Wednesday, May 22, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
19
KIDS IN PRINT
Sponsored by Kid Made Camp | A service of The Nugget Newspaper
Drawing and writing books with Charise Mericle Harper
By The Kid Made Crew
Charise Mericle Harper has
created over 50 books for chil-
dren. That’s a whole lot of
books! She came to Sisters
Elementary School, thanks to
The Roundhouse Foundation.
At an assembly, she talked
about creativity, books and
pets, among other things. Then
Charise taught workshops where
Sisters students could learn from
her experience. Her advice was
practical, such as, “You have to
make rules for your characters.
Otherwise your story won’t make
sense.”
Charise has authored many
series of books and graphic nov-
els, like “Just Grace,” “Fashion
Kitty,” “Next Best Junior Chef,”
“Sasquatch and Aliens,” and
“Crafty Cat.”
She is a mom, too. She lives
with her family in Milwaukie,
Oregon.
The author was interviewed
by Kid Made Camp students
Kennedy Davis, Evelyn Berray,
and Gusty Berger-Brown, along
with their journalism teacher, T.
Lee Brown. The interview has
been edited for space and clarity.
Kennedy: First, what kind of
books do you like to write?
Cherise Mericle Harper
(CMH): I write picture books,
which I find harder because
I’m very chatty. My favor-
ite thing to do is comics,
like graphic novels. But I
do chapter books, too,
and that’s fun.
Kennedy: What
do you like to read?
CMH: Actually, I
like to read a lot of
nonfiction: sciencey
stuff I find really
interesting. I also lis-
ten to a lot of books
on tape, because when I walk
my dogs it’s a good way to lis-
ten to stories. When I’m reading
something for fun, I want it to be
something that takes me away,
like an adventure story.
Gusty: Where do you do your
work?
CMH: I have an outdoor stu-
dio called The Noodle, and it’s a
converted food truck. That’s my
own studio that no one else can
go to, which is nice. Sometimes I
work in the house, at the kitchen
table, too.
Evelyn: How do your cats help
you work?
CMH: You know what, that’s a
perfect question. I’ll tell you why:
the next book I’m writing is about
my dogs and one of my cats. It’s
called “Pepper and Boo,” which
are the names of the dogs. In the
story, the cat is super-smart and
the dogs always get confused.
The super-smart cat kind of
ignores the dogs, and the dogs
make up giant scenarios about
the cat.
The dogs are like, “What does
it mean when the cat sleeps on
my bed? Does it mean it’s mad at
me?” The cat’s just like, “No, it just
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK/OUTLAWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Graphic novelist, illustrator, and writer Charise Mericle Harper (right)
was interviewed by Sisters kids on the elementary school lawn.
parents were upset that I couldn’t
spell very well and felt that I
wasn’t trying hard enough. I think
if I was tested today they would
say I was slightly dyslexic.
As for being an artist—my par-
ents weren’t that interested. Both
my parents came from Europe
and they’d never gone to college,
so they wanted me to go to col-
lege and get a business degree.
Now I think my parents think it’s
kind of cool that I get to do this.
Kennedy: Do you have any
advice for people who want to
become authors?
CMH: II would say read as
much as you can, and read as
many kinds of books as you can,
because then you will see how
other people write stories, and
your brain will take all that infor-
mation, and it will help you figure
out what is it you want to do.
Sometimes you can be
inspired by seeing another book
that somebody wrote in a cer-
tain way, not that you’re going to
copy it.
Gusty: There’s only one more
question. [Jumps up and yells
happily] How do you write such
awesome books?
CMH: Thank you! I don’t know.
I guess I just keep going.
means it’s the best bed.”
[Everyone giggles.] So I’m really
excited to write those books. It’s
going to be fun.
Gusty: What book are you
most proud of?
CMH: Ummm, I’m really
excited about “Bad Sister,” which
is the graphic novel about all the
bad things I did to my brother
growing up. I’ve never done an
autobiographical story before,
and I really enjoyed working on
that. It’s not out yet.
Gusty: What’s the most
famous of your books?
CMH: Probably the Just Grace
series, because it’s been all over
the world, in different countries,
different languages. Also, the
been out for a long time,
book’s b
so it’s had a chance to travel
the world. I wish I could
travel to all the places the
tr
book went.
T: D i d yo u g et
encouragement from
teachers or family to
pursue becoming a
graphic novelist and
author?
CMH: Not so
much. In school they
said that I was a good
writer, but mostly my
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK/OUTLAWS PHOTOGRAPHY
WORDFIND!
Kids in Print Mission: Kids are the readers, writ-
ers, and leaders of tomorrow. We’re passionate
about getting them involved with print media — as
both creators and readers. Expressing themselves
in their local newspaper empowers children and
teens, and connects them with their community.
Through educational events with our sponsor, Kid
Made Camp, the youth of Sisters Country learn
hands-on artistic, literary, and critical-thinking
skills.
T. Lee Brown, Kids in Print Page Editor
kidsinprint@nuggetnews.com
Jess Draper, Kids in Print Designer
jess@nuggetnews.com
Contributors: The Kid Made Crew, this month
featuring Evelyn Berray, Gusty Berger-Brown,
T. Lee Brown, and Kennedy Davis. Additional
contributions from Lucie W., Ronin, and the
Deschutes Land Trust hikers.
Want to join the crew?
Contact t@kidmadecamp.com.
Submit to Kids in Print: Bring your original illustrations, paintings, stories, and poems on down to The
Nugget! (442 E. Main Ave., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.) Include child’s name, grade level, and
school or homeschool. You can use a full name, or just first name with last initial. Submissions are also
accepted by email, kidsinprint@nuggetnews.com, or at the front office of Sisters Elementary School.
Please put them in a clearly marked envelope or clip on a cover sheet reading: “The Nugget - Kids in Print.”
Due to space limitations, publication of submissions is not guaranteed. We seek to showcase a wide range of ages, styles, and
abilities that represent the diverse talents of the youth of our greater Sisters community.
Privacy Statement: The Nugget Newspaper LLC does not ask children to disclose more personal information than is necessary for them to participate in Kids in Print. The
Nugget limits its collection of information from children to non-personally identifiable information (e.g. first name, last initial, age, school).
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