Enjoy the interview from scholastic.com with Mark Teague. Note: Highland Park students' questions appear in red:

Guest182>How did you come up with the idea for Dear Mrs. Larue?

SPEAKER_Mark>I really got inspired my own dog who is a pretty funny character.

SPEAKER_Mark>He was a good dog, but he was kind of sneaky.

SPEAKER_Mark>I was actually working on a story about summer camp and it didn't involve dogs at all, but I was playing with the idea of a boy writing letters home to his parents from camp. For some reason that

SPEAKER_Mark>got mixed up with the story of the dog, and that's when it became funny to me.

Guest182> I like the way you allow the reader to think about the moral choices in the story "Dear Mrs. LaRueLetters from Obedience School". Do you think, however, that this gives students the idea that there are certain occasions where it is okay to tell a lie?

SPEAKER_Mark>I certainly don't think that's the message, the whole thing is pretty light-hearted and it seemed true to the character of the dog. I had a dog, who was sneaky. The kind of personality where he would try to get away with things.

SPEAKER_Mark>My own dog was always motivated by food, he was always trying to snitch food whenever he could. I had the idea if he could talk to me, he would make up some pretty funny excuses for why he did that.

Guest182>Do you have a favorite illustration of Ike's antics in "Dear Mrs. LaRue"?

SPEAKER_Mark>I never really thought of that before. I don't think I do. I don't usually think of books in that way. It's very important to me when I make up a book that there be a consistency, I want there to be a feeling that the whole thing stands out, not 1 picture to be much stronger than the others.

Guest185>Hi from Ms. Guimbarda's & Mr. Etie's 1st graders in Austin, TX! Where are you today, & where do you do your work?

SPEAKER_Mark>I'm in Austin, Texas as a matter of fact. Caught in the ice.

SPEAKER_Mark>I was going to meet with a classroom of students, but the school was closed and I wasn't able to talk with them because of the ice storm.

SPEAKER_Mark>I have a studio in my house at home. I live in Upstate New York. My studio is just a converted bedroom in the house.

Guest185>No way! We are out of school today because of the ice, but our teacher is writing you from home (me - Mr. Etie ;-) & will be sharing this interview when we get back to school.

Guest182>When did you first start illustrating books?

SPEAKER_Mark>Started when I was a very young child. I know that because my parents moved to a new house about 5 years ago, in the process of moving my mom discovered some books

SPEAKER_Mark>that I created as a young child. Starting at the age of probably, 6.

SPEAKER_Mark>The first books I did, I told the stories to my mother, and she typed them down for me. This was before I knew how to write. She would type the words and I would draw the pictures.

SPEAKER_Mark>The stories featured frog characters mostly and they were adventure stories. They were a lot like what I do now.

Guest182>Did you go to art school? Have you always illustrated children's books or have your illustrations appeared in other magazines or newspapers?

SPEAKER_Mark>No, I didn't go to art school, I'm self taught as an illustrator. My first published illustrations were in a book I wrote, it was called "The Trouble with the Johnsons."

SPEAKER_Mark>I have illustrated some other things for magazines and adult books, but mostly children's books.

Guest173>This is from Meghan in St. Louis- I love the book, especially the parts where it shows Ike's good world and then the bad world he thinks he has.

Guest179>Hi from Mrs Baron's fifth grade class in Yuma Arizona. Where are you going from Texas? Are you touring? Can we catch you somewhere?

SPEAKER_Mark>After Texas, I'm going back home. In a couple of weeks I'll be in the Chicago area.

SPEAKER_Mark>I'll also be in Los Angeles in April.

Guest177>Have you ever worked with digital art --- photoshop for example?

SPEAKER_Mark>No, I never have.

SPEAKER_Mark>I use acrylic gouache paints.

Guest182>Do you like working on illustrations for series or for single books more? When you know you'll be doing lots of illustrations of the same characters for a series, do you make any decisions differently than if you were just going to illustrate them once?

SPEAKER_Mark>They are very versatile, they can look like water color paints or oil paints.

SPEAKER_Mark>I don't really have a preference, I like projects which are interesting and challenging.

SPEAKER_Mark>I spend a lot of time working on the characters in general. I'll do dozens or 100s of sketches of a main character before I do the final artwork. If it's a long series, such as the Poppleton books

SPEAKER_Mark>it's very important that I like the way I draw the characters initially because I'm going to be drawing them for a long time.

Guest185>Hi from again from across town in Austin - Since you didn't go to art school, do you paint from your heart, & how do you stay in the lines?

