Next on the reading list for Al's Book Club for kids is the first book in Michael Buckley's "The Sisters Grimm" series, "The Fairy-Tale Detectives." (Read an excerpt here!) Want some behind-the-story info on this exciting new book? Check out this Q & A with author Michael Buckley.
Q: What was your inspiration for the series?A:The Brothers Grimm are such an ingrained part of our culture and the cultures of people all over the world but I didn’t know that much about them. I picked up a copy of “The Annotated Brothers Grimm,” edited by Maria Tatar, and learned that they had a sister. She fascinated me, but I wasn’t sure that kids would want to read a story set in her time period. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about her and before I knew it this world started to grow inside my imagination. It wasn’t long before she had become a modern girl with a little sister. Q: How did you choose which fairy-tale characters to include?
A: At first, I kept to the stories of the Brothers Grimm but soon I realized that if I was a kid I would have wanted to visit a place where all the fairy tales lived — not just a few. I added characters from Hans Christian Andersen, then Charles Perrault. But I didn’t stop with fairy tales. I added characters from L. Frank Baum, and then Lewis Carroll, and before I knew it Ferryport Landing was filled to the brim with every great children’s literature character I could get my hands on — there are even some characters, like Puck, from Shakespeare. Choosing which characters to use in which books is really about how they tie into the theme of the mystery, as well as my personal desire to see how they interact with my heroes, Sabrina and Daphne. Q: What is your favorite fairy tale? What about it most appeals to you?A: Pinocchio is my favorite of the stories, primarily because the tale is so different from the famous animated film. In the story he’s really a juvenile delinquent and outrageous, not the sweet boy most of us remember with the singing cricket. Discovering his true identity was a real eye-opener and a lot of fun; I have always been drawn to characters who are rascals and outlaws. Really, who wants to read about well-adjusted people who always do the right thing? Q: Do you think classic fairy tales still have messages that are pertinent to modern children?
A: I think the stories are as relevant as ever — maybe even more so. If you think of them as cautionary tales from parents to kids, the messages still ring true — don’t go into the forest alone, don’t talk to strangers, steer clear of cross-dressing, man-eating wolves — you know, the basics. Still, I never think it’s wise to give kids books heavy with moral lessons, as they can smell a lecture a mile away. Some of the stories are good for kids just because they are thrilling or silly. Q: How do your fairy-tale characters differ from the ones in the original tales?A: Well, I want to let it be known that I’m not writing fractured fairy tales. These characters are the same ones you remember from the original stories — the only difference is that time and circumstances have changed their attitudes. Many of them have been alive for hundreds if not thousands of years, and time can wear on a person. You’ll still recognize Snow White and the Three Little Pigs, but you might be surprised by what they do for a living. Occasionally a character that is traditionally portrayed as a hero is now a villain, and sometimes the bad guys are looking for redemption. One of my favorite characters to write about is the Big Bad Wolf, who now does yoga to keep his temper under control and, in a bit of irony, lives with the girls and their grandmother, acting as their personal bodyguard. Think of “The Sisters Grimm” as books that explore what happened after happily-ever-after. Q: You feature two very strong-willed girl characters. What about the characters’ appeal might appeal to boys as well as girls?
A: I think both boys and girls like the books because the heroes are not traditional literary girls but more like girls they probably know. When I started research on the books, I noticed that girls get the short end of the stick when it comes to adventures. While boys get to go to wizarding school and ride dragons, girls get to take care of ponies and rabbits — boring! There were few adventure books out there featuring girls as the heroes — and the ones that do have girls make them sidekicks. I just don’t know any girls in real life who are that dull and vanilla. The girls I meet are strong and independent and funny. They aren’t the kind of girls who would wait to be rescued — they would go out and kill the dragon, put out the fire and rescue the prince — and if he’s lucky, they’ll ride off into the sunset with him. So, girls enjoy having their own hero. Boys are tough because they don’t usually like to read about girls, but my boy fans are even more rabid than the girls because I filled the books with everything they love — monsters, dragons, obnoxious flying boys. The books are roller-coaster adventures, filled with suspense, twists and turns and a lot of jokes that a boy can enjoy.
Q: What is the best question a fan ever asked you and what was your answer?
A: I did an event at a school in Portland last year and a boy asked me once why authors were so grouchy. Apparently, the school had had an author a while back who was rude and uncomfortable around the kids. I had to laugh a little because I’ve met a few who are like that. I told the kid that the author had forgotten how lucky he was. Getting a kid to read — to laugh at your stories and worry about your characters — is the best job in the world. Millions of people dream their whole lives of writing for a living. There are only a few of us who are blessed enough to get the opportunity. We had a great time at that school — we laughed, cheered, played games and got excited about reading and writing. Q: How many more books are you going to write?
A: That’s a mystery in itself. don’t want to write the series forever because I think it’s a bit dishonest to have a series that never ends. Characters, like people, need to grow and change and learn. When Sabrina and Daphne run out of lessons to learn, then I think it’s time to stop writing about them. I suspect I have I have nine books in me. After that, I think I’ll let the fans decided whether the Grimms get their happily-ever-after, or not.