Interview with Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer

The DMS was lucky enough to interview Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer. Fairday reviewed their unique children's picture book Fartiste, and it was great to share our thoughts about it and hear yours! We're excited to learn a little more about their story. So, without further ado... take it away, Kathleen and Paul!

What inspired you to write Fartiste?

It was all Paul's idea. Paul is attracted to extremes in information and found out about Joseph Pujol (Fartiste’s real name) in an obscure book about bodily functions. We keep a library of such books in one of our bathrooms, so obviously I’m on board with weird information too, and it didn’t take much to persuade me that his story could make a unique children’s book with no competition.

How long did it take you to write Fartiste?  What was your research process like? You wrote the book together, how did that work?

It took several months. We digested the only biography of Pujol, decided to write the book in rhyme, passed the manuscript back-and-forth between us, wrote many, many drafts, and had a blast.

What are some of your favorite books from childhood? Were there any specific authors who inspired you?

Around the house we had lots of Little Golden Books and inexpensive editions of classics. The first book I can remember reading is Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child’s Garden of Verses, illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen. Favorites included historical fiction (Laura Ingalls Wilder; Elizabeth Speare’s Calico Captive or The Witch of Blackbird Pond), biography (the Landmark Book series on people like Helen Keller, Elizabeth Blackwell, Susan B. Anthony; anything on queens), mysteries (the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton was thrilling), great fiction (Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins, Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy, Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking). Above all, fantasy-- especially Edward Eager’s and Carol Kendall’s magical books.

How do you decided which biography you will write next?  Sometimes you work together and sometimes you work on different projects, how do you decide which projects will be written together?

I write about the person I am most passionate about at the time. Paul and I work together on our humorous books. He writes and illustrates his own joke books, so he’s the humor expert.  He did the research for Fartiste, Lincoln Tells a Joke, and The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny), and our upcoming book I can’t talk about yet.

If you could befriend a person from any of your books, who would you befriend? Why?

Paul says Joseph Pujol.  Me not so much—more like one of the people in Lives of the Musicians or Lives of the Writers.

I know Kathleen likes to write in her office, possibly with a face mask on.  Kathleen- Do you listen to music while you are writing?  Paul- Where do you like to write or illustrate? Do you have any special conditions for writing/illustrating?

Paul works in an office right next to mine. We can hear each other laughing throughout the day. We listen to a huge array of music, often from eclectic radio stations like FIP (in Paris) and KCRW (Santa Monica) or enormous playlists on Pandora and Rhapsody.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?

We both vote for San Diego—we love it here.  But if we were independently wealthy, we'd divide our time between here, Paris, and New York—all stimulating places.

Are you currently working on a book? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?

We have collaborated on two books for the Heinemann Leveled Literacy Intervention series – Robots in Space and The Theremin: Play, But Don't Touch.  And we're working on a new funny biography that we can't QUITE talk about yet—stay tuned.

Where can we purchase your books?

At a terrific independent bookstore like The Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot. Fartiste makes an unusual holiday gift!

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