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Remember Reading Podcast

Written by: HarperCollins Publishers
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  • Summary

  • A family podcast about classic children’s books and the impact they have on us long into adulthood. In each episode, we talk about one popular children's book from the past, uncovering the unique story behind the story. While sitting down with famous, award-winning authors, we investigate the timeless themes in kids’ books.
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Episodes
  • Harold and the Purple Crayon: Exploration and Play are Just a Stroke Away

    Harold and the Purple Crayon: Exploration and Play are Just a Stroke Away
    Mar 20 2024
    Harold and the Purple Crayon: Exploration and Play are Just a Stroke Away (ft. Chris Van Allsburg & Brian Pinkney) - Do you remember reading Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon? To his friends and family Crockett was Dave Leisk. You might know him best for the bold purple line that gives shape to the spare illustrations of Harold and Purple Crayon, published in 1955. In this episode, Chris Van Allsburg and Brian Pinkney reflect on the influence Harold and the Purple Crayon had on them, their work, and the value they believe it offers young readers. To learn more about Chris Van Allsburg’s, or Brian Pinkney’s books, visit https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=chris+van+allsburg https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=brian+pinkney Do you have a story about how a classic book changed your life? Tweet @readingpod or email us at readingpod@harpercollins.com. Learn more at rememberreading.com. And, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. [1:55] Does loving Harold and the Purple Crayon as a child guarantee future artistic talent? [5:47] Bad Day at Riverbend follows the style of a coloring book with a twist. [10:44] Similar to Brandon's blanket in Brian's book Brandon and the Baby, Harold's purple crayon conjures magic at every turn [14:17] Brian and Chris embrace play and experimentation in their creative process, albeit with distinct approaches. [18:36] Artists like Crockett Johnson have a long tradition of mentoring, motivating, and celebrating younger generations’ work. [23:57] Filmmakers have cracked the story and are bringing Harold and the Purple Crayon to the big screen. [26:53] Maurice Sendak, Brian, and Chris believe Harold and the Purple Crayon offers value to young readers. Continue Your Journey: Brian Pinkney HarperCollins Remember Reading Podcast @ReadingPod on Twitter Shareables: “The concept behind Harold and the Purple Crayon was so simple. Something so easily grasped by a child and yet so fruitful in terms of the kind of narrative opportunities. The story you can tell having embraced this simple, magical idea of a crayon that could be used to create the world that Harold moved through.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of Bad Day at Riverbend “The conclusion I came to, and it might overlap slightly with Harold, but it was the idea that in our lives that fate can be as fickle as a 6-year-old with a yellow crayon.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of Bad Day at Riverbend “You can create magic in any moment even when things seem like it’s perilous. You can still, you know, use your imagination to come up with a solution.” — Brian Pinkney, author and illustrator of Hey Otter! Hey Beaver! “Sometimes I'll paint things before I know what they're going to be and I don’t see it until it’s already painted and then I can make, you know, changes and that’s when the play begins.” — Brian Pinkney, author and illustrator of Hey Otter! Hey Beaver! “It was fascinating to see that the young artists were not only interested in how I taught them art but in me as a person and that I valued what they were making.” — Brian Pinkney, author and illustrator of Hey Otter! Hey Beaver! “I love it when books become movies because I love seeing how a different format and a different eye and different creative process will envision something.” — Brian Pinkney, author and illustrator of Hey Otter! Hey Beaver!
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    30 mins
  • The Polar Express: A Magical Ride of Belief and Reality (ft. Chris Van Allsburg & Leo Landry)

