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MEET SARA VAN DYKE (Moved to Oregon 2010)
By Ann Stalcup

What did I most like to do when I was a child?

Sara Van Dyke

Listen to someone read me a book. When I was a very little girl, my nickname was "Sally."   As soon as I learned how much fun stories and poems could be , I would carry my book to my grandmother, my mother, an aunt, or any other adult handy, saying to each person, "Book Sally."   That meant read to me! So my parents started calling me "Book Sally."

What books influenced me most when I was growing up?

What didn't influence me? When I was six or seven, our neighbor showed me her book of Greek myths. I especially loved the story of Persephone, who escaped from the underworld each springtime. Over the years I loved every kind of reading that came my way - Bible stories, comic books, Nancy Drew mysteries, Charles Dickens, dog stories. I devoured accounts of adventurers in Africa, and pictured myself bravely plunging through the jungle. I never made it to the African jungle, but when I learned about insects and the other small creatures of our planet, I enjoyed exploring tiny jungles closer to home.

Did I write stories when I was growing up?

From the time I was seven I constantly wrote, both stories and poems. In the sixth grade I turned out a serial for the school paper (which I also edited, so getting accepted was easy!) about two boys who were hunting a treasure and kept getting into danger. Even then I tried to make each part of the serial end with a cliffhanger. I also wrote a very tragic poem about a girl who lost her mother.

What inspires me to write?

Writing for me is a way of finding out what I think about something, so anything I'm curious about can be the start of a journal entry, an article, or a poem. When something troubles me, I wrestle with it, try to find the most expressive words, and write out my thoughts. I write haiku in my head while stuck on the freeway. Sometimes I can even remember them when I finally arrive home. And I carry around scraps of paper for those wonderful images that pop into my mind.

Do I enjoy researching or working totally from my imagination?

Instead of staying with my imagination, now I am very happy to do research. Most of my articles and my two books deal with nature, so going outdoors and learning about animals, plants, and the earth is both research for me and a source of great pleasure. Besides many visits to museums and a butterfly garden, I've tramped along canyons searching for birds, bugs and flowers, handled worms in a worm bin at the local college, interviewed scientists, visited an insectary, watched a release of beneficial insects shortly after dawn on Beverly Hills streets, kept a pet katydid at home, and volunteered to tag monarch butterflies as part of a research project. The real world is incessantly fascinating!

What do I want students to get out of my school visits?

Of course, I hope they enjoy the talk and share the excitement I feel about my subjects. And afterwards, three things: I want them to rush to the library afterwards and check out books on insects or other creatures - not just my books, but all the wonderful books that are out there. I hope the students will want to get outdoors and observe nature for themselves. And I want them to feel inspired that they can write about any topic that fascinates them, whether it's soccer, hairstyles, a favorite TV program, tropical fish, or a collection. I'm also hoping that some teachers will have the students do interviews, perhaps first as a group activity in class and then as a homework assignment. It seems to me that doing interviews, communicating clearly, and getting the facts right, is a very useful life skill that we don't pay enough attention to.

Describe the response from a fan that was most meaningful to you?

One of the most meaningful compliments I've ever had after a school visit came from a phone call from the school librarian. She said that since my talk, when the students find a worm or a bug on the walk, instead of stamping on it, they carefully pick it up and put it on the grass. So gratifying to feel that students understood a deeper message of my talk!