Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz & Dan Santat
I'm kicking off the sixth week of summer break with author Corey Rosen Schwartz. We chatted about ninjas, Dan Santat, fractured fairy tales, school libraries, and chickens. I wrote the words in red, and she wrote the words in black. Thank you, Corey!
Ninja Red Riding
Hood is a companion to The Three
Ninja Pigs, a tale of perseverance, practice, patience, and pork chops!
Dan Santat and I are total opposites. Dan is a super-human machine who can
illustrate 12 books in a week and survive on 20 minutes a night of sleep. I am like the MC in the Easter Cat requiring
a daily minimum of seven naps.
I think fractured fairy tales are fantastic mentor texts. It can be very daunting
to try to create an entire story from scratch.
By taking an existing tale with established characters, plot, etc. and
just fracturing one element, the task becomes manageable. Long before I ever heard the term “fractured
fairy tales,” I was writing my own versions of popular books. In second grade I wrote Curious George and
Cat in the Hat sequels. I needed a formula
to follow. Fairy tales are perfect for providing that framework.
School libraries are better than candy stores. Lots of incredibly scrumptious choices and you
don’t even need money!
The best thing about being a writer is that I get to
read all day and call it work! In fact, sometimes I am having so much fun
‘working” that I even skip a nap.
Mr. Schu, you should have asked me if
there are any other Ninja fairy tales in the works. Not saying for sure, but if there were, they
would involve chickens.
I am giving away a copy of Ninja Red Riding Hood.
Rules for the Giveaway
1. It will run from 7/14 to 11:59 p.m. on 7/16.
2. You must be at least 13.
3. If you win, please pay it forward.
Borrow Ninja Red Riding Hood from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.
Great interview! Love the part about the framework that a fairy tale provides. I find building frameworks/plots the hardest part of writing good stories. Congrats again on the release of Ninja Red!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving this! I'm seeing Corey and Dan all over the place lately. How fun! Maybe two opposite working processes, but BOTH are outstanding talents :) And I have to tell you, Corey, the thought of Ninja Chickens is inherently funny. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI'm also TOTALLY in for the giveaway since, at the conference, I didn't know which of the DOZENS of books to buy! If I win, I want to remember to bring it to an event to get it signed. SO happy to see you here on one of my FAvorite blogs :D
I saw this book posted on FB and fell in love with the cover! I'd love to read the series. Thanks for the post and the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI love Corey's stories! Great interview.
ReplyDeleteLove fractured fairy tales! Hope to read yours soon. Copies are always checked out at our library.
ReplyDeleteYay! My copy just arrived and I've already read it twice. Great job, Corey. Love the humor and the wordplay. Fun interview, Mr. Schu.
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