Ask the author: Anna McQuinn

Anna McQuinn's series about that spunky book lover Lola is a favorite amongst children, teachers, and librarians. With the third book in the series coming out in February (Lola Reads to Leo), Charlesbridge took a moment to ask the UK author and librarian some questions about the series.


Charlesbridge: Where did the character of Lola come from?

Anna McQuinn: Lola started out as a little girl having some first experiences--I planned to have her go to the library, to a cafe, a swimming pool . . . I started with the library story--probably influenced by the fact that I had just started working part-time running mom and toddler groups in a library. Some of my experiences influenced the story: in my outreach work I realized that many parents were still reluctant to bring little kids into libraries in case they disturbed other readers and I found myself explaining that we had an area for children and they wouldn't be disturbing anyone; I also found myself explaining that little children could enjoy books long before they could read--an argument I'd thought was long won.

However, as I wrote the story, Lola turned into a little book lover--and by the time I'd finished the story, she had a fully-developed character in my head: a book enthusiast who loved going to the library. Happily, Rosalind Beardshaw, the illustrator, totally captured this enthusiasm, so as the drawings came in, Lola's personality developed in my head.

I think this personality comes out more in the second story, Lola Loves Stories, but it really wasn't until I read the jacket copy on the newest book, Lola Reads to Leo, that I realized how much of myself there was in Lola. When I was little, I loved stories--my grandfather was a great storyteller and my dad told us stories every night in bed. As soon as I learned to read, I read constantly--at night by the streetlight outside my window (when I was supposed to be sleeping) and at every other available opportunity (the back of the shampoo bottle when I went to the bathroom, the back of the cereal packet while eating breakfast . . .). All of these stories opened up a huge world of possibilities for me.


CB: The books in this series are first published in the UK, where you live, and then re-published in the U.S. (and other countries!) with some alterations. For example, "Lola" is actually "Lulu" in the UK versions. How does this influence the way you write Lola's adventures, if at all?

AM: Lola started out as Lola--the name came at exactly the same time as her character, as a package. Then, just before Lola at the Library was published, the Charlie and Lola books were televised here in the UK and much to my disappointment, I realized that people would be confused. Happily it wasn't an issue for the U.S., but for the UK edition I searched desperately for a new name, but nothing worked. Then one day, my mom and toddler group was at the park and I heard a Somali mum call her child Lulu. It was perfect--as close as I could get to Lola.

Funnily enough, it doesn't influence how I feel about her. Most of the time I write the story calling her Lola--partly because the first person I show the draft story to is Yolanda Scott, the Editorial Director at Charlesbridge. Then I just change it for the UK. The names are so close it's almost like a friend whose family has a nickname for her (my family call me Anzi, so maybe that's why I barely think about it).

In the Netherlands, she's called Bibi (to alliterate with "bieb," which means "library") and weirdly that also seems to suit her so well that it doesn't cause me a second thought (though the file names for the documents on my computer are all over the place!). I'd love to know what she's called in Korea where Lola Loves Stories was recently published, but I can't read the script.

CB: Like Lola, you love to read as well. What types of books are you drawn to the most?

AM: I've been going through a crime novel phase for about ten years now. It started when I was in a very difficult job and reading stories where the bad guys always got their comeuppance satisfied some big need in my soul! I did my M.A. in the Gothic Novel and used to think that was the link but I've recently read that crime novels are like fairytales for adults--that's my story and I'm sticking to it. My favorites are Walter Mosley, Harlan Coben, Sara Paretsky, Laura Lippman, and Michael Connelly.

In between crime novels, I read a huge variety of things. I'm really drawn to stories which feature children or a child's view of things. One of my favorite books is The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe--I think anyone working with children should be made to read it--and another is Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice. This year I really enjoyed Room by Emma Donoghue; America Is Me by E.R. Frank; The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy; The Story by Faiza Guene; and We Are All Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka (which has nothing to do with children). I'm addicted to Goodreads and I log on every few days to share recommendations and see what my friends are reading.

