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When
I was three years old my parents took me to the Turnpike Restaurant
on Queens Boulevard for my first New York deli meal. I don't
remember what I ate, but I've been told that after being tucked
into bed that night, I called out loudly: "When I eat pickles,
my elbow tickles!" I had just composed my first original poem,
already delighting in the sounds of words.
I was an only child, but
there were plenty of other kids in the neighborhood. It was
our kingdom to explore as long as we made it back in time
for dinner. We bounced pink "spaldeen" balls off the walls
of our apartment building's back courtyards or climbed and
swung in the playground next door. On summer days we'd sunbath
on the roof, running through wet bed sheets flapping on the
clotheslines to cool off. Hot nights caused many families
to haul folding chairs up from stifling apartments to the
roof. While the adults sat kibitzing under starry skies, straining
to catch a breeze, I'd strain to catch the gist of their grown-up
conversations.
From early on my friends
and I produced plays that I wrote and directed, always starring
me and my best friend, Barbara and often adapted from fairy
tales. We cooked up elaborate talent shows in which we sang, tap danced and did magic tricks. We tried to train our pets to perform, but none showed any interest in a stage debut.
My father taught me to
love books by example since he often had his nose buried in
one. In early childhood my mother read to me every night -
Little Golden Books we bought at the candy store and picture
books we checked out from the library. Of the books I owned,
I most loved the language in A Child's Garden
of Verses, where I poured over the illustrations by
the Provensens, and cherished a collection of poems and stories
about elves and fairies with dazzling art by Garth Williams
that beckoned me into a secret world.
At P.S. 101 our school
library was in a tower at the top of a winding stair. There
I found enthralling tales of magic by Hans Christian Andersen
and Andrew Lang, and fantasy books like The
Princess and the Goblins and The Five
Children and It. Growing up without siblings, I loved
reading series books about big broods such as the All-of-a-Kind
Family and Elizabeth Enright's Melendys. When I was
ready for Young Adult books I started riding the subway to
the Donnell Library in Manhattan which had a whole roomful.
Sometimes my mom and I combined this with a museum visit,
especially to the nearby MOMA, which provided inspiration
for pastel drawings and paintings of my own.
Fast forward to college
at S.U.N.Y. Buffalo where I met my husband, Allan. After earning
an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education at Tulane, I taught
Head Start and kindergarten in the New Orleans Public Schools.
Then we moved to Washington, DC where I switched to different
work, but it involved writing. Our family grew to include
three children, Stephanie, Jonathan, and Michael.
One night when Jon was
seven and I was tucking him in at bedtime he asked me, "What
was the first song ever sung?" The poem I wrote to answer
him became my first picture book text. Since then I've published
many picture books illustrated by some extraordinary artists.
I love reaching out to children, parents, teachers and librarians
through the stories I write and the visits I make to schools,
libraries, bookstores and festivals. When I give a talk, someone
usually poses the question, "What is it like to be an author?"
I tell them that, as with anything one strives to be good
at, writing is hard work. But it is also terrific fun. One
of the best things is to find a calling in life that makes
you happy. I feel very fortunate to have been able to do just
that.
© 2019 Laura Krauss Melmed. All Rights Reserved. Website design by DCONL |
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