I AM OKLAHOMA – Jane McKellips – Interviews with Authors Behind the Series

I am honored to be hosting five delightful and talented fellow OK SCBWI writers this week in anticipation of their fantastic new series for children, which debuts October 6th. It’s called I AM OKLAHOMA Children’s Series, and each book is a biography about an important Oklahoman who helped make this state great.

 

Today, I am interviewing the second author, Jane McKellips. She is the author of BILL WALLACE: Author of Adventure and Animal Stories, a biography about Oklahoma native and children’s book author, Bill Wallace. This is her first published book. Her second, DUST STORM, will be released in early 2016.

 

The Interview

 

Valerie Lawson: Welcome to the blog, Jane.

Jane McKellips: Thanks for asking to interview me about my book. It was a pleasure to meet Bill Wallace and to write this book about him. His children’s books are known all over this country and some have even been translated into Korean and Danish.

VL: You were involved with this project from its inception, what did you think when Darleen Bailey Beard brought this idea to you? Did you ever think it would become a reality?

JM: When Darleen first told me about the need for biographies of Oklahomans on a 3rd to 4th grade readability level, I thought it was a great idea for us to write them. I’d been a freelance writer for educational publishers for over 30 years and believed we could not only write text on that level, but make it interesting for that age group.

My only hesitation was in wondering what publisher would want to publish books only about Oklahomans. When we discovered Oklahoma Heritage Association Publishing, the publishing arm of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, was interested, it seemed like a match made in heaven!

VL: That was amazing! We need more stories like these in publishing!

How did you choose your book’s subject? JM: I chose the Chickasha, Oklahoma, children’s author Bill Wallace as the subject of my biography. I’d been a fan of his for a long time. I remember when his first published book, A Dog Called Kitty, was published. I enjoyed reading it, and knew many young students at that time who also loved the book. I was particularly interested in learning more about his writing career and believed students would, too.

VL: What was most surprising to you when you learned about Bill Wallace’s life?

JM: The most surprising thing I found out about Bill’s life was his reluctance to read when he was young. He said that he was a daydreamer in elementary school. His second-grade teacher thought he couldn’t read well, but an adult friend of the family brought him a book about reptiles. When Bill read the name of one of the reptiles in the book, the friend realized he could, indeed, read. He just needed to read books about things that interested him. Then, after he finished college, when he began teaching fourth graders, he realized there weren’t many books about adventures, a subject his fourth graders loved. He began writing adventure books so his students could enjoy reading the way he himself enjoyed it as a young student. And most of his adventure books also had animals in them.

VL: Yes! It’s all about engagement. Love that he did this for kids.

What made him a great Oklahoman?

JM: I believe it was his genuine love of his students and for students everywhere that made him a great Oklahoman. He saw a need for children’s adventure books and fulfilled that need. After he quit public school life, he not only continued to write children’s books, but also traveled all over the United States, speaking at schools and conferences. He made a huge impact on students when they heard him speak. For many, it was the first time they had heard of an adult who didn’t like to read as a young child. He was someone students could identify with and from him could learn how to better enjoy reading.

VL: This is your first published book, what’s next for you?

JM: My chapter book about Bill Wallace is my first published book, but I also have another book due to be released in early 2016. It’s an historical fiction picture book titled Dust Storm. Many of my ancestors lived in rural Oklahoma during the dust bowl era. One of them was a great aunt named Clara who, as a young child, had suffered from polio. It left her crippled and in need of braces and crutches for the rest of her life.

The main character in Dust Storm is Clara, an eleven-year-old girl who is loosely based on my great aunt. When most of the character’s family goes to a nearby town to shop, a ferocious dust storm strikes her farm. Clara works hard to save her little brother, the farm animals, and herself. I’ve always wanted to honor my great aunt and others in my family who were handicapped and had to struggle in life. I hope readers can feel my main character’s struggle and determination in Dust Storm. I so enjoyed writing Bill Wallace: Author of Adventure and Animal Stories and Dust Storm that I’ve already started researching facts about my next book about past Oklahoma life. I don’t want to give away the subject matter yet, but hopefully I’ll be ready to talk about it in 2016.

VL: Both books sounds fantastic, and I can’t wait to read them. Thank you so much for joining us, today. I wish you success with the new books!

JM: Thanks so much for interviewing me, Valerie! I enjoyed it.

 

Tomorrow, we’ll talk with another author from this series, Pati Hailey.