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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET DANNY BRASSELL
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| Danny Brassell |
I hated reading when I was a child. Television was my preferred medium. My parents think it is quite ironic that I became a reading teacher.
What books influenced you most when you were growing up?
The only books I remember enjoying were those filled with mischief, monsters and mahem, like WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and CURIOUS GEORGE. My father is a librarian, and I always viewed libraries as dreary places with uncomfortable furniture, smelly shelves and wicked ladies telling me to be quiet all the time. Book reports at school forced me to hate books even more. My seventh-grade reading teacher (now a famous young adult author), Will Hobbs, was the first teacher to encourage me to read for fun. By encouraging me to read about things I enjoyed and making an occasional recommendation, Will greatly influenced my reading. In particular, I enjoyed THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton, THE 21 BALLOONS by William Pene du Bois and anything by Jules Verne.
When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)
I was a journalism major in college and worked as a freelance reporter for various publications, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Sadly, I became a teacher when I saw it paid a much higher salary than reporting.
What are the topics are some of your books?
To date, I have written/co-written five published books, all related to strategies teachers and parents may use to assist students’ literacy development. I have also written an unpublished humorous narrative of my trip around the world in 81 days with my girlfriend-turned-wife.
What gave you the idea for your book READERS FOR LIFE?
My book READERS FOR LIFE (Heinemann, 2006) is based on a workshop I have conducted with thousands of volunteers to work with struggling and reluctant readers. Every single person I have ever spoken with who has used the one-hour-a-week/six-month program has reported significant improvements in the literacy attitudes/aptitudes of their students. I wrote NEWS FLASH!(Crystal Springs Books, 2007) especially for teachers and students in under-resourced areas to inspire them to use newspapers on a daily basis in their teaching/learning. Publishers and colleagues suggested I write my other books (on vocabulary and comprehension).
What are you working on now? When do you expect to start submitting it to publishers?
I am currently putting together an inspirational book for teachers based on one of my most popular keynote addresses entitled “A Baker’s Dozen of Lessons Learned from the Teaching Trenches.” It emphasizes the importance of inspiration, perspiration and motivation in teaching and aims to provide teachers with humorous insights and practical ideas, based on my own teaching experiences with students ranging from preschoolers to rocket scientists. I am also writing my first young adult book about simple life in a beach town, inspired by Tom Bodett’s THE END OF THE ROAD and Richard Peck’s A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO, two books that readers of all ages can enjoy. Finally, I am compiling a guide to cool, short books and how to use them, based on my Lazy Readers’ Book Club website, www.lazyreaders.com.
Is there anything about yourself that you’d like to share - hobbies, where you were born, special talents other than writing/illustrating.
I am a spiritual person who makes a simple prayer to God every night: “Dear Lord, please let Oprah read one of my books and just talk about it on her show.”