Good Question, kiddo...

Maggie | 2010 | Knoxville, TN

That's Maggie ... a friend's daughter. I took her picture a couple of years ago, and always thought it looks like she's doing the robot. Haha. She has nothing to do with this post really, other than she is a cute kiddo.

I went to a friend's classroom this week to show her students how books are made. I did this a few years ago, but back then I was showing them slides of bears and tigers, and it seemed so much more exciting. The thought of telling a bunch of 4 and 5 year-olds about my job designing books was a bit terrifying to be quite honest. Once I got in the room, however, I remembered what it's like to hang out with 4 and 5 year olds. They are interested in ANYTHING someone new has to say, and they are at a stage of intense curiosity and brutal honesty. I don't get to spend much time around kids, and it was a great reminder that they aren't as intimidating as they seem. They are just mini-people, but maybe less tainted and actually more interesting in the end. Definitely more honest and spontaneous.

At the end of me showing them a torn-apart book (so they could see how they are made), and explaining a few different kinds of books, it was question time. "How many words are in those books?", "Do you make picture books too?", etc ... etc ... but then, a little girl in the front row asked the best work-related question I've been asked in a long while.

"Why did you choose to make books for a living?"

Good one. I've been thinking on how to answer that question all week, and I've been thankful my friend Lisa asks her friends to be involved with her kids every year. It was a refreshing visit, and provided a bit of inspiration, as well as making me laugh a little.