choose what they love themselves, but what they think their customers will love, too.
The Edge of the Forest: On your website you refer to Flying Pig as a work in progress. Your assessment's intriguing,
given the fact that you and your partner Josie Leavitt celebrated the store's 10th anniversary in November. (Big high-five,
by the way.) Where do you see Flying Pig 10 years from now?
Elizabeth: Thanks for the high-five. We feel so lucky to have made it this far. I think any passion is a work in
progress. Running the store takes a lot of the same kind of creative energy as writing (which is why I'm not much writing
as I should right now). I hope, in ten years, the Flying Pig is still airborn—and staffed by the next generation of
booksellers, maybe some of whom grew up at the store.
The Edge of the Forest: According to your website, 80 percent of the 40,000 titles lining your shelves are for
children and teens. Clearly, you've made a business decision to target young readers and lovers of children's literature.
Why do you believe children's books are so important?
Elizabeth: Oh, I need to update that number on the website. When we moved last fall, we became more of a general
bookstore, so our stock is now about 65% children's and teens, 35% adults. We don't have fewer books for children, though,
just more for adults. My heart and soul will always be with the children's and teens' books. Like most writers for
children, I inhaled books as a child. They were my confidantes, my travel companions to faraway worlds, my way into
learning about other people's feelings and hopes. I also fell in love with language, the play of it and the gorgeous
variety of words, as a child who read (although the 25 full-length performances of The Tempest I watched in kindergarten
when my sister was a wood nymph might have had something to do with that as well). When you ask people what books shaped
them as people, had the most impact on them, they usually mention a children's book. That's a pretty powerful legacy to be
part of, and it's one of the million reasons I love being a bookseller.
The Edge of the Forest: In addition to launching an independent bookstore focused on children's books, you
co-founded the Charlotte BookShelf, a nonprofit organization dedicated to donating free new books to Vermont families and
programs in need. Tell us more about Charlotte BookShelf. How did it come about, and why do you believe reading is so
important for young children?
Elizabeth: When I was a school librarian, I had the great pleasure of giving books out free—at least for two
weeks at a time. In my heart, I'm really still that librarian, wanting to give out books without worrying about money. But
I also know the pleasure of owning a special new book of one's own, one with fresh crisp pages and a clean smooth cover.
When we opened the Flying Pig, I hated to think that there were any families in our town of 3,500 who couldn't come into my
store and buy a special book. So a friend and I started a nonprofit program to give all the families who used the town's
food shelf gift certificates each month for each family member to come in and choose a book. We funded the program by
starting a community theatre and having all the proceeds from performances go into the BookShelf program.
The Edge of the Forest: Your first picture book, My Father The Dog is a hoot. Your upcoming picture
books Dogs on the Bed and How Do You Wokka-Wokka? promise to be funny as well. And you sponsor the
Flying Pig Grade-A Number-One Ham Humor Award (FPGANOH-HA!) for first- and second-semester students of the Vermont College
MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. Seems to me you're dedicated to tickling the funny bones of young
readers. Is this focus intentional, or did your muse lead you here?
Elizabeth: Thanks for the kind words about my book. I'm glad you got a kick out of it. We started the FPGANOH-HA!
because so many awards already exist to celebrate the more serious books, and humor sometimes gets the short shrift (as it does
at Oscar time). I felt there was a need to recognize and reward the fine art and craft of successful humor writing. I also
wanted to provide a little motivation for the first-semester students; previously, there was no award open to them. I
thought, Ooh, get them writing funny out of the gate and we've got 'em for life. I'm a sucker for a laugh.
The Edge of the Forest: Growing up, I spent so many weekends and summers in the children's section of my library
that the librarians knew my name and often recommended my next read. Do you have regulars? If so, what are you recommending?
Elizabeth: We do have many, many regulars. That's the most heartwarming aspect of my job, actually, getting to see
these kids grow up and discover more and more books. Kids who were babies when we opened are now almost eleven years old
and reading up a storm. About what we're recommending, it's always a mix; depends on our new discoveries and old favorites.
For instance, I still sell tons of Julie Andrews Edwards' The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, and
Elizabeth Enright's Gone-Away Lake, and the Edward Eager books, etcetera, but I'm also really excited by lots of
great new books, including The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and The Mysterious Benedict Society
by Trenton Lee Stewart, and Cynthia Leitich Smith's new YA vampire novel, Tantalize. Don't get me started, because
I won't be able to stop.
The Edge of the Forest: While conducting research for her most recent book
500 Great Books for Teens
, Anita Silvey discovered that teens preferred fantasy to problem novels. How do these findings track with your young
readers?
Elizabeth: That is certainly true for many teens in our neck of the woods, but we also have plenty of kids who love
contemporary stories about other teens. I think the kinds of "problem novels" that don't resonate with kids are the ones
that radiate an adult melancholy and hopelessness. Teenagers don't want to be drowned in cynicism and despair as much as
we (the culture at large) tend to think they do. Writers like Sarah Dessen and Ellen Wittlinger and Alex Flinn and Brent
Hartinger and Laurie Halse Anderson and many others are able to write about teens and serious real-life situations in a
way that appeals to their audience. Other authors strike a bleak, joyless note that falls flat. It's all in the point of
view, the voice, and the writing.
The Edge of the Forest: You've been in the book business 10 years now, longer if you include your time teaching and
heading up a library at a pre-K-8 school in New York City. What changes in reading preferences have you seen during that
time? Any trends you've noticed about what leads a book to a kid or a kid to a book?
Elizabeth: Fantasy has certainly reached the mainstream in a way it hadn't pre-Harry Potter, though it was always
popular with strong readers. I think that 9/11 has had an effect on children's reading tastes; 'comfort' books, brightness
of spirit, and funny books are craved by young readers. There are still the occasional kids who want the "best friend dies
of a tragic illness" books, but those requests fell off markedly after September 11. There's a real need for younger,
happy, solid middle-grade fiction. I know there's a new Beverly Cleary out there somewhere. And realistic, funny series for
boys ages 7 to 10—sports, mysteries, nonfiction, fantasy—there's a huge market out there. We're starting to see a
lot more excitement about graphic novels, not surprisingly. We have also noticed that a book's cover is increasingly
important to its sales. Covers have always been influential, of course, but we've become such a visually oriented,
design-savvy culture that a bad cover can kill a book's chances (unless it's rescued by an awards committee somewhere
along the way). Middle schoolers are currently split between fantasy, historical fiction, and contemporary realistic
fiction about 40-20-40, respectively. What's the same ten years later? Books still gain momentum from good old
word-of-mouth recommendations, especially from kid to kid. You get one "alpha" kid reader to read a great new book, and
soon it's spread to the entire grade.
The Edge of the Forest: Which titles/authors are most popular among your young readers?
Elizabeth: In picture books, we can't restock Mo Willems and Ian Falconer fast enough. The same is true for
Judy Schachner (the Skippyjon Jones books), Walter Kotzwinkle (Walter the Farting Dog), and any books by
Sandra Boynton, Kevin Henkes, and Peggy Rathmann. Fancy Nancy is a new one that sells lickety-split, too. Those
are just off the top of my head. In middle grade, the classics (The Westing Game, From the Mixed-Up Files of
Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The Cricket in Times Square, The Bridge to Terabithia, etc. etc.)
continue to soar. Also popular is anything by Christopher Paul Curtis, Eoin Colfer, Deborah Wiles, Sharon Creech,
Cornelia Funke, or Kate DiCamillo. (Again, these are just a few.) Some big newcomer favorites are Jennifer Allison
(Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator), Lauren Myracle (Eleven), and Elise Broach (Shakespeare's Secret).
Fantasy always does really well, especially series like the Warriors (Erin Hunter), Tales of the Frog Princess
(E.D. Baker), Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, anything by Tamora Pierce. By far the fastest YA sellers of late have
been Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and New Moon.
The Edge of the Forest: What children's books are you recommending to the picture book crowd, middle graders,
parents with reluctant readers, tweens, teens?
Elizabeth: Come to the store's website; we have lots and lots
of lists of favorites, and people can just browse through. Or I can send a newsletter to anyone who's interested. Our most
recent one has about 125 reviews of recent books. And it's in color—yummy.
The Edge of the Forest: What's your current favorite children's book of 2006 and why?
Elizabeth: Okay. That's like taking me into Willy Wonka's factory and asking me to choose my favorite candy. For
teen books, I have many favorites; The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is very dear to my heart, as is Susan Beth
Pfeffer's Life as We Knew It, Catherine Gilbert Murdock's Dairy Queen, E. Lockhart's Fly on the
Wall, and Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher. MT Anderson's Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing
is also unforgettable. And those aren't even the fantasy or younger middle-grade titles. Toys Go Out
(by Emily Jenkins & Paul O. Zelinsky) was a real standout that I think was overlooked by awards committees.
The Edge of the Forest: What are you reading, and what's next on your list?
Elizabeth: Right now, I'm reading Off Season, the upcoming sequel to Dairy Queen, and The
Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. I always have a few books going at once.
The Edge of the Forest: Anything else you'd like to add?
Elizabeth: Just that I'm so grateful for all the dedicated children's book writers out there. You make my job
joyful. I'm so excited to discover a new book to love—and booksellers read so many, many, many books that when one
stands out, it's a real treasure. On a more serious note, I have never been more concerned about the devastating loss of
independent bookstores (the national number has been cut in half in about ten years), and I'd like to urge everyone to do
their bread-and-butter book buying, not just their occasional desserts, at indies. That includes online purchases, which
can be made through BookSense.com (an Amazon alternative that links you to any participating indie in the country), or
Powells.com, or any other independent bookstore with a website. The loss of these stores has an impact greater than many
people realize; it's independent booksellers' ardent handselling of many books that often makes them bestsellers. The chain
stores and Amazon catch up on the downslope, and reap the rewards. Harry Potter, for one, was discovered by independent
booksellers. So for any midlist authors, or authors whose books aren't already being hyped up the wazoo by the publishers,
your best chance at success is through independent bookstores. If they're gone, those books won't sell enough copies soon
enough to get picked up by the chain and box stores—which means less variety and more celebrity books. It's in
everyone's best interest to support the stores that support you. So, thanks for listening, and for letting me hop up on the
soapbox. I never used to do it, but too many great stores are closing, and I want us all to stem the tide.
The Edge of the Forest: Thanks so much for talking with me, Elizabeth. It was great fun.
Elizabeth Bluemle is the author of My Father the Dog (illustrated by Randy Cecil; published by Candlewick Press),
with more picture books on the way. She is also co-owner of the Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vermont, which she runs
with standup comedian Josie Leavitt. Her favorite things are books, melty dark chocolate, fresh paper with a good "tooth,"
poetry that scans correctly, and dogs, especially her two non-fussy-looking cocker spaniels, Theo and Ink. More
information and some truly amusing photos (note the 70s hairstyles) can be found at
her author website and at her store website.
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