Fleming, Rohmann to give keynote address at One Book Two Book

Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann know a thing or two about children's literature.

Between the two of them, they have written or illustrated several dozen books, making them ideal candidates for the keynote address at next weekend's One Book Two Book festival celebrating writing for and by kids.

Calling from their home in suburban Chicago, the duo said they are very excited about spending the weekend at One Book Two Book.

'I love Iowa City,' Fleming said. 'And I am excited to share with kids this sense that we are all writers and illustrators.'

Rohmann agreed. 'Being a part of something like this transports you back. We were all there. I remember being a kid and having people in my tiny world recognize what I did with my drawing and writing. That propelled me forward and it verified that what I was doing had value.'

These days, plenty of kids and adults alike are finding value in Rohmann's and Fleming's work.

Rohmann won the Caldecott Medal for 'My Friend Rabbit,' and a Caldecott Honor for 'Time Flies.' He also is the author and illustrator of 'Clara and Asha,' 'A Kitten Tale,' and 'The Cinder-Eyed Cats,' among other books for children. He has illustrated many other books by other authors as well.

Fleming is the acclaimed author of more than 20 books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize honored 'The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Imperial Russia'; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning biography, 'The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary'; the best-selling picture book, 'Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!'; and the beloved 'Boxes for Katje.' Her versatile work spans fiction and non-fiction writing for preschoolers through young adults.

'We will probably talk about this in the afternoon panel, but I like to break the mold,' said Fleming, noting that her work runs the gamut of children's literature. 'I obviously don't believe that you have to find one niche and keep doing it. I have a lot of interests and ideas and I like to write for a lot of different ages. I can't possibly imagine limiting myself in that way. I sit down in my office and think what do I feel like writing today and who do I feel like writing for. I am lucky because I have editors who encourage me to do that.'

Those listening to the kid lit stars' keynote at 10:30 a.m. Saturday will be lucky as well.

'We always want to entertain them,' Fleming said. 'For me the message is always, isn't this really great, a wonderful thing to do. Look at us ... we are old people and we are really enthusiastic about writing about rabbits and squirrels. My goal here is just to get people fired up about using their imagination, fired up about being creative, and writing and drawing.'

Rohmann agreed, 'You can have done this work and be of a certain age and still find delight in it. If we can let them know that what we do is fun, difficult of course, and troublesome and challenging ...'

'And satisfying and joyful,' Fleming added.

'Yes, all of those things,' Rohmann said. 'We want to show them that it's a full life and that what you do should be worthy to you.'

'We can also show them the process,' he added. 'The kids can see that most of the time we produce crap, but from that crap comes a very few little bits that add up to something worth reading or looking at.'

Fleming and Rohmann have collaborated on four books — starting with 'Oh No!', followed by 'Bulldozer's Big Day' and two books soon to be released — and said the process of inspiration is different every time.

'There is no set way to do it when we work together,' Rohmann said. 'It all depends on the initial genesis of the idea. We toss things out, try things, until we hit upon something that works.'

'I have a lot of really great ideas and a lot of them don't materialize into anything,' Fleming said. 'I always say that I am not a good writer but I'm a really good rewriter.'

'And I'll piggyback off that and say I am not as much a creator as I am a discoverer,' Rohmann said. 'It's through the work and through digging it all up that you find yourself a couple of nuggets. I wish I had known that as a kid. I used to think that artists and writers were born with something I didn't have. That's hogwash. It's work. It's paying attention. It's reading. It's drawing. That's how you get better at it.'

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