SPEAKER_Mark>Yes, I do. That's a nice way of putting it.

SPEAKER_Mark>I think the most important art training is just practice and the more you do something, the better you get. That's my main advice about being an artist.

Guest182> Which do you like more, illustrating for your own books or illustrating for books by other people? How is the creative process different?

SPEAKER_Mark>I don't have a real preference, I like doing both. The thing I like about illustrating for other authors, they imagine things that I might not imagine by myself.

SPEAKER_Mark>Illustrating their stories is a chance for me to borrow their imagination.

Guest182>How do you decide which authors you want to work with?

SPEAKER_Mark>All of the stories I get come to me from my editor. They don't come directly from the author.

SPEAKER_Mark>When I read a story, if I see the story as it is taking place, that's a very good thing. That means I'll be able to illustrate it well.

SPEAKER_Mark>I've met almost all the authors I work with, but generally after the book is done (at book signings).

Guest182>How do you come up with ideas for children's books?

SPEAKER_Mark>I get inspired by a lot of things. I remember things from my own childhood. I also have two daughters at home, and they inspire me.

SPEAKER_Mark>I've always had lots of pets and they are an inspiration too.

Guest182> Where do you think the childrens' books originated, for exa child himself, a bored man, an oral tradition perhaps? Why did you begin to write? what was your motivation, or nspiration? why did you choose to write in the critique you did?

SPEAKER_Mark>I think all stories started with oral traditions, with storytelling. It's a very very ancient thing that comes naturally to people, to tell stories.

SPEAKER_Mark> I've always loved books for as long as I can remember. I can remember picture books from when I was very young that I just loved. likeWhere the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

SPEAKER_Mark>It seemed natural to me, liking books that much so I would want to make them myself.

SPEAKER_Mark>I was working at a book store after college and I began to see picture books for the first time since I was a child myself.

SPEAKER_Mark>I just got inspired by the books I was seeing at the book store.

Guest182>Hi and Hello my name is Amy and I am doing an essay in my Sociology class over the history, diversity and evolution of Childrens'books and literature, now my Question for you is what do you think makes a good children's books and how do you think they have changed sinced the 1800s

SPEAKER_Mark>I'm not really a scholar on the subject, it's hard for me to answer. I still read some really old stories to my children from nursery rhymes, mother goose, up to Grimm fairy tales. A lot of what makes a good story hasn't

SPEAKER_Mark>changed.

SPEAKER_Mark>I'm reluctant to make a broad statement as to what works in children's books because authors and illustrators keep surprising me.

Guest182>A few years ago I read one of your books with my class of second graders. We LOVED it!! After reading it I loaned it to another teacher who moved away and never returned it. I was wondering if it is still available, as I never see it in stores.

Guest182>The book I am wondering about is Frog Medicine

Guest182>I would sure like to be able to share it with more children. My students are always big Mark Teague fans and that has always been one of my personal favorites. Thanks for sharing good, fun books with kids! We need many more like you!

SPEAKER_Mark>As far as I know it's still in print, at least in paperbook. I don't see it as much as I used to.

Guest182>We wondering if in The Great Gracie Chase, the big dog is Gracie's mother or father?

SPEAKER_Mark>I never really decided about that. They have a family resemblance I guess, kind of a big brother or sister.

Guest182>Were you always getting into trouble when you were younger (like Wendell)?

SPEAKER_Mark>I had a best friend, and we got into trouble together. That was sort of the inspiration for Wendell and Floyd in those books.

SPEAKER_Mark>I still say it was mostly his fault.

Guest182>How did you decide that you wanted to write more than one book about Wendell and Floyd?

SPEAKER_Mark>I didn't decide it initially, but after I did the first one I still had ideas about those characters.

SPEAKER_Mark>I guess it was because those books were based on my friendship as a child, and I guess I still had a lot to say about that.

Guest182>When you wrote your first book, "The Trouble with the Johnsons," did you think it would be a one-time thing, or did you know it was the start of an illustrating/writing career?

SPEAKER_Mark>I always hoped that it would be a career, I didn't really know anything. I was hoping I could turn it into a career. I knew immediately that's what I wanted to be doing.

Guest182>Are you working on a new book? What will it be called?

SPEAKER_Mark>I'm working right now on a sequel to "Dear Mrs. Larue." The title is "Detective Larue."

SPEAKER_Mark>I finished writing the story, and when I get home from the book tour I'll start doing the illustrations.

