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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET ELIZA KLEVEN
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| Eliza Kleven |
I liked to play in an intricate dollhouse which I constructed on the shelves in my closet. I filled the house with people and creatures made from paper and clay, nutshells and yarn. They all had names and personalities, families and adventures, just like the little characters I fill my books with now.
What books influenced you most when you were growing up?
CHARLOTTE 'S WEB was (and is) my all-time favorite book. I also loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Andersen's fairy tales, THE SECRET GARDEN and Beverly Cleary.
Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?
I was always thinking up stories when I was young, and acting them out with my toys. when I got to be about ten and eleven I started worrying that I wasn't growing up right, because I still loved drawing characters, or making three dimensional people and animals, and giving them stories . Now I realize that all that playing was, in fact, preparation for my adult work of writing and illustrating.
What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer - adullts or children?
W hoever responds to my stories is my audience. But I know that children seem to like my stories better than adults (or at least some of the reviewers who chance upon them!), and in truth I create my stories and pictures with them in mind.
When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)
I was an English major at Berkeley, and I received a teaching credential there as well. I am basically a self-taught artist, though I draw inspiration from many sources.
What are the topics are some of your books?
I usually write about dreamy or creative characters, who solve their problems and reach out to the world through art, music or storytelling. Creating a home in the world and friendship are also themes in my books.
Where do you get your ideas?
Childhood experiences (my own and my children's), wishes, dreams, images I come across, my love of the natural world and of creativity. What gave you the idea for...I got the idea for the wishing ball, my latest book, from an experience I had when I was about six. My big sister handed me a junky, tiny toy T.V. set and said it was magic. All I had to do was rub it and my wishes would come true. So I did what she said and wished for a pony, which of course didn't materialize. The wishing ball is about a lonely stray cat, who wishes on a glittery ball which a crow tells her is a magic star. Through her own open-heartedness, spirit and determination, the cat's wishes end up coming true, in spite of the crow's treachery.---------------?
Have any of your books earned special recognition?
ABUELA, by Arthur Dorros, was an ALA notable book, as was DE COLORES, by jose-Luis Orozco. SUN BREAD, MY OWN STORY, won a New York times best illustrated book award, and THE PUDDLE PAIL was a school library journal best book of the year. THE PUDDLE PAIL is in the 1999, 2000,2001,2002 Elementary California Collections.
What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?
I want them to feel inspired to create their own imaginary worlds, starting with the basics of character, setting and story, and to value their imaginations.