Rebecca Stead
Rebecca Stead
Rebecca Steadis an American writer of fiction for children and teens. She won the American Newbery Medal in 2010, the oldest award in children's literature, for her second novel When You Reach Me...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionChildren's Author
Date of Birth16 January 1968
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
book felt inspired loved sort trying
I think that my first book - I was trying to write the kind of book I would have loved as a kid. So it's sort of, like, a book inspired by my childhood reading and the passion that I felt about reading when I was a kid.
relaxed trying
On Sunday, I think the most important thing for me is to just turn my brain off. The idea of not trying is the key, because that's where you're relaxed enough to let your brain make new connections.
trying facts remember
Trying to forget really doesn't work. In fact, it's pretty much the same as remembering. But I tried to forget anyway, and to ignore the fact that I was remembering you all the time.
I think of 'Liar & Spy' as completely different and actually not at all like a 'When You Reach Me'-type story. I feel like 'Liar & Spy' has a much quieter, more emotional revelation.
allowed bit
I think things hit me very hard, and I wish I had allowed things to roll off my back a little bit more.
books help learning noticing reactions teach
I think that's one of the most important things that books do: not to teach you anything, but to help you teach yourself by just being in the world of the book and having your own thoughts and reactions and noticing your own reactions and thoughts and learning about yourself that way.
kids
I think that kids are a wonderful, wonderful reader to have in your head.
earrings hanging homemade lovely wall
I would never look a gift horse in the mouth. I've had some lovely homemade earrings and, recently, a wall hanging made in the style of Georges Seurat.
avoid books tend
My books tend to have a lot of questions in them, and they tend to avoid black and white, for lack of a better metaphor.
mostly prefer telling
Mostly what I try to do is build emotion. Only I'd prefer not to do it by telling you about emotion but by pushing that emotion down.
change good kids shorthand time
'Middle school' is used as shorthand for a time when things change. It's a time a lot of kids feel like they don't even have one good friend.
people
I think we must all feel that there are people out there who know things about our young selves, you know, our early, early lives, that no one else can ever know.
dad feeling grew mostly second time
I grew up mostly an only child. My dad remarried when I was a teenager. And then I had two stepbrothers. And then my dad had a second child. So I have a brother from the time I was 15. But I really grew up feeling like an only child.
allowed freedom kids life
We're allowed as adults to create a life that we like. Kids don't have that freedom.