Theo: Just as in the sky at night, there are many stars that shine. A kid can stand out in many ways and feel happy all the time. Wow. Boy, Deborah. You’re a really good writer.
Deborah: Oh, thank you, Theo. That means a lot to me coming from a critic like you.
Theo: Yeah. Well, you know, writers are really important. Without them, readers would have nothing to read. And we wouldn’t have had anything to say today. Because a writer wrote what I just said. And what I just said now. And what you’re going to say next.
Deborah: Deep, Theo. Very deep.
Theo: Deborah Norville thinks I’m deep.
Deborah: William Joyce, the author of “George Shrinks” and “Rolly Polly Olly” says the best children’s books have a frisky, subversive intelligence. In Joyce’s words, anything can come alive, stuffed animals, toys, even forks and spoons.
William Joyce: I grew up in Louisiana. And it wasn’t exactly a hub for artistic endeavors. Luckily enough, I had some really great teachers that guided me and really just like said this kid loves what he’s doing. He loves to draw. He loves to make up stories. And that’s unusual. So let’s encourage it. Let’s not bury it. And if I hadn’t had those teachers doing that, I wouldn’t be doing this. My two like heroes of childhood, the two things that got me on the road of doing children’s books or stories, were “King Kong” and “Where the Wild Things Are.”
William: There’s so much of “George Shrinks” that evokes King Kong and even wild things. And I just took the idea that King Kong was too big for everything and reversed it. And put George in the land of giants. Which is basically what every kid goes through anyway. Towards the end, there’s an illustration where you can see a little stuffed King Kong doll in the background sitting next to a little Empire State Building. Rolly Polly Olly for me is like Leave it to Beaver with robots. I guess Rolly Polly Olly is a show entirely made up of wouldn’t it be cool if? Wouldn’t it be cool if your dad had a machine that could make things shrink and grow. And that you one day when you’re not supposed to make yourself really, really small.
William: Almost everything in the day with Will Robinson has some basis in truth. Yes, my sister did pay me to feed her grapes while she talked to her boyfriend on the phone. In the book, it is a frog with a turbine that’s feeding the sister grapes while she talks to her boyfriend on the phone. My grandfather had false teeth and a glass eye. I had an uncle who swore he was from outer space. And he was so convincing. Why would a grownup lie about that? My kids have been a constant source if not inspiration, co-conspirators in my work. They usually find out after the fact. Books not printed in the store. Oh, look. There’s me. They don’t seem to mind. I even put myself in there occasionally. Though, taller and, you know, with more hair.
