SLJ Talks to Bluebonnet Award Winner Lucy Nolan

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Joan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 4/9/2008 2:10:00 PM

Children's author Lucy Nolan will be feted in Dallas on April 17 as winner of the Texas Library Association's 2008 Texas Bluebonnet Award for her book Down Girl and Sit: On the Road (Marshall Cavendish, 2004). Some 151,000 kids across Texas, in grades three to six, chose the winning title, which offers goofy tales about car trips to the beach, to the vet, and to a campsite—all told from a dog's point of view.

Why would a third-grade chapter book appeal to sixth graders? "It was a very funny book; it wasn't just read by third graders," responds Bluebonnet coordinator Beth Thames, a retired school librarian from Houston. To find out how Columbia, SC-based Nolan knows so much about what dogs think, SLJ asked her.

Is there a difference for you as a writer to have a contest judged by children rather than adults?
Ultimately that's who I'm writing for—for kids to read and enjoy a story. I enjoyed reading when I was younger. So it is exciting that they would choose it.

You got almost 13 percent of the vote; kids all the way up to sixth grade voted for Down Girl. What do you make of that?
I just think that kids love dogs. And I think everybody can relate to dogs. Dogs are happy-go-lucky in who they are; and everybody just loves a good dog.

Is there a special dog in your life?
I have two: Nutmeg is the Irish setter. And I've got Becky, an English setter and a hunting school dropout. Nutmeg is the one that actually inspired Down Girl. When she was young she had this habit of flying into the air for no good reason. You'd reach down to pet her and all of a sudden, wham! She was smacking you in the mouth! Watching her go through life, [you realize] she definitely has her own view of the world. She takes herself seriously out there in the yard. Her job is to get rid of the squirrels.

Point of view was important in this book; was there an earlier book that inspired you?
I don't think so. Nutmeg just had such a strong personality that the story needed to be told through the dog's eyes rather than someone watching the dog. As people we think their lives just aren't that exciting. As dogs, they would beg to differ with us.

In terms of teaching and reading—things librarians care about—what were you trying to accomplish with this book?
I was telling a story and trying to have fun with it. It was just seeing Nutmeg and how she takes herself seriously. I'm not sure I realized how smart dogs could be until she came along. She's very alert and always trying to get your attention. I can look at her and tell she's always thinking; with Becky I can look at her and never be sure if she's thinking or not!

Down Girl is a second- or third-grade book for kids who have left picture books behind and are starting chapter books. What's the challenge of writing for this age group?
I hope that I'm getting a little bit better at it. I know that with my first book, my editor said, "Voice is the most important thing; just go ahead and write it, and we'll worry about getting it age-appropriate as we go along editing." It's been in watching her make edits that I've started to pick up on how to gear it a little better as far as the words I'm choosing and the sentence structure. It's more of a backwards process. I write it first and then think of making it a little more readable for younger readers.

What did you think about winning the Bluebonnet?
I was absolutely stunned…I never expected this silly little book about dogs to actually win. I'm thrilled that it did.

Writing part-time [Nolan's day job is in software marketing], you've produced a middle school mystery, three children's picture books, and two Down Girl books; what's next?
Down Girl and Sit: Bad to the Bone. The dogs go to obedience school.