Ginger Wadsworth is the author of the new children's picture book Born to Draw Comics: The Story of Charles Schulz and the Creation of Peanuts. Her many other books include First Girl Scout and Poop Detectives. She lives in Orinda, California.
Q: Why did you decide to write a children's picture book
biography of Charles Schulz, and what do you think accounts for the ongoing
popularity of Peanuts?
A: The opportunity to write about Charles Schulz came to me
through illustrator Craig Orback. We’d done a couple of children’s books
together with Lerner Publications in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They contracted
with him to illustrate my text for Benjamin Banneker, Pioneering Scientist and Survival in the Snow. He wanted to illustrate a book
about Charles Schulz and his cartooning career.
Christy Ottaviano, who has her own line of books—called
Christy Ottaviano Books—with Henry Holt and Company, was interested in Craig’s
art, but told him to find a nonfiction author. He turned to me and that
began our collaboration. Although we live in different states, we were finally
able to meet in person over our book on Charles Schulz!
Yes, Peanuts is incredibly successful. Besides the comic
strips, there are books, movies, toys, games, etc., and it has become a
multi-million-dollar company. The credit for the Peanuts Gang popularity lies
with its creator, Charles Schulz, who died in 2000. His simple lines combined
with his seemingly simply messages are timeless. In fact, many of his messages
seem especially appropriate in our country’s turbulent times.
Q: How did you research his life, and did you learn anything
that especially surprised you?
A: Well, I have enjoyed reading comics all my life, and I’ve
especially liked the messages in the Peanuts Gang strip. And the story lines in
the Peanuts Gang, i.e. that life isn’t always fair or easy!
What I learned about Charles Schulz was basically
everything! It actually surprised me that I knew almost nothing about the man
behind the Peanuts Gang. So I started by reading several biographies about him,
and then I read several books that were collections of his interviews. They
gave me a rich picture of who he was.
Going to the Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa—a must visit for
fans of Snoopy and the Gang—was totally mesmerizing. I saw Schulz’s recreated
work area in his studio, called One Snoopy Place, I read quotes that fill the
walls, and I “spied” on children to get their reactions to various aspects of
Schulz’s work life.
Next door to the museum is the ice rink, and I had lunch
there, near a table where Schulz always sat, and I watched people of all ages
ice skate. I live about 90 minutes from the museum, so I was able to visit it
several times. Because I live in California, I’ve met people who encountered
Schulz or his children at the ice-skating rink or in other ways. I listened to
their stories and saw him through their eyes, too.
Schulz loved dogs. Snoopy is a bit like his childhood dog,
Spike. I am a dog person, too, and my pups, Penny and Oreo, are also pet
therapy pets, affiliated with Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in
Walnut Creek, California. Our speciality is to have children read out loud in libraries and schools to
either Penny or Oreo to practice reading.
During my research, I learned that Charles and Jean Schulz
purchased land in Santa Rosa, California for the national headquarters for
Canine Companions for Independence and were on the board of the Jean and
Charles Schulz campus there.
Q: What do you think Craig Orback's pictures add to the
book?
A: The pictures make the book, IMO. Craig was selected
because of his lifelong interest in reading and drawing comic book characters,
much like Charles Schulz. The publisher did a wonderful job with the
cover design (lots of primary colors), fine paper for the entire book, use of
embossed lettering on the cover, etc. Everyone loves the comic book “feel” to
the art.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?
A: My subtle message (I hope) is the importance of
persistence. Charles Schulz wanted to be a cartoonist starting at age 6. And he
worked towards that goal until he succeeded.
Kids need all kinds of role models, not just super stars or
sports heroes, and Schulz came from a blue-collar childhood and worked his way
up the ladder to achieve success. He didn’t always do well in school, he lost
his mother to cancer when he was young, and he served in the Army during World
War II.
He was what we might call a “work horse,” in that he just
worked and worked to improve his craft, to get his foot in the door with his
cartooning, and he continued that ethic, of perfecting his craft every single
day of his life.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m considering a biography on one of our first ladies
and another book related to the creation of the National Park Service.
I just finished an anthology piece on John Muir for middle
grade readers to be published by TwoDot Press for Western Writers of America
(I’m a longtime member). I’m kind of a national park “junkie,” so I’m drawn to
anything from the people connected to the parks and to the animals who rely on
the protection these areas offer them.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I am a third-generation writer, but the first female in
my family. My grandfather and father, both named Hal G. Evarts, were successful
writers, with an emphasis on the West. It’s fun to follow in their footsteps
and to wonder who in the family might be the next author. And I have an idea of
who that person is.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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