Siobhan Fallon

and Lauren Stringer

Check out their blogs and new books, then keep reading for my interview and the authors I'm tagging next. 

1. What is the title of your latest book?

2. Where did the idea come from for the book? I found a postcard of the Grant Wood painting Plaid Sweater as I started writing The Luck of the Buttons, the first Button book. The boy in that painting was a story begging to be told. He became a model for the character of Ned. I thought of him as the boy Ned imagined himself to be, not who he actually was, football and all. After Ned was done playing a supporting role to Tugs in The Luck of the Buttons, I was eager to put him on the field and see if he could find the hero in himself.

3. What genre does your book fall under? Button Down is middle grade fiction, which means primarily readers between the ages of 8 and 12. 

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? Absolutely Nolan Gould for Ned. He plays Luke Dunphee on Modern Family. I love his comic timing. I’d put a bushy mustache on Dustin Hoffman for Granddaddy Ike and cast Robert Duvall as Granddaddy’s best friend Mr. Jackson. 

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Ned, of the comically unlucky Button family, hasn't caught a thing in his life until he faces bully Burton Ward in a challenge to catch their town hero's football.

6. Who published your book? The marvelous Candlewick Press. 

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? It took about nine months to form a complete draft from beginning to end, though in my files, that was draft version 38. 

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Richard Peck’s novels A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder are humorous intergenerational stories set in a small midwestern town during the 1930s. 

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? One of the main themes of Button Down is the relationship between Ned and Granddaddy Ike. My grandparents lived nearby when I was growing up and were very involved in our lives. Writing this book allowed me to explore all the ways in which they influenced my childhood self. 

10. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest? Football! While I'd played pick up football as a kid, and lots of a little hand-held electronic football game of my brother's, it wasn't until I wrote this book that I really took the time to understand the strategy behind the game. It's a lot more than a simple knock-em-down sport and I had a great time writing the football scenes.

NEXT UP: 

Michelle Edwards will be posting tomorrow, February 14. 

A little boy frets that the spare room where his baby sister or brother will sleep will never be emptied of things his mother has collected from neighbors for years, but she uses those things to sew and knit everything from diapers to Hanukkah gifts.

Rebecca Janni will post February 20. 

Nellie Sue is taking her cowgirl flair to the county fair! There are rides and contests and a bicycle rodeo, too. Nellie Sue wants to win that blue ribbon. But can she do it while still being "fair at the fair"?

Thanks for joining this reading rodeo! 

She gave me her opinion in no uncertain terms. I'll work at home from now on.  

Can you see why New Bo is one of my favorite book shops?

(photo from the blog of author Andrew Shaffer of the incredible window design by my friend Kate Ford)

Some nice notice for Ned as well. The Button Down audio book, narrated by the delightful Sanjiv Jhaveri got a lovely review in the November issue of AudioFile. Here's an excerpt:

Jhaveri’s Ned is doggedly determined to right injustice; his friends, predictably youthful. The voice of Jhaveri’s grandfather has a raspy, drawn-out sound that manages to pack just enough oomph when a vital point is needed.

Thank you for bringing Ned and the gang to life, Mr. Jhaveri! 

In her book If You Want to Write, Author Brenda Ueland calls this “moodling” time. Moodling is letting your mind wander and explore without distraction, allowing it to work out problems and find ideas. 

I was moodling one day a few years ago in my house in Iowa. There was a picture on the wall of my great-grandparents on a rickety porch with chickens running around in the yard. I looked at that picture and let my mind wander for a long while. 

I let one thought lead to another and then another, from that photo to a tombstone in a prairie cemetery with the name I’d misread as “Tugs Button,” to my grandmother and her long gangly arms and something her father had said to her once about not getting a swell head. 

The thoughts piled one on top of another until an idea sprouted. I took that idea for a walk in the woods and let it grow a little taller. I sat again in front of the picture until the idea bloomed, then I picked up a pen and started scrawling loose sentences. 

All the time that may have looked to an observer like I was being unproductive, I was actually growing a story that turned into three books about the comically unlucky Button family: The Luck of the Buttons, Button Down, and a third that I’m writing and moodling over now. 

Do you want to write? Put down your pen, turn off the TV and radio and computer and phone. It’s time to do nothing! 

I am a collector of small things. One of the great things about being a writer is that even a hobby like collecting can be part of the job. Do you like to write? Here are a three collections you could start for yourself.

I’ve been collecting postcards and photographs since my great aunt started sending me art postcards before I could read or write. Hundreds of postcards and photographs fit nicely in a shoebox. Read my last post to discover how collecting images inspires my writing. 

In elementary school I started collecting names. The smallest notebook has space for dozens of names. Characters like LeRoy Pence (Dear Papa), Harold Sylvester George Klein (Little Klein), and Verlon Leek (Button Down) were inspired by names I collected as far back as 3rd grade. Whenever you hear a name that you like the sound of, or is interesting to you, write it down.

And my favorite tiny collection? Words. I keep my words on small slips of paper in an ordinary jar. Sometimes a word just strikes my fancy and I’ll write it down: labyrinth. If I’m feeling verb-y, I’ll go to a cookbook and write down all the action words: mix, stir, whisk, sift... Sometimes I start thinking of a group of words and add a bunch at once. Recently I added words I like saying out loud: Iowa, Ohio, Maori, autumn, iota, swift, oriel, oleo.

I started collecting words with my writers group several years ago. We drew words from our word jars each time we met then each of us would write something using the same four words for our next meeting. 

Every chapter in Little Klein was written using those word jar words. Harold turns out to be sickly so I could  have his mother warm a teakettle day and night. A storm arose when I had to use the word wind. 

If you like to write, I think you’ll have as much fun as I do collecting pictures, names, and words. Better yet, grab a friend and start collecting together. Then watch your writing soar!

Manuel and I demonstrate what a three legged race is as I introduce Ned in The Luck of the Buttons. Tugs and Ned are discussing their chances in the three legged race when Ned says, "I can't catch, but I still like to play football."

Eager participants in discussion about how a book goes from idea to finished product, and all the jobs people have, and they could have someday, to make it happen. Reaching for Candlewick Press in Massachussetts

Cake from Layers Sensational Cakes of Monterey. A very sweet gift from my Iowa writer/illustrator friends Michelle Edwards, Jackie Briggs Martin, Claudia McGehee, and Carol Gorman.

What's the best present a book could get?

Readers! Thanks to the Granny Sisters - books for all!

Thank you, Ms. Bishop and Cesar Chavez fourth graders! 

Ylvisaker (The Luck of the Buttons, 2011) returns to the lovably unlucky Button family, this time with a gentle story about 11-year-old Ned and his love of football...

Short chapters, simple yet meticulous language, a wholesome feel and the universal story of a boy with a dream combine to give this one widespread appeal. 

Check out the full review here and look for the book on September 25! 

I know it's baseball season, but I've got football on my mind. I'm counting down to the September release of Button Down, an underdog story about Ned Button, Greatgranddaddy Ike, and the opening of Iowa (now Kinnick) Stadium during the 1929 Hawkeye football season. 

For a sneak peek at Button Down, check out Candlewick's website, and take a gander at this sample chapter. 

Ned's cousin Tugs, heroine of The Luck of the Buttons, gets another opportunity to shine as well, when The Luck of the Buttons is released in paperback this August. 

And rounding out my very Button summer, I'm immersed in fascinating research and reading about the first summer of the Civil War for the telling of Greatgranddy Ike's boyhood story. Look for more Ike news in 2013!

While you wait for football season to begin, fill up on sports reading with John Coy's excellent 4 For 4 series, and take this list of sports books to your library.  

Happy summer!