Betty Birney’s Blog

What do writers do when they’re not writing? Ummm , mostly hang out with other writers and attend book-related events.

Here’s one group of L.A. Children’s Book Writers that likes to gather together. Left to right, Kathryn Hewitt, Lin Oliver, Betsy Rosenthal, Marla Frazee, Eve Bunting, me, Susan Goldman Rubin, Susan Patron, Hope Anita Smith, Amy Goldman Koss (front) April Halprin Wayland, Ann Whitford Paul. Missing (because she’s taking the picture) is Sonya Sones. And Lisa Yee, who couldn’t make it that day.

Here we are again – this time Sonya’s in the picture – back row, far right, but Marla and Lisa are missing and Hope’s taking the photo. Hey – where’s Eve? She was there.

I’ve also been attending a lot of more formal book-related events spanning the letters of the alphabet.

First came the SCIBA Awards (Southern California Independent Booksellers Award) two weeks ago in Long Beach, preceded the night before by a signing at the brand new and gorgeous Mysterious Galaxies bookstore in Redondo Beach. Summer According to Humphrey was nominated but I was pretty sure that The Marbury Lens would win and I was right. What chance does humorous middle grade have against an edgy dystopian YA book, but I had no problem with that. I did have a problem with the glitch that meant there were no books for me to sign. They had a plethora of writers there to sign, including keynote speaker Brian Selznick – a witty and wonderful speech, by the way. The other nominees had books to sign but not me. I was grumpy about it for two whole days.

Last week was the CLCSC Fall Gala and 50th Anniversary. Okay, that’s the Council of Children’s Literature for Southern California and was held in South Pasadena. Lois Lowry gave the keynote – how lucky were we? – and I saw a ton of writer and librarian friends, including Denise Doyen, Antoinette Portis (she was also at the SCIBA event), Eve Bunting, Susan Patron, Susan Rubin and Sharon Hearn, who receive a well-deserved honor for her contribution to children’s book in L.A. with her fabulous bookstore, Children’s Book World. I’m doing an event with Sharon this week.

Last night (after a fun baby shower with great friends – no, the shower wasn’t for me), I attended the CSLA (California School Library Association) banquet along with a ton of writers. Each of us hosted a table but I got the BEST table – a great group from Berkeley. My pal, Amy Koss was there, as well as old friends Barb Odanaka and Carol Tanzman. And I enjoyed meeting Maile Meloy, whose book Apothecary is hot and I can’t wait to read it. (I know most writers run around and get pictures of themselves taken with everyone they meet, but I like to talk to people and always find that distracting!)

But my favorite letters of the alphabet are SCBWI … a fantastic organization that’s a MUST for any aspiring  or published children’s book author or illustrator.

I have events this week at The Mirman School, Children’s Book World (at Overland Elementary School) …. then comes  Thanksgiving, immediately followed by a trip to NY – and that’s  immediately followed by 4 days in the Bay Area. Meanwhile, I’m writing Humphrey book 9 (title to come). Back to work!

I believe this was my first day of first grade (yes, I was and am tall). I think my mom is actually applauding the fact that my sister Janet and I are going back to school with our nifty new shoes, socks, and lunchboxes.

I mostly took the summer off from blogging – but definitely not from writing. I actually got a lot of that done. Now it’s back to school again and back to blogging for me. I will soon be visiting schools in L.A., San Francisco, Minneapolis and Chicago on a book tour sponsored by Humphrey’s publisher, Penguin. I have other dates coming up here in Los Angeles throughout the fall.

If you teachers, students and parents are having trouble transitioning back to school, check out Humphrey’s latest adventure: School Days According to Humphrey. Our hamster hero, Humphrey, is SHOCKED-SHOCKED-SHOCKED at the changes he finds in Room 26 as a new school year begins.

   Continuing our trip to the real Pooh Corner, my friend Min and I started out at the Pooh Corner Shop in Hartfield – the door is a little on the low side.  After dropping a few pounds and pence at the shop, we headed out for the Ashdown Forest. In the books, it’s referred to as The Hundred Acre Wood. But it’s actually locally known as the Five Hundred Acre Wood.

It wasn’t difficult to see that we’d come to the right spot.

It’s about a mile and a third walk through the forest to the Poohsticks Bridge. To be honest, the bridge has been redone but it’s the same spot where Pooh and his friends, played the game of Poohsticks.  Like many children’s games, it began as an accidental observation as Pooh threw a fir-cone over the bridge. (He later switched to sticks, which were easier to mark.)

That’s funny,” said Pooh. “I dropped it on the other side and it came out on this side! I wonder if it would do it again?” House at Pooh Corner

  One of the delights of the day was the fact that Min and I were the only people around – anywhere! It was just as it might have been when A.A. Milne took his son, Christopher Robin, for a walk. Min and I were anxious to play Poohsticks but the sign said you couldn’t take twigs off the trees and had to bring your own sticks. Luckily, some kind soul had  left a whole pile of sticks on the ground, all of a uniform size and shaved at the ends. (Or was that kind soul a mild-mannered bear?)

