Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Bennett.
Hi Kelly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My love of writing can be traced back to when I was two-ish and scribbled what I’m sure was a very important message all over the neighbor’s car. (And, of course, blamed my older brother for it.) Seriously though, I have always been a writer. In school, whenever a teacher gave one of those multiple-option “write, draw or make something” assignments, I always chose option #1 Write. Which is sort of ironic in that I am also a lefty and, as lefties often do, have the worst handwriting.
I’m originally from California, fourth generation, born in Santa Cruz, with saltwater in my ears and the sailor shanties humming through my veins. The youngest child of a young, twice-divorced mother in a time when women “stuck it out” and children, especially girls, were to be seen or heard only on special occasions. Sloppy as my handwriting was, I learned early that it was better to write my feelings than to speak them. A practice I believe that led me to become a writer. My early years were ragged. I never knew my father. My mom remarried badly. And on my stepfather’s whim, we moved often. My brother and I attended five grammar schools before I was ten, and mom finally stepped up for herself and us and sought counselling and a divorce. Even after counseling, mom sought out and lived a soap opera life. I mentioned this because no matter what one makes of oneself later, those first years are formative. From my mother I learned the importance of education. And to seek help when needed–professional and otherwise. I learned what kind of person, mother, neighbor I did not and did want to be. I also learned that we are, all of us tough, strong, and resilient. That’s why I write for children now. My goal is to create books children find entertaining, so they will want to read and keep reading, and at the same time, offer children hope.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road? What’s that? How boring would it be if life were one, long, straight smooth road? I read once that writing was a privilege of the privileged, and it’s true. Writing and revising takes time. What most people don’t know is that most writers, especially in the early years of one’s career, don’t get paid until their book is accepted for publication. So essentially writers put in countless hours writing—working—for free. Most authors I know, writing for children and adults, either maintain a day job and write on the side, or supplement their writing income by teaching, coaching and speaking. Frankly, the biggest struggle is how to stay inspired and motivated to do the creative work—and carve out time for yourself and your art—when “real life” demands are pressing. Community is all important. Participating in critique groups, attending writing workshops, sharing the journey with other writers—learning, growing, sharing the journey is inspiring and motivating.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write books for children to share with the adults in their lives. But mostly, primarily, most importantly, for children. Not to teach them or show them or guide them, but to make them laugh and wonder, imagine, and hope. My first and foremost goal is to entertain. I write because I want children to read, and keep reading, and like to read. You’re reading this, so already you are heads-and tails above so many others in this country. I looked it up (because I can): Approximately 32 million adults in America are considered to be illiterate; about 14% of the entire adult population cannot read. I want to change that. I write books the kid I was wanted to read; books celebrating family, friends, pets, dancing, sports, pets–all that goes into being a kid!
My award-winning picture books include NOT NORMAN, A GOLDFISH STORY, which I’m thrilled to say was a Jumpstart “Read for the Record” book shared by more than 3 million people around the world on one magical October day, and its companion NORMAN ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH; DAD AND POP, an ode to fathers and stepfathers; VAMPIRE BABY about a biting baby sister; YOUR DADDY WAS JUST LIKE YOU and YOUR MOMMY WAS JUST LIKE YOU; DANCE Y’ALL DANCE about one two-steppin’ night in a Texas Dance Hall, and ONE DAY I WENT RAMBLING about the power of imaginative play.
What makes me proud? Seeing kids hugging my books like their favorite stuffie (or device) and watching them slide their fingers along the page beneath words I wrote. And I puff up with pride when I hear those magic words, “read it again!”
Currently, I’m strutting around prouder than a peacock because it’s baseball season, and my new picture book, THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT, illustrated by Susanna Covelli (published by Familus), is out in the world. I wrote that I don’t write to teach, and I don’t. But I do love to share. THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT is an historical non-fiction picture book celebrating baseball, Babe Ruth & Yankee Stadium, the biggest, tallest, grandest stadium of its time. With true-to-event illustrations reminiscent of Norman Rockwell, and facts on every page about the stadium, the teams, and baseball, it recreates the excitement—on and off the field—of that 1923 opening day game in Yankee Stadium. Prior to the game, legendary slugger Babe Ruth said he’d “give a year of his life to hit a homer” that day. In the bottom of the third inning, two on, two out, the big question was: Could the Babe come through?
This truly is a heart book. It’s dedicated to my grandfather, Joe Silva, who was a semi-pro catcher the same time Babe Ruth was playing. And we are a baseball-playing family. My son, Max, and daughter, Lexi, played baseball, and now the four grands are playing baseball.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Hope. Hope is what keeps us all striving for more. Hope is what makes us want to be better. Hope for our children. Hope for the future. Hope.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kellybennett.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellybennettbooks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellybennettbooks/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kgbennettbooks
- Other: Pinterest @notnorman
Image Credits
Elizabeth Stacy
