Lezlie Evans

Lezlie Evans didn't grow up thinking she would write children's books. She wanted to be an actor, a doctor, a detective, and an investigative reporter. But in the end, she found her true love -- writing for children. Q: What were you like when you were little? My mom was a great journal keeper, so I know from her journal entries I was a precocious, outgoing child with a flair for the dramatic. Words came easily. By the time I was 2 1/2 I was singing songs from beginning to end. One day, when I was just over two years old, the neighbors were talking about me in front of me and one of them commented, "Isn't she fat?" That's when I piped up and said, "That's cause I eat so good!" (Obviously, good grammar came much later!) Q: What kind of things did you like to do when you were in elementary school? I liked to play soccer, swim in my pool (I lived in California), roller skate, and play football and baseball with the neighborhood boys. I certainly didn't like to color pictures or play with Barbies like so many of the other girls my age. I was all about keeping up with my 5 brothers. Anything my brothers did, I tried to do better. Q: Did you like to read as a child? I would have been labeled a 'reluctant reader' when I was in grade school. I don't think I sat still long enough to read when I was a child! I can recall my mother reading to me when I was young, though. I enjoyed listening to her make stories come to life with her dramatic inflection and exciting interpretations, but I didn't actually discover the thrill of independent reading until the 5th grade. Q: What happened in the 5th grade that helped you discover the magic of reading? It was in Mrs. Hudsbeth's 5th-grade class when I first discovered reading. Reading group was the best part of the day. We sat on pillows on the floor in a circle and had snacks while we discussed the books we were reading. Soon, I found myself traveling through time and space with Meg and Charles Wallace in A Wrinkle in Time, struggling to find the way home with three amazing animals in The Incredible Journey, and on the hunt for coons with Little Ann and Old Dan in Where the Red Fern Grows (three of my all-time favorite books). That was the year I discovered the magic of reading. Q: What about writing? Has that always come easily? (Laugh....) I was actually placed in a remedial English class when I was in the 8th grade. No, writing has not always come easily! I recall having to write my first story in the 6th grade. My teacher, Mr. Ward, was going to make our stories into little books. I remember the whole thing being exciting, but it was difficult. It took me hours to come up with an idea and even longer to get the words out of my head and onto the paper. To this day I've kept that book, not because it turned out to be a great story -- just the opposite actually. It is poor writing at best (in fact, my children laugh at how bad it is), but when I read that little book, it reminds me that talents are developed. When I do school visits I like to tell children that they can do anything, as long as they are willing to do the 3 P's: practice, be patient, and be persistent. Q: Many of your picture books are in rhyme. What is it about poetry that you like? While in High School I took my first creative writing class and it was there I discovered my love for manipulating words, creating rhythms, conjuring up rhymes, and expressing my perceptions and ideas in poetic form. I relished the freedom it gave me as a writer; the freedom to say one thing and mean another. And I liked the fact I could write without following the rules one normally has to when writing. Q: What do you like best about being a writer? The opportunities it gives me to meet children and work with them on developing their own writing skills (I can't believe how talented kids are these days). I find the whole process of creating a book extremely rewarding. I enjoy it from the minute I get an idea, to the moment I hold a new book in my hands. There are always challenges and setbacks, but, to me, it is all worth it!