    The Polar Express: A Magical Ride of Belief and Reality (ft. Chris Van Allsburg & Leo Landry)
    Dec 15 2023
    Do you remember reading The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg? As its 40th anniversary approaches, the book is nothing short of a Christmas classic. Before winning the Caldecott Medal in 1986, before the animated movie, and the Polar Express train rides Chris Van Allsburg had already garnered quite a reputation. He’s the author and illustrator behind The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, Jumanji, Zathura, and many others. In this episode, Chris Van Allsburg and Leo Landry discuss the moody illustrations and profound coming-of-age story that has fascinated holiday readers year after year since 1985. To learn more about Chris Van Allsburg’s, or Leo Landry’s books, visit https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=chris+van+allsburg https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=leo+landry Do you have a story about how a classic book changed your life? Tweet @readingpod or email us at readingpod@harpercollins.com. Learn more at rememberreading.com. And, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. [1:59] The illustrations in The Polar Express were intentionally dark and moody to balance out the story’s Christmas cheer. [11:48] Chris says his books are about a rite of passage as much as they are about magic. [23:40] The Polar Express was Chris’ third book adapted into a feature film, but the first using motion-capture technology. [30:18] Reigniting Santa Claus’s Christmas spirit is a lesser-known backstory of The Polar Express. Continue Your Journey: Polar Express HarperCollins Remember Reading Podcast @ReadingPod on Twitter Shareables: “There are decisions that you make as an illustrator that are stylistic considerations that have to do with what you think the emotional tone of the book is. So there was some intention in using this deeper palette.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of The Polar Express “It's a coming-of-age story because there's a point in our lives where we must become rational human beings because it's very difficult to function as adults if you live in a world of make-believe.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of The Polar Express “This was the first, you know, ambitious use of motion capture and to see Tom Hanks climb out of a train and to see that this was not reality, but really close to it. I said this is great.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of The Polar Express “Like a lot of his [Chris Van Allburg] books, they have a little bit of tension in all of the artwork that is a little bit like you just don’t know what is going to happen when you turn the page. Even though it is seemingly like a nice Christmas story. ” — Leo Landry, author, illustrator, and bookseller “There was that annual anticipation of his [Chris Van Allburg] new book — and what would it be? His art just had a really different quality than a lot of illustration that was out there at that time. And that combined with a Christmas story, his unusual perspectives, his lighting in his artwork — the shadow and the light — every spread was just so beautifully composed.” — Leo Landry, author, illustrator, and bookseller “Sometimes I just wonder how can someone not already have this book, but then every year we sell another 25 +, 30‒40 copies. So that's really impressive to me because there are very few books where that happens, and this is definitely one of them.“ — Leo Landry, author, illustrator, and bookseller
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    36 mins
  • Grandfather’s Journey: 30th Anniversary of a Real-Life Folktale (ft. Allen Say & Melissa Iwai)

    Grandfather’s Journey: 30th Anniversary of a Real-Life Folktale (ft. Allen Say & Melissa Iwai)
    Dec 4 2023
    There are many ways that we build our histories. Certain particulars might be largely out of our power, our parentage, or parts of our personalities, but how we choose to remember our histories tends to create something real and true, however fictional, like an old folktale. Our histories, whether real or imagined, memory or fiction, give us a greater understanding of who we are and our place in the world. In this episode, Melissa Iwai joins Allen Say to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his classic, Grandfather’s Journey. In the last couple of decades, children's literature in the U.S. has become increasingly populated with diverse characters, authors, and illustrators. But 30 years ago, Allen was making diverse characters and stories when few authors and illustrators were. The broadened representation in children’s literature we see today is owed to artists like Allen and Melissa. To learn more about Allen Say’s, or Melissa Iwai’s books, visit https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=allen+say https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=melissa+iwai Do you have a story about how a classic book changed your life? Tweet @readingpod or email us at readingpod@harpercollins.com. Learn more at rememberreading.com. And, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. [1:26] Allen reflects on Grandfather’s Journey as a timeless, real-life story reminiscent of a folktale. [6:54] Allen’s sense of outsiderness is the thread that creates a deep connection for Melissa. [11:18] Melissa’s book, Gigi and Ojiji, was inspired by a childhood memory of a visit with her Japanese grandfather. [13:42] Allen shares his journey, as both author and artist. [25:38] Authors use illustrations for different purposes, as Melissa learned working on Marc Tyler Nobleman’s Thirty Minutes Over Oregon. [30:11] What the ending of Kozo the Sparrow means to Allen. [35:07] Allen shares his thoughts about memories and distinguishing fact from fiction. Continue Your Journey: Melissa Iwai HarperCollins Remember Reading Podcast @ReadingPod on Twitter Shareables: “I didn’t think that the book would sell at all when I was working on it. It was something I simply had to do. I had given up my long career, a 25-year career in photography and I just painted a picture. I realized that I'm really a painter, which I have been in denial of most of my adult, young-adult life because I got tired of poverty.” — Allen Say, author of Grandfather’s Journey “I thought I was following the old Japanese tradition of a young boy going out into the world looking for a master… but that's not what I was doing… I was actually trying to replace my father with a man that I could admire and love, and I was lucky.” — Allen Say, author of Grandfather’s Journey “Drawing it is a different thing. It’s coming straight out of your head, from your dream life. And, I find a story there.” — Allen Say, author of Grandfather’s Journey “I have a hard time distinguishing between fiction and real life, to begin with. As I always had difficulty distinguishing my dream life from waking life. I much rather prefer to be in the fantasy world, of course.“ — Allen Say, author of Grandfather’s Journey “Books were a refuge for me because I was shy and quiet and I loved to read. But even in my childhood books, I don’t remember having any books with Asian-American characters in them.” — Melissa Iwai, author of Gigi, and Ojiji “I was raised in just a small town where there weren't very many Asian Americans at the time and I just always felt like I stood out and I was different.” — Melissa Iwai, author of Gigi, and Ojiji “I think it's very important for kids to feel seen and I want to create the kind of books that I would have loved when I was a kid.”— Melissa Iwai, author of Gigi, and Ojiji
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    41 mins
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