#35 - LIVE at ALA: Mira Bartók

Intro

Hi everyone! This is episode #35 and today I am sharing with you a LIVE recording of an interview I did with the incredible Mira Bartók where we discuss her debut middle grade novel, The Wonderling. This was recording at ALA on Sunday, June 25th and I have been eager to share it with you and since The Wonderling is released tomorrow, now seems like the perfect time.

Before we begin today’s interview, I am excited to tell you that this month’s episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a safe, digital writing community where students are just one click away from starting a new writing piece. And if your school uses Google like mine does, you will be happy to know that your students (and you!) can log-in with your Google account. I love that that my students can share their writing with peers locally or globally. And we all know that a real audience makes a real difference.   So, if you or someone you know is looking for an engaging and authentic way to help students write every day, absolutely check out WriteAbout.com. And at the end of the show, I’ll share with you what my class has been up to lately.

A couple quick notes before I share the interview. First, I huge thank you to everyone who came to the live recording of our show, to Mira for being a great guest, and all the fabulous folks at ALA and Candlewick (especially Andie and Anna) who helped coordinate this. Second, this is a LIVE recording in a very large and noisy space so I hope you bear with the bit of background bustle that you hear, but I promise that hearing what Mira has to say is so worth it. Take a listen.

Interview Outline

I am really excited about the finished artwork in the final version of The Wonderling!

Did the art come first and inspire the story or was it the other way?

The Wonderling has this fantastic darker flavor to it at some points - in a similar way to Roald Dahl. And the cruel Miss Carbunkle reminds me of one of my favorite villains Miss Trunchbull.

Did you like darker books as a child?

One of the fascinating aspects of this book is the wielding of power. For example, Miss Carbunkle bestows small little favors or a bit of extra food to some of the prisoners in the orphanage as a way of pitting them against each other.  

Can you talk a bit about how power is used by characters in this story?

One of the aspects that I loved about this book was the role that music played in it. Songs are forbidden in Miss Carbunkle’s orphanage and then - music plays a bigger and bigger part as we get into the story.

Can you talk a bit about how music has played a part in your own life and how those experiences may have influenced this story?

The Wonderling isn’t even released yet (it come out September 26th) - but, did I hear that already it’s going to be made into a movie?

There comes a point in the story when Arthur realizes that he can understand the mice around him when others can’t and so he starts to translate for his mouse friend, Peevil. So they have this profound exchange about cats and Arthur says something like “maybe if I can understand them someday, they won’t hiss at me when I walk by.”

In our world, or maybe just in the context on this story - do you think that understanding each other and developing empathy is enough to avoid conflict or are there some problems too big for that?

There is a scene in the story where Arthur (still named Number 13) meets his first friend, Trinket, this fierce little bird-like creature. And she tells him the story of King Arthur and Merlyn and mentions that “there’s not really one way to tell it.”

When you were writing The Wonderling, were there other versions or storylines that you played with or did you come into it knowing exactly where you wanted to take the story?

A thought that struck me as I was reading The Wonderling was how powerful imagination can truly be.

How has that force played a part in this story and maybe in your own life?

As Arthur and Trinket begin their journey, they run across this boy named Pinecone. And he finds them sleeping under a tree and wakes them with a wooden sword and asks, “Are you a tinker, trader, forager, or foe?”

As a writer, are you more of a tinker, trader, forager, or a foe?

When we first meet Arthur in the Home for Wayward and Misbegotten Creatures, that is his name from his tag around his neck. And even later when he’s in a rather dire situation, that number 13 get attached to him again - he just can’t quite shake it!

Is 13 unlucky for you?

What are you reading now?

Audience Q&A

Closing

Okay - that wraps up our show this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.

And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - when you visit their website you’ll find fabulous ideas to get your students writing this year. My class has started with Personal Narratives and I love that I can find and pin ideas to our class page to help students who might have a little trouble coming up with something on their own.

Thanks again and see you soon!  Bye!

Episode Links:

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780763691219

Mira Bartok’s’ website:http://www.mirabartok.com