The Length of a String
Elissa Brent Weissman
Photo credit: Alisha Shaw |
Dear Elissa, The Length of a String is your latest book that came out in May. How has it been received so far? So far so good! The official reviews have been positive, and I’ve gotten some wonderful, meaningful feedback from authors I greatly admire. I’ve been hearing that the book has been sparking conversation and discussion, especially between parents and children—a few schools and groups have decided to use it for a parent-child book club—which makes me very happy. |
Where did you get the initial idea to write this book?
The idea for the present-day story came from one of my best friends from childhood, who was adopted. I was thinking about her—and spoke with her quite a bit about her thoughts and experiences—when I came up with the character of Imani, who is black, adopted, and Jewish.
The idea for the historical story came from two places: a caller on NPR who shared her father’s Holocaust survival story, and my own grandparents’ experiences of growing up in New York City in the 1940s. The NPR story inspired the circumstances under which Anna moves from Nazi-occupied Luxembourg to Brooklyn. My grandparents’ memories inspired much of what happens once she arrives in Bensonhurst.
At first, I was intimidated by the prospect of writing historical fiction, so I decided to frame the historical story with the contemporary one to ease myself into the book. Once I started writing, though, I realized that these ideas were meant to go together all along.
How do you think it resonates with your target audience?
My protagonists, Imani and Anna, both turn 13 in the course of this book, and that’s a time when lots of kids start to think deeply about their own identity. This book explores that topic through two different characters in two different time periods in a way that, I hope, resonates universally.
What made you decide to write children’s books?
The books I read when I was a kid! I’ve been writing fiction since I was my readers’ age. Writing young characters comes naturally to me, too; I may look like I’m in my 30s, but I think I’m secretly still 11 inside. Some people think writing for children is easier or less important than writing for adults—they often ask if I’m ever going to write a “real” book. But those people have got it backwards, because there are no more demanding, discerning, devoted, or important readers than children.
Do you have a list of childhood books that still hold a special place in your heart?
So many! To name just a few:
The Little Miss and Mr. Men books by Roger Hargreaves
The Baby-Sitters’ Club series by Ann M. Martin
Sixth Grade Secrets by Louis Sachar
No Coins, Please by Gordon Korman
The All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Who are your favorite authors?
So many! To name just a few:
J. M. Barrie, Louis Sachar, Maria Semple, and Shirley Jackson.
The Length of a String
- Excerpt -
...Then there’s me. I’m short and skinny. My arms and legs look like toothpicks no matter how much tennis I play or how many bowls of tortellini I eat. (My records, by the way, are fifteen hours of tennis in one week and five bowls of tortellini in one sitting. I like tennis, but I’m obsessed with tortellini.) My complexion’s a little darker than my brother’s, but my light brown eyes are flecked with green. My hair is soft and springy, with tight coils that extend up and out, challenging gravity. Parker says I look “exotic”—she’s actually used that word, straight out of an ad for some honeymoon resort—and she’s always lamenting that she doesn’t. She says I’d get a ton of modeling jobs if I wanted them. Apparently, talent agents want people whose ethnicity “keeps you guessing.”
I’m no stranger to guessing. I know I was born in Philadelphia, and I know my birth mother was black. The rest has been left to my imagination, and boy, has my imagination embraced the challenge. Long after Madeline outgrew Children of the World, I kept playing on my own, holding up pages next to my reflection in the mirror. Picture by picture, I’d compare the tone of my skin, the shape of my nose, lips, eyes. Is my father Irish or Italian? Am I a quarter Filipino? Part Indian or Latina or Arab? I never have an answer when people ask, “What are you?” I usually tell them I’m human, but sometimes I also add that I’m Jewish, just to make them more confused.