“Then he dropped two in at once, and leant over the bridge to see which of them would come out first; and one of them did ….” House at Pooh Corner

  Min ready to throw her first Poohstick.

I always thought it was such a silly little game. Each player throws a stick over the bridge on one side. Then players rush to the other side and watch as the sticks emerge from under the bridge and try to determine which stick wins. Well, it turns out not to be so silly at all. There’s a nice current there and we were as excited as any children as we hurried from one side to the next to watch the sticks float out from under the bridge. Only downside: Min always seemed to win! I think she’d been studying the currents.

“I expect my stick’s stuck,” said Roo. “Rabbit, my stick’s stuck. Is your stick stuck, Piglet?” House at Pooh Corner.

  There’s a big pile of stuck sticks. But our sticks always managed to float right past the clump of stuck sticks and on down the stream.

All good things must come to an end and Min and I headed back to the car park. We hadn’t noticed that the walk to the bridge was all downhill. We managed to huff and puff our way uphill back to the car, still giggling over our woodland adventure.

For more about the Ashdown Forest:

http://www.ashdownforest.org/   Click on Panorama of the Forest for a very good view of the area

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleon%27s_Lap#Gills_Lap

 Pooh Corner friends … and me (pregnant)!

It’s still strange to me to think of how much of my life has been intertwined with Winnie the Pooh. While I always had an awareness of Pooh, I don’t recall reading the books when I was a child. By the time the Disney films (and the first ones were charming) came out, I was way too old for them.

Still, why was the first book I wrote at age seven called “Teddy Bear in the Woods?” And the sequel, “Teddy Bear and Tallulah?”I was inspired to write the books on my own, gave them to my parents and told them “I’m going to be a writer.” 

I didn’t think about Pooh or bears for many years … until I was working at the Disney Studios in advertising. There was something new going on at the studio back then:  a little thing called The Disney Channel. I had moved from Disneyland to L.A. with the thought that I might like writing for TV. And I knew the people involved with developing shows for the channel.  I had been mentored by a much older, experienced writer/director/producer named Frank Brandt, who was freelancing at Disney. He managed to get the job of producing the first children’s show on The Disney Channel: Welcome to Pooh Corner. Not only did I know Frank, I knew the executive developing the show because we were both in a yoga class together on the lot.  So when Frank ran my name by her as a potential writer for the series, she was open to it, even though I had no credit I wrote some sample scripts. They were fun … and they were well-received.  Voila, I ended up writing 90 episodes, was associate producer, and my TV career was launched. Thanks to Frank Brandt and Caroline Hay!

After that, I wrote over 200 episodes of children’s TV shows and won a bunch of awards, including an Emmy.  And I also wrote books about Winnie the Pooh for Western Publishing. Three different series!

When I was planning my trip to see friends in Caterham (Surrey) after World Book Day, I was pretty excited when Min suggested an outing to the original Pooh Corner. Pooh Corner? That’s where it all started for me! And so on a sunny March morning, we set out for Hartfield, Sussex and the beautiful Ashdown Forest.  TO BE CONTINUED ….

I’m going to take a detour away from blogging about my favorite children’s books – and I apologize for my absence!

I was invited to speak at the Edinburgh BookFest, which is part of the famed Edinburgh Festival. Who could pass that up? So my husband and I spent 2 1/2 weeks in Scotland. The BookFest was AMAZING and I’m grateful to my enthusiastic Scottish fans who showed up for my events.  Among the authors who were there the two days I was there were: Antonia Fraser, Frederick Forsythe, Joyce Carol Oates and a very charming Alexander McCall Smith. Oh, and Humphrey, too.

Then Frank and I went on a 10 day trip through the Scottish Highlands by rail (okay taxis and a ferry,too). It was beyond perfection, especially since the weather and the famed midges (little biting insects like gnats) behaved perfectly. Sunshine every day except the first and last (an unprecedented run of sun) and no midges. What can I say? The scenery was unparalleled. The hospitality at each stop was the warmest. The beauty – indescribable.

Briefly, we traveled from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Glasgow to Spean Bridge, where we stayed at Old Pines, a lovely spot with a great view of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in UK – not that high but beautiful). We took a very long ramble followed by one of the best meals of my life in their all-organic restaurant. The next morning, after a “ham and haddie” breakfast, we went to Fort William where we boarded the famed Jacobite Steam Train, still in operation.

This is the train used in the Harry Potter films. It was quite an event, as crowds gathered to see the train and take photos. Before the trip, the crew was so friendly – inviting us to come in and watch them shovel coal into the fire. They very showily – and loudly – blew off steam. We were in first class, which meant we had a table with brocade upholstered chairs and a little lamp, and were served tea in china cups and scones. All along the route, people were lined up to take photos of the train and wave. Lovely memory: a young mother and her toddler in arms, standing in the doorway of their house, waving. It’s another world.

An amazing landscape – green grass, tons of sheep and the Rannoch moors – forbidding, desolate, beautiful. We ended up at Mallaich, a charming little port city, where we had lunch and boarded the ferry for the Isle of Skye. A little more about Scotland and then I’ll be back with children’s books.

Just saying Isle of Skye makes me relax!