KIDS HAVE A VOICE HERE!
We spent a terrific morning with the fourth and fifth graders at PS 29 in Brooklyn, New York, talking about everything from how to write a graphic novel to why Penny keeps ending up in mud puddles. Thank you to Stephanie Manske for arranging it, and to all the teachers who welcomed us to their classrooms!
ABOUT STAN AND SUSAN
Stan Mack is a cartoonist and a writer who has used cartoons in his work ever since 7th grade, when he talked his history teacher into letting him draw his reports instead of writing them.
After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Stan moved to New York City, where he had lots of jobs, including the coolest one ever: creating a weekly comic strip called "Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies." He went around New York eavesdropping on people and combining their real words (silly, rude, crazy) with his cartoons. The little cartoon guy you see at the top of this page is how Stan drew himself in his comic strips. Soon everyone in New York was wondering, "Is Stan Mack listening to this conversation—and am I going to show up in his comic strip?!"
Stan has combined real-life history with cartoons in several books, like Stan Mack’s Real Life American Revolution and The Story of the Jews: A 4,000 Year Adventure. He and his late partner Janet Bode also created several young adult non-fiction books, including Heartbreak and Roses (about love and relationships) and For Better, For Worse (about divorce from kids' point of view).
Susan Champln is a writer and editor who can't draw anything (but she did a really good job filling in all the black spaces and silhouettes in Road to Revolution!). She worked with Stan on researching and writing the book, especially Penny's dialogue. Susan would like you to know that all the good jokes in the book were her doing.
Susan has worked on a lot of magazines, including People and Bon Appétit. Now she's a freelance writer and editor, which means she gets to work in her living room in her slippers if she wants to. (In fact, she's wearing them right this minute!)
E-mail us your comments about the book, and we'll post as many as we can. (We'll use your first name only to protect your privacy). And feel free to ask us questions. We'll do our best to answer them all! You can e-mail us at stan@stanmack.com
QUESTIONS FROM THE THIRD GRADERS AT PIERCE SCHOOL IN BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS
Did you have a consultant? Do you get long breaks? What do you do on your breaks? —Anthony
Stan and Susan say: Good questions, Anthony! Actually, we did have consultants—they were the teachers and historians and other experts that we talked to when we were researching the book. And no, we don't get nearly long enough breaks! (I'll bet you feel the same way.) But when we do, we like to travel. We recently drove across the country—in the middle of the winter. Brrr! But it was a lot of fun, and we think everyone should do it.
If you make a second book could it be about the Civil War? —Mark
Stan and Susan say: Funny you should ask. Our second book IS about the Civil War! It's called A House Divided, and we're working on it right this minute.
At the end it said, 'We will meet again' and 'I'll wear plenty of petticoats.' So I think you should continue from that part into the second book if you even make a second book. —Krystal
Stan and Susan say: We're hearing from a lot of kids that they'd like to see another book with Penny and Nick. And that may happen in the future! In the meantime, you might like to know that the girl in our third book, set during the Gold Rush, will be Penny's great-granddaughter!
Why did you want to make Road to Revolution! into a historical fiction book? —James
Stan and Susan say: Nice question, James! There were two reasons: We wanted to make it historical because we think history is the greatest adventure story of all. And we wanted kids today to really feel what it was like to live during those exciting historical times. So we created two fictional kids that we thought our readers could relate to—who could help put you right into the story.
COMMENTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY:
The comics helped me get a better picture in my head of what was happening. —Holly N., Wisconsin
"In my eighth grade history class, we had just finished learning about the Revolutionary War and we finished reading Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes in reading class. I gained a higher interest in the Revolutionary War. My class was assigned a book report and a war project about a war of our choice. I chose the Revolutionary War. Then I read the book you wrote. I usually don't read graphic novels much but I enjoyed it very much. Even though it had comics in it, I would consider it a good book for the teens in my class. I thought Stan did an outstanding job at drawing the comics. It helped me get a better picture in my head of what was happening. You tied historical facts and fiction together into a story and I liked it a lot."
Stan and Susan say: Thanks so much, Holly! We're so happy you liked the book. And here's a fun fact for you: Besides writing the classic novel Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes also wrote another great book called Paul Revere and the World He Lived In. It was a biography of Paul Revere, and it was extremely helpful to us as we did the research for the book.
Even though the Revolutionary War was tragic, this book was funny and full of action! —S. Spangler
"Even though the Revolutionary War was tragic, this book was funny and full of action! The book jacket says that the age limit was from 9-12, but an adult may enjoy it too! The format of the book is a comic book. The book prologue gives a lot of information, in only two pages! The epilogue also tells what really happened and what was added just for the story. This book is very well written and I think everyone will enjoy it."
Stan says: I was Googling our book and came across the site: http://www.stork.com/bookshelf/revolution.htm. There's a very nice review by S. Spangler (age 8). I thought it was worth repeating so here it is. Thank you, S. Spangler, wherever you are.