Can You Name This Children’s Book Author?

Here are a few questions about a well-known children’s book author.  Can you guess who it is?

1.  Most people called him Andy, though that wasn’t his real name.

2.  He was the youngest of six children.

3.  His favorite book was Thoreau’s Walden.

4.  As a young man, he sold roach powder, played the piano, and tried being a reporter.

5.  His best know expression was, “Keep it simple!”

6.  He was a hypochondriac.

7.  He had a fear of public speaking.

8.  He wasn’t afraid of spiders.  Once he let hundreds of them hatch and build webs on top of his dresser.

9.  Pigs fascinated him.

10. He wrote only three children’s books.

 

Do you know his name?

 

Scroll down to find the answer.

 

And the answer is…

 

E. B. White!

First Lines

First lines can tell a lot about a story – its tone, structure, mood, theme.  They can also tell a lot about the author – whether they favor the character or plot-driven, whether they lean toward brevity and sleekness in their writing or love descriptive phrases.

What should a first line do?  Many say that the first line of a novel should be evocative of the book to follow.  It should grab the reader and raise important, interesting questions.  Some say the first line should do all of these things and more, maybe even contain a one-word promise to the reader.

I’m looking at first lines from some of my completed novels/WIPs:

THE CHICKEN TREE (about a dorky kid who’s afraid of everything):  Two things happened on the morning of the first day of fifth grade, and both of them stunk.

POOF or HOW TO SCREW UP YOUR LIFE WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (about a smart girl trying to fit in):  Let’s get one thing straight:  I’m not into the normal high school stuff; I, Danni Aurora Stevens, have plans for the afterlife, after the mind-numbing, personality-stifling, pseudo-maturing high school experience. 

Untitled (about a sixteen-year-old boy who accidentally kills his father):  Today the world is alive.

And I’m wondering if they’re doing their job. 

What about you?  How are your first lines coming?   

 

The site below offers helpful information about first lines.  (It’s an older post but still contains some great information):

http://www.susantaylorbrown.com/firstlines.html

 

Check out this site to take a quiz on famous first lines from favorite children’s books:

http://kids.nypl.org/arts/ChildrensBookQuiz.cfm

How did you do?