You know I think we had a great connection right away, notwithstanding the fish. Once we recovered from the lunch. I think we have just a really good chemistry, you know my first go to is always funny and I think Henry’s is too. And also a certain kind of funny, you know a funny that has heart and empathy. I think our values collide in a really wonderful way.
You know our feelings about how people should be in the world, about kindness, about friendship. I think that those are, those values are at the core of what we write. So even though we’re writing something that might be slapstick or wildly funny, at the heart of it, it’s about kids being friends and being kind to each other and accepting differences.
Right, well the new book is not only the importance of culture and art and the sound of music and light in your life, but also don’t judge a book by its cover. You don’t know who’s inside. And it seems, one thing I know, there are sections of books that when I read them out loud at a school or wherever it is, I still get teary.
And children say to us how did you know me so well? And I’m telling you, I don’t know how we do that, we just write what you know, what you’re feeling and if you’re authentic it’s like an arrow right into a child’s heart.
I don’t think either one of us ever thinks oh kids will like this, I think if it… we laugh in the room. And if we’re not laughing, it doesn’t go in.
Right.
And if we’re laughing we say that’s funny, it’s going to be, the same thing is funny to a nine year old is funny to us.
Right, except nine year olds do love the word diarrhea, don’t know why, it’s true.
I’ve seen you laugh at the word diarrhea.
I have laughed at diarrhea. Yeah.