Guest185> One more from Iced In in Austin: Do you like writing or illustrating more, & which of your books is your favorite?

SPEAKER_Mark>Writing and illustrating are so different. They seem to come from very different places. It's hard for me to compare them. Illustrating is easier.

SPEAKER_Mark>But writing is a great challenge, and I always feel very good when I've written something that I think is good.

 Guest182>What's your favorite book besides the ones you've worked on?

SPEAKER_Mark>My current favorite book is "Dear Mrs. Larue."

SPEAKER_Mark>That's a really really hard question. I read a lot and I like a lot. I find it almost impossible to compare books.

Guest182>How fun was it to work on an adorable book like "Pigsty"?

SPEAKER_Mark>It was a lot of fun to work on that book. That one was sort of autobiographical in a way.

SPEAKER_Mark>My mom used that term. She used to call my room a pigsty when it would get messy. So the idea of having actual pigs to come and live in the bedroom was funny to me.

Guest194>Will Wendall and Floyd make a comeback? From Yuma Arizona

SPEAKER_Mark>I don't know, I like those characters and they might. But I never plan too far ahead.

Guest182>Can I buy posters of your artwork to decorate my room?

SPEAKER_Mark>No, I don't have any posters for sale. There are posters that have come out for different books, but I'm not sure where you can get them. The local bookstores might have them.

Guest192>How many books have you written? And how many have you illustrated?

SPEAKER_Mark>I've written 11, i'm working on my 12th. I think that I've illustrated somewhere around 40, but I'm not sure.

bSPEAKER_Mark>My first book was published in 1989. If you count starting when I was a little kid, almost 35 years.

Guest182>Tell us more about your dog. Is he like Ike?

SPEAKER_Mark>It's kind of sad, the dog that inspired that passed away. He was an old man. But I have a new dog now.

SPEAKER_Mark>The new dog we got from an animal shelter, a rescued dog, she's a little pit bull actually, but she's a very sweet animal.

Guest192>How many authors do you know?

SPEAKER_Mark>I never made a count. I guess I know quite a few because I meet them at conventions and things like that.

Guest182>Do you ever come up with an idea for a book that you don't want to write yourself, so then you have one of your author friends write it and you illustrate?

SPEAKER_Mark>No, that's never happened to me. If I have an idea, I try to write it, I never gave an idea away if I can help it.

Guest192>How many books have you illustrated about Poppleton?

SPEAKER_Mark>We've done 8 Poppleton books so far, I've got a new one at home that I'm going to start working on this summer.

Guest177>What advice can you give to aspiring writers and illustrators?

 SPEAKER_Mark>The most important thing is to just practice, to really work at it.

SPEAKER_Mark>I think you should try to make books that you would like to read yourself.

Guest182>If you weren't going to illustrate and write, what would you want to do?

SPEAKER_Mark>That's a tough question, because I really love what I do and I'm happy I do it.

 SPEAKER_Mark>The most important thing is to just practice, to really work at it.

SPEAKER_Mark>I think you should try to make books that you would like to read yourself.

Guest182>If you weren't going to illustrate and write, what would you want to do?

SPEAKER_Mark>That's a tough question, because I really love what I do and I'm happy I do it.

 SPEAKER_Mark>I've always liked outdoor things, so I thought I might want to be a park ranger.

Guest192>Do you ever do research for your illustrations? how do you go about it? Is it hard? Does it take a long time? How long does it take for you to make a book?

SPEAKER_Mark>I do research sometimes just if I'm illustrating something that I really don't know what it looks like. For example, for the dinosaur books I had to do a lot of research to find out what different dinosaurs looked like.

SPEAKER_Mark>It's not really a difficult thing, it's mostly just going to books and looking at the pictures and making sketches.

SPEAKER_Mark>It doesn't take a terribly long time, I don't usually time out how long the sketches take, probably just a few weeks. To do the final artwork

SPEAKER_Mark>it generally takes about 4 months.

Guest192>is it important to do sketches first?

SPEAKER_Mark>Yes, I think the sketches are in some ways the most important part of the illustration process.

Guest194>How does a school get you to visit?

SPEAKER_Mark>I do dozens of really quick sketches for every illustration I do.

SPEAKER_Mark>I don't do school visits much any more because I'm so busy working on the books.

Guest192>How old were you when you started writing?

SPEAKER_Mark>My first book was published when I was about 25.

SPEAKER_Mark>I can remember writing stories going back to as long as I knew how to write.

SPEAKER_Mