Interview

I don't usually post author interviews on here. But this one was done by the character in the book. Which is so fun. So since it's a mouse interviewing a children's author, I thought I'd post it. The review for World Cup Mouse should be directly below this interview. Check the book out. It's super fun.

Interview with Richard Seidman by the mouse, François DuBois

Bonjour, I’m François DuBois.

I’m here interviewing children’s book author, Richard Seidman.

François: Richard, I enjoyed reading World Cup Mouse, 
especially the parts with me in it!
 Your books are really funny.

Richard: Thank you, François. I love to make jokes
 and funny business. That’s one of the main reasons 
I enjoy writing – to amuse myself and children 
(and also the big children that we call “grown-ups”). 
For me, funny business is a way to love life, and it’s 
also a way to transform sorrows.

François: Why do you like writing about mice like 
me and Louie?

Richard: Some of my favorite literary characters are mice: Stuart Little,
 Dr. De Soto, Norman the Doorman, Desperaux. It’s fun to write about 
you mice guys.

François: Thanks. Where did you grow up, and what were you like as a child?

Richard: I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. I was a really shy child, and to tell you the truth, I’m still pretty shy. I didn’t really know how to play chess when this picture was taken, but I liked moving the pieces around. My father, Herb, was one of the best chess players in the U.S. When I was growing up, playing games and sports and reading were the favorite things I enjoyed, and they’re still the favorite things I enjoy today! In high school and college, my number one passion was running.

François: My last name, you know, means “of the trees.” I heard that you were part of a tree-planting organization.

Richard: Yes. In the 1970s, I moved to Portland, Oregon, and in 1989 I founded the nonprofit tree-planting group, Friends of Trees. I’m proud that all these years later Friends of Trees is still going strong. More than 10,000 volunteers have planted more than 500,000 trees since the beginning of the organization.

François: Wow, that’s a lot of trees! What other accomplishments are you proud of?

Richard: Well, I’m proud of the book I wrote for grown-ups, The Oracle of Kabbalah: Mystical Teachings of the Hebrew Letters. In 2014, I’ll be publishing a revised version, The New Oracle of Kabbalah. And I’m proud that in the fall of 2014, after training in the martial arts for eighteen years, I finally earned a black belt in Shotokan Karate.

François: Congratulations. Remind me not to pick a fight with you.