When Madeline and I were in third grade, and she said that Ghanaian girl looked like my twin, I started to wonder if I really might have a twin somewhere in the world. I imagined that my mother gave birth to twins, but she could only afford to keep one child, so she placed me for adoption. Unlikely, I know, and not the happiest story. But even if it were true—that I was a twin and my birth mother kept my sister but not me—I told myself I could handle it. I just wanted to know.
I still want to know.
That’s why, for my bat mitzvah gift, I want to find my family. My first family. My blood-and-guts, double-helix, you’re-as-stubborn-as-your-father family.
Does that sound reasonable?
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I nearly jumped. I glanced around to make sure Mrs. Coleman was out of sight, then I took it out. A text from Madeline, who was still, like, twenty inches away. I rolled my eyes at her, but she was pretending to be very interested in Kristallnacht. (Like, too interested. She was pointing at something in the book and nodding and saying “hmm.”)
I opened her text. Tell your parents tonight...
I’m no stranger to guessing. I know I was born in Philadelphia, and I know my birth mother was black. The rest has been left to my imagination, and boy, has my imagination embraced the challenge. Long after Madeline outgrew Children of the World, I kept playing on my own, holding up pages next to my reflection in the mirror. Picture by picture, I’d compare the tone of my skin, the shape of my nose, lips, eyes. Is my father Irish or Italian? Am I a quarter Filipino? Part Indian or Latina or Arab? I never have an answer when people ask, “What are you?” I usually tell them I’m human, but sometimes I also add that I’m Jewish, just to make them more confused.
When Madeline and I were in third grade, and she said that Ghanaian girl looked like my twin, I started to wonder if I really might have a twin somewhere in the world. I imagined that my mother gave birth to twins, but she could only afford to keep one child, so she placed me for adoption. Unlikely, I know, and not the happiest story. But even if it were true—that I was a twin and my birth mother kept my sister but not me—I told myself I could handle it. I just wanted to know.
I still want to know.
That’s why, for my bat mitzvah gift, I want to find my family. My first family. My blood-and-guts, double-helix, you’re-as-stubborn-as-your-father family.
Does that sound reasonable?
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I nearly jumped. I glanced around to make sure Mrs. Coleman was out of sight, then I took it out. A text from Madeline, who was still, like, twenty inches away. I rolled my eyes at her, but she was pretending to be very interested in Kristallnacht. (Like, too interested. She was pointing at something in the book and nodding and saying “hmm.”)
I opened her text. Tell your parents tonight...
* * *
Can you share with us any special stories of young readers reaching out to you?
Hearing from young readers is a huge perk of my job. I especially love when I see kids dressed up as one of my characters, either in person at a book signing or in photos from Halloween or a special day at their school.
One of my favorite moments was when I met with a book club that had read Nerd Camp. One of the boys wanted to tell me his favorite line from the book, but he started laughing so hard just thinking about that line that he couldn’t get the words out. It was one of the best compliments I’ve ever received.
In addition to writing books, you also keep busy with speaking engagements, book festivals, promotional events, etc.. What are your favorite engagements? Why?
Book festivals are fun because it’s always great to be around lots of people who love books. As a reader, I love getting to meet and hang out with other authors; I can hardly believe that I get to be presenting at the festival alongside them. I also love doing school visits, especially when the kids have read some of my books before I arrive. That makes for the best questions and the most meaningful interaction. It’s so inspiring to go into a school and see kids all excited and fired up about reading—that’s what it’s all about.
What’s your secret to time management without jeopardizing work quality?
Achievable goals, with deadlines. I try to write for two hours a day, and I consider my day productive if I meet that goal no matter the quantity or quality of writing I do in that time. I’m also very motivated by deadlines, even self-imposed ones. I set a date to have a certain amount of work done, and then I make it happen, two hours at a time.
Is there a single word that would best describe how you feel about everything in your life right now and do you have a list of events you’re looking forward to in the weeks and months ahead?
Grateful.
Events:
In August, Elissa will be in Sweden on a School visit.
In September, she will be at The Baltimore Book Festival.
For more information visit ebweissman.com