CB: What do you hope readers will take away from the books in the Lola series?

AM: I hope that little kids will be inspired by Lola to check out the wonderful world that books and stories and reading can open up for them. I see from my work that many children need the tiniest prompt (which Lola provides) to be the characters from their stories: fairies and tigers and pilots . . . so I hope Lola will help them to take that first step from the story on the page to the story in their minds--I hope that little girls in particular will see that they can be anything, not just princesses!

I would love parents to see that finding books which children enjoy reading is the most important thing for these little ones. I'm saddened when I see parents pushing their choices--especially books which are for older children or to what parents feel is right for boys/girls. For many little boys as well as little girls in my group, Lola is their favorite book. And while black children love her, she is also much loved by Chinese, Polish, Spanish, and Lebanese alike--mostly they are responding to seeing their familiar world represented in a simple story.

CB: What's next for Lola? Any new adventures we can look forward to?

AM: I've already started work on the next story--Lola's mommy gives her a section of their community garden and, of course, before she can decide what to grow, she has to go to the library to research . . . Leo is also developing a little personality in my head, so look out for him appearing in his own story.



Do you have some questions for Anna McQuinn?
Email us at trademarketing@charlesbridge.com to sign up for the Lola Blog Tour. Don't have a blog? You can still ask Anna your questions--we'll post your interview here on Unabridged!

The Reading Bond

As a parent and children’s picture book author, I read children’s books every day. I read picture books and chapter books to improve my writing and keep current with what is being published, but also because I truly enjoy reading them. Most importantly, however, I read because of the bond that reading has created with my son.

From the beginning of his life, words have enveloped him. While he was in my belly and merely a few weeks from birth, I sometimes read aloud to him. When I read silently to myself, I imagined the words swirling around my brain flowing through my blood stream and into his, our lives connected. After he was born, when he was only a few days old, it didn’t matter to me if I read a children’s book or my husband read The New Yorker or Sports Illustrated to our son. I just wanted him to hear our voices articulating words over and over again.

My son is now six and we read together each day. Reading to and with my son is one of my favorite rituals and a simple pleasure we share. I look forward to the moment when we become immersed in a story, his attention fully engaged. My playful, active son winds down, enticed by hearing about a farmer who photographs snow crystals, finding no two alike; a princess who uses her intellect to defeat a fire-breathing dragon; “star-bellied Sneetches” and “plain-bellied Sneetches”; a cane-carrying mouse that retrieves his mother’s wedding ring from a bathtub drain; the friendship between a librarian and a library lion; a farm maiden, farmer, and five farm animals that stir a pot and create a surprise recipe together, and so much more. The characters, topics, and plots are endless, and invariably, comment or discussion ensues. My son often asks the meaning of words and I have heard him incorporate new words learned into his speech. I believe a broad vocabulary helps him understand new and complex concepts and ideas.

Listening to stories contributes to the development of his imagination and I feel that life is so much richer when enhanced by creativity. Reading has also built his attention span and that’s a skill necessary for learning. At its core, reading is an opportunity for us to connect over words spoken and emotions evoked. Sometimes, in relation to a story, my son explores feelings or tells me something that occurred at school. I listen carefully, grateful that hearing a story resulted in unexpected revelations and disclosure.

And, where do we read? Everywhere. My husband and I take turns reading to our son during part of meals. In his bedroom, we cozy up in a chair that I have deemed “our reading chair.” We read before sleep, on airplanes, and on the occasional bus trip. When we’re out for an excursion, I typically wear a backpack allowing me to carry not only crayons and paper, but also a book. One afternoon as we waited for pizza at a restaurant, I began reading a book. When my son noticed a young girl in the booth next to us straining to hear, he urged, “Read louder, Mommy.” I did and shortly thereafter, with her parent’s encouragement, the young girl temporarily joined us in order to better see the illustrations. The company delighted my son. With two pages remaining, our pizza finally arrived, yet neither child lifted as much as a finger, preferring to wait to hear the story’s end.

Books in our home come from both libraries and stores. We visit the library almost every week and we typically have anywhere between five and fifteen library books scattered throughout our home. At the age of four and a half, my son was as overjoyed about obtaining his own library card as he was about receiving a new Thomas the Tank Engine train for his birthday. In fact, his excitement about the library card lasted far longer. The card is attached to a small, bungee cord, and for quite some time, he proudly showed it to all his teachers and anyone who visited our home. Of course, the card was a sign of his independence and that held special meaning for him. He can select books all by himself and his pride is evident when a book he chooses turns out to be one we especially like.

When we discover a book we love, we record the title as a reminder to purchase it. We celebrate with books as gifts for most if not all holidays. In our home, our son understands that Santa Claus, Cupid (for Valentine’s Day), the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy all appreciate written requests for books (which has turned into terrific opportunities to practice writing). That is not to imply that toys, chocolate, jelly beans, or money are excluded from the latter-mentioned holidays, but books are important and included.

Birthdays are occasions for books as well. On my son’s first birthday, I began a tradition I intend to uphold all his life. In addition to other gifts, I give him a book. Although the books I’ve selected are not necessarily age-appropriate, they are books I want him to have in his personal collection. On his first birthday, he received The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. On his second birthday, I selected a childhood favorite of mine: Where the Sidewalk Ends featuring the poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein. For his third and fourth birthdays, respectively, he received Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and a hardback version of Brian Selznick’s highly illustrated novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. For his fifth birthday, I gave him L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 100^th Anniversary Edition. Last year for his sixth birthday, he received a box set of the seven paperback volumes of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I inscribe each book with a note and the specific birthday that the book commemorates, and then store the book in our son’s bookcase, or on one of my bookshelves.

Even when my son enjoys reading on his own, I will continue to look for stories to read and share with him. I want to foster our reading bond as long as possible. My mother not only read chapter books to me when I was reading on my own, but also created individual stories for my sister and me. Before bedtime, my mother sat by sister's bed and later, mine, in order to share chapter installments. My sister's story featured a ladybug and her children. My story concerned the adventures of a miniature fairy. Closing my eyes, listening to my mother's soft voice, I imagined the fairy and her exploits. After school, homework, dinner, and chores, hearing a story before falling asleep was a soothing, gentle way to enter the night. I cherish those memories and I know that experience sparked a desire that later grew into a passion. I began to dream about becoming an author. Eventually, I wrote stories and many years later, I published one of them.

Now, when at school or library presentations for my children's picture books, I enjoy telling children that I composed my first story at the age of three. For a few seconds, eyes widen in amazement until I clarify what really happened. At that age, my mother encouraged me to make up stories and tell them to her. Without influencing subject, grammar, or length, she typed the stories exactly as I told them. My first story, "The Red Hen" (circa 1967), is only several lines and rife with grammatical errors, yet the freedom to create, uninterrupted by correction, allowed my thoughts to flow. My confidence as a beginning storyteller began to build.

I have similarly encouraged my son to practice storytelling. His first, formal attempt is titled, "The Run Away Coconut" and consists of nine sentences. Whether storytelling becomes his passion is not important to me. I just want him to experience the process in a pleasurable, relaxed way just as he enjoys our reading together.

While I find our reading "connection" to be gratifying in and of itself, I also know that reading each day produces a substantial gift--that of literacy. It is well established that children who are read to are more likely to read earlier, stay in school, succeed in school, and pursue higher education, which has its own benefits and rewards.

As parents, we are in a unique position to promote and support literacy. As I read with my child, I know I'm giving both him and myself intangible, lifelong gifts--a unique literary bond with memories that may be refreshed each time he reads a certain story; an aptitude for and interest in reading, and most importantly, the knowledge that he can and will succeed--in school, and I believe, elsewhere in life.



Posted by Samantha R. Vamos, author of The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred.