Going Mobile With Blue Balliett

What's it like to get rave reviews—and occasional critical ones?
I've been really lucky as a writer. I haven't had too much pain come my way. It was such a surprise what happened with "Chasing Vermeer." I went from writing a book for my classroom to having all this—movie rights sold instantly. It was such a big noise. I was glad I was somebody in my 40s and not 22. I was really glad I had all that internal balance. Sometimes when you have that kind of success when you're very young, it can be so intimidating. I'm glad I'm a plain old mom, and I've been through a great deal of down-to-earth stuff in my life.

Do you consider your books a series since they all involve Calder Pillay (named for Alexander Calder] and Petra Andalee?
These three books fit together. They start with the idea, what's art about, and they all explore different complicated sides of the art world, and they explore friendship and relationships between kids. I feel as though I didn't start out to write a series, but I got so interested in the characters in "Chasing Vermeer," and then I wanted to give them another challenge and another. For now, I'm going to give these three a rest as a group, but I may come back to some of the kids. I am so not a formula person.

Your recently deceased 19-year-old cat, Pummie, is in "The Calder Game." Any other real characters?
All of my characters are real! They're all either modeled directly on real people or combinations of real people.

You like E. B. White and Roald Dahl. Any other favorite kids' book authors?
E. L. Konigsburg, I've also enjoyed forever. But particularly E. B. White's prose is just so spectacular, and Roald Dahl's. You can't write a good sentence unless you've read one. Read good English if you want to write.

How long do kids have to wait for your next book?
I've been writing a book every two years at the moment. We'll see how complicated it is to research this next one!

© 2008