Yes, I think it was banned once or twice. They said because it mentions the word "Devil" in the title--it also has the Devil as a character, but the people who banned it did not know that, because they were afraid to read it because of the title. I also got a complaint from the Devil who thought he didn't look handsome in the illustrations. It is impossible to please everybody.

Gee. Gosh. Um. Wow. You know, I think maybe better than setting out to do some important thing and succeeding is to just do an ordinary thing, and then find out it was important. All I have been doing all this time is amusing myself, trying to write books I would have liked to read, and making a modest few dollars. I didn't think about you reading and re-reading down in DC. I believe you. In some weird way the books turned out to be important to you. Amazing.

Wait! Verdi didn't write it?

It is my plan to do just that--however, I think I should wait 15 or 20 years in the expectation that I will become as cute as Maurice. What did you find bizarre about it? It was the first children's book-related interview I've ever seen that did not make me want to fwow up.

Hello!

I'm glad you enjoyed Blue Moose. If you look around, you can find Return of the Moose, and The Moosepire, books with more about the moose. What strikes you as unusual about a blue moose? It is a very nice color for a moose. This is my favorite part about being an author: You know how reading can be a lot of fun? Well, writing is the same kind of fun, only more, because 1. the writer gets to decide what happens in the story, and 2. the writer gets to read it before anyone else. I have written about 100 books, and I had a good time writing every one of them. I first realized that writing was what I wanted to do when I was in the 4th grade, and tried writing some little one-page things to amuse myself. I am still amusing myself.

Keep reading! It just gets better and better!

Daniel

Actually, a fair number of my books are in print, and there are copies of out-of-print ones, new and used, floating around. Only you have to look for them--I sort of like this. You are lucky your partner was able to find all those titles. I am lucky to have books in print, and books coming out from publishers I respect, and I am lucky to have readers like you.



Don't forget that there's a bunch of audio books available right here on pinkwater.com -- check out the Audio Archive! -- Ed

I have never been able to figure it out. There have been kids 7 and under who read, understand, and ask questions about novels I have written, and full grown adults who read, and sometimes understand, basic picture books. I would say, you know your grandniece--trust your instincts.

I know exactly how you feel!

You know, I almost never do those things--once in a while if they are local and the people at the bookstore or school or whatever are nice. Thing is, I never got the point. So you like the work of a writer, why would you want to then see him? I would think you'd try to avoid finding out that the writer is a boring or obnoxious person, (usually the case). I had lunch not long ago with a famous writer, (he turned out to be nice, so it was ok), and he had just met a really really famous person who behaved like a swine and badmouthed people, and was horrible, and the famous writer was grateful that I was merely boring and not obnoxious. I had some excellent soup, and a pretty good sandwich. I might do something of the kind again in a year or two.

I am flattered of course. But I have to tell you I am always uneasy when someone has a tattoo done....no, you are not the first, or second even, to have a Big Orange Splot tattoo. I mean, of course it is a cool book, and I love it, and lots of other people do too, but I always worry, "what if she gets tired of it later?" You can have a copy of the book, and keep it your whole life, and look at it when you're in the mood, and when you're not...not. But once it's on _you_. Well, you'd need to be in the mood all the time. And, I suppose it's because I have written a hundred other books, and some may be even better than Splot--I guess if you came across ones you like as well or more, there would be room on your hide, but how far are you prepared to go? This does not mean that I don't want you to do the tattoo, or am saying you shouldn't. But I am not going to sign it.

Thanks for liking it so much!

Daniel

I suggest you read The Neddiad next, and maybe Lizard Music as an extra. These are pretty good books, if I say so myself. I would not have minded reading them in sixth grade. As it happened I had to wait until I was grown up and write them, which was fun too, but not as much as.

Oberlin is a great choice. Anyway, it was when I almost went there. I went to Bard instead, which was along the same lines...then. Not now. Tell your daughter she applied to the right one.

Happy 2012 back atcha, and do not ask depressing questions.

It has been my dream to be an announcer on Mozart's radio station, and to annoy somebody's neighbors in Israel. What do they throw at the windows, fresh rolls, candy, flowers? Maybe they are expressing their appreciation.

There are sequels! Return of the Moose, and The Moosepire. Some editions have all the moose stories published together. And there was a moose opera, but it is not available on media. And there was a Blue Moose radio play that might possibly be in some NPR archive.

I'm fairly sure it is in Hoboken Fish and Chicago Whistle from Xlibris. Along with it you will get too many other essays.

To my knowledge, nothing of mine has been translated into Russian. It is a horrible shame that a literature-loving people is deprived in this way.

Yay Tovah! That is some good poem! My readers are the BEST!

The truth is, I was never such a big fan of Shel Silverstein as are Scott Simon, and apparently, u.

1. There are six big publishers? I didn't know that. I see all six, or however many, big publishers being converted into urban poultry-raising facilities within the next 5 to 10 years.

2. I don't understand the question.

3. I don't understand this question either.

4. You had 50,000 sales? Of ebooks? Wow. Pinkwater.com is currently engaged in research and development of a book-smell computer monitor spray, which will be non-toxic, friendly to electronic components, and at the same time a useful screen cleaner.

5. I like vikings and pirates about the same, but identify more with pirates because there were numerous Jewish pirates, and practically no Jewish vikings.

6. (Bonus answer to a question you did not ask.) The main feature of interest about ebooks is that people can create them without recourse to publishers and editors. This can be a good thing in some cases, but most writers need editing. I cite your own ebook, The Journey of the Noble Gnarble, http://thejourneyofthenoblegnarble.tumblr.com/ which has truly spectacular illustrations by Tiffany Turrill, and is a charming homage to Edward Lear, but maybe, possibly, in the personal opinion of this reader, also exemplifies another feature of ebooks, that the author can make them as long as s/he likes with no one to say them nay, or make useful suggestions about pacing, beginning middle and end, and that sort of thing. It may be that the age of ebooks, now dawning, will turn out to be a golden age for freelance editors.