Our author of the month, Florence Parry Heide, is also known as "Kenosha's most famous resident." The city even celebrated "Florence Parry Heide Day," last year, decorating with downtown shop windows in her honor and planting the Florence Parry Heide Children's Garden.
Born in Pittsburgh on February 27, 1919, Florence Parry Heide moved to Kenosha as an adult, with her husband. A mother of five children, she began her career as a children's author in the 1960s. She has since published more than 100 books for children -- from picture books to young adult novels to poetry collections. Here, in this interview with Random House publishing, she talks more about her hobbies and life:
From time to time over the years, questions have frequently been asked of me–questions for which I have no ready answers: What is your hobby? What are you going to be when you grow up?
What indeed was my hobby?
I couldn't count reading–everybody reads. And since I was very disinterested in and pitifully inept at all the things that constituted homemaking (cooking, baking, sewing, all those things) I couldn't count that.
Well, what about my having those five wonderful children? But they weren't a hobby. They were just a never-ending source of wonder and joy. Hobbies would have to wait until everything settled down a little. In the meantime, wasn't life absolutely wonderful?
Well, then! The children were off to school, and I found I had some free hours. Now I could take time to find a hobby–but what could it be?
What about this? I decided to write marvelous lyrics for a friend's marvelous music, songs that I hoped one day would be played, heard, and celebrated by countless thousands. We wrote and wrote, we tried and tried. Frank Sinatra wouldn't even look at them. Finally we had to put the songs on hold. (But wait, you'll be singing them one of these days, you'll see!)
So now what for a hobby?
What about this? Children's books! I started to write children's books, and for a long time, my new hobby was collecting rejections.
Until one shining day, a manuscript that had been rejected sixteen (!) times was indeed accepted and, since that first book, many books of mine have been published. The most recent one is The One and Only Marigold. Do read it–read them all! That could be your new hobby, and it would make me feel popular.
Back to those questions: My present hobby? . . . Admiring life.
As for that other question: what do I want to be when I grow up? . . . So many choices! Can I get back to you on that?
Ms. Heide's available selections at the RMS Bookstore include:
Princess Hyacinth (The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated): (DEAL OF THE MONTH: $8.00) Princess Hyacinth has a problem: she floats. And so the king and queen have pebbles sewn into the tops of her socks, and force her to wear a crown encrusted with the heaviest jewels in the kingdom to keep her earthbound. But one day, Hyacinth comes across a balloon man and decides to take off all her princess clothes, grab a balloon, and float free.
That's What Friends Are For: Theodore the elephant has hurt his leg and can't meet his cousin at the end of the forest. Of course, all the other animals are more than willing to give him advice. After all, that's what friends are for -- isn't it?
A Promise is a Promise : George is a very lucky boy. He has everything a boy could want, except for one thing: he doesn’t have a pet.
The Shrinking of Treehorn: A boy discovers he is shrinking but doesn't know why ... and his parents aren't the least bit interested.
Sami and the Time of the Troubles: A ten-year-old Lebanese boy goes to school, helps his mother with chores, plays with his friends, and lives with his family in a basement shelter when bombings occur and fighting begins on his street.
The Day of Ahmed's Secret: A young Egyptian boy describes the city of Cairo as he goes about his daily work and waits for the evening to share a special surprise with his family.
The One and Only Marigold: A picture book about one clever, complicated—and hilarious—little girl. Follow Marigold as she buys a new coat (don’t worry, she still wears the old one to bed. She’s a very loyal person), plays a great trick (involving a Special Surprise Treasure Stand and worms), and much more. Along the way you'll meet Marigold’s best friend—her purple coat—and her next best friend—Maxine.