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Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson, is a story of dreams, survival, and hope. 16-year-old Hattie Brooks is an orphan
who discovers that an unknown uncle has left her his homestead in Montana. It's 1918, and this is no Cinderella story.
Hattie has to work hard to "prove up" the land in order to keep it. This book is a straightforward story of a
pioneer, but it's also a look at family, as Hattie befriends her neighbors, and at prejudice, as anti German sentiment turns
to violence.
When I sat in the audience and heard Hattie Big Sky named as a 2007 Newbery Honor book, I jumped out of my seat.
Hattie Big Sky is in some ways a perfect book: it works with almost any audience; it has a lot going on; and
Hattie as a character stays with you long after the last page. I was also excited because a couple of days before I had met
Kirby for the first time in person, and we had chatted over coffee at a Starbucks in Seattle. One of the things we
discussed was attending the Youth Media Awards Press Conference, when all the winners and honor books are announced.
Kirby also agreed to do an email interview for The Edge of the Forest.
Normally, an email interview is easier than a "real life" interview because you don't have to worry about traveling or time
zones or things like that. Kirby lives outside of Seattle, I live in New Jersey. However, Kirby Larson is one busy lady!
In addition to visiting Louisiana, she'd also been to a book festival in Missouri and was then heading out to New Zealand.
Sit back. Enjoy your cup of tea (or coffee or hot cider, just, please, don't spill on your keyboard) and get to know Kirby
and Hattie a little bit better.
The Edge of the Forest: Hattie Big Sky, a work of fiction, was inspired by the story of your step-great-grandmother, Hattie Inez Brooks Wright. At what point did you realize that you were going to take Hattie's story
and make it into a book?
Kirby Larson: My great-grandmother was about 4'11" and 85 pounds. When I realized that she had indeed successfully
proved up on a claim, I knew I had to tell that story. Unfortunately, our family knew very little about her experience—just
that she had homesteaded near Vida, Montana and that she had proved up. It was shortly after learning about her
homesteading experience that I knew I had to write this story.
The Edge of the Forest: Did you ever have any conflict as a writer between what was "true" about the real Hattie's story
and what was needed to write a work of fiction?
Kirby Larson: Because I had so little information about my great-grandmother's experience on the prairie, I was not
constrained in any way by what "really happened." I don't know what "really happened" to Hattie Inez Brooks. But, because
of my years of research, I do know what happened to many other homesteaders and I was able to weave these stories into a
satisfying adventure in Hattie Big Sky.
The Edge of the Forest: Hattie Big Sky was named a Newbery Honor Book. How has your life changed now that that
you have the silver medal on your book?
Kirby Larson: The biggest change is in the number of emails I get every day! Honestly, I feel like the same writer as
ever, working to write the best story I can.
The Edge of the Forest: Hattie Big Sky is a great "crossover" book—it crosses over age groups, and can be
enjoyed by anyone. As soon as I finished it, I thought of a number of adults I wanted to give it to, as well as teens, as
well as younger kids. Different aged readers can read it, and get something out of it. Did you have a particular audience
in mind when you wrote the book?
Kirby Larson: Please don't take this wrong, but I wasn't thinking at all about readers as I wrote Hattie's story. I
was focused on telling her story as honestly as I could. I think the fact that it speaks to readers of varied ages affirms
that this is the best tactic to take in writing any story.
The Edge of the Forest: I saw on your blog that you recently visited New Orleans. Could you tell us a little bit
about your visit?
Kirby Larson: I had been in Mississippi a year ago, helping with Katrina clean-up. It was good work but weary
work because we were primarily mucking out peoples' homes. This time, we were helping to rebuild homes in bayou country,
near Houma, Louisiana. It was so rewarding to help people get that much closer to living in their own homes, to get that
much closer to moving out of those wretched FEMA trailers. It's a shame that people aren't in their homes yet; and I'm
so afraid that one year from now, we'll be seeing the same photos, hearing the same stories, that we are right now; and
that we heard this time last year.
The Edge of the Forest: What are you working on now?
Kirby Larson: Honestly? Being a Newbery Honor award winner. But, after that, I'm working on polishing up a
nonfiction picture book inspired by my Mississippi trip, written with my dear friend and writing colleague, Mary Nethery.
Walker Books will be bringing out The Tale of Two Bobbies in August of 2008. I'm also working on a middle grade
historical fiction, another YA historical fiction and a contemporary YA novel, the first draft of which was written during
November 2006 for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
The Edge of the Forest: Wow. We have a lot to look forward to! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with The Edge of the Forest.
Hattie Big Sky. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2006. ISBN: 0-3857-3313-5.
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