Synopses & Reviews
Here Gloria Whelan talks about her favorite childhood books; how she came to be an author; and what type of research she does for her books.
Q: How did you discover reading as a child? What were your favorite books?
A: When I was nine years old I had rheumatic heart disease. At that time the only cure was bed rest. I was put to bed for a whole year! My only escape was books. It was during the depression, so books were not very plentiful. That meant reading each book several times. I read each book over and over. My favorite book was Little Women. Of course Jo was a great role model for someone who wanted to be a writer, but Little Women was also a textbook for learning right from wrong. You found yourself asking, "What would Marmee say to that?" I still like books that explore ethical and moral decisions. I think those decisions are the most interesting and important ones we make.
Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? How did you make the leap into becoming a full-time writer?
A: I began writing short stories and poetry for adults and some of my work was published in literary quarterlies, but it wasn't until we moved from the city to the woods of northern Michigan that I had the time to write novels. Shortly after we moved north, with the idea of finding peace and quiet and enjoying the wilderness, someone knocked on our door to inform us they would be drilling for oil on our property. We didn't have the mineral rights so we had nothing to say. That experience led to my first novel for young readers, which is about a boy who works on an oil rig.
Q: How has life changed for you since winning the National Book Award for Homeless Bird?
A: My life hasbeen ten times busier than it had ever been before because in addition to all the exciting things that have been going on this year, I still want to spend a lot of time writing. If I'm not writing I'm very cross and hard to live with.
Q: The setting for Angel on the Square, Tsarist Russia in the early 1900s, is worlds away from your American-based historical novels. What led you to this setting and, in particular, this volatile time period?
A: When I was a student at the University of Michigan I took several semesters of Russian language. I had two professors, one who was sympathetic to the Communist regime and another whose husband and son were killed by the Communists. I wanted to look at the Russian Revolution from both of their points of view. And of course the Russian Revolution was a turning point in the history of the twentieth century. We should never forget it.
Q: Are there other periods in history that tempt your storytelling tendencies?
A: Detroit is celebrating its three hundredth anniversary this year. As a native Detroiter, I'm fascinated with the city's French beginnings.
Q: How much research goes into your novels, and how do you go about it?
A: For books like Homeless Bird and Angel on the Square, months and months of research. I wanted to feel as if I could walk around in those countries and feel at home. I start with basic things like "The National Geographic" and the EncyclopÆ dia Britannica, but I am soon reading memoirs and novels and studying maps and bird books and cookbooks.
Synopsis
Miranda and her mama have always agreed about everything. So when Mama is offered a job with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show painting scenery, she and Miranda certainly agree that it is time to get out of Fort Lincoln, where they've been doing soldiers' laundry for as long as Miranda can remember.
But while Miranda blossoms on the road--meeting Annie Oakley, making friends with an Indian girl, and even participating in the show herself--Mama stews in her hatred of the Indians; she blames them all for her husband's death. And when Chief Sitting Bull joins the troupe, Miranda begins to see that there are two sides to every battle, a vision Mama won't share.
Gloria Whelan combines expert storytelling and meticulous historical detail to create a provocative tale that shimmers with remarkable insight into the heart of American history.
Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council
About the Author
Gloria Whelan is a distinguished poet and award-winning author. She has written many books for young readers, including
Homeless Bird, winner of the National Book Award;
Angel on the Square; Return To the Island; Once on this Island, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award;
Farewell To the Island; Miranda's Last Stand; and
The Indian School Ms. Whelan lives with her husband, Joseph, in the woods of northern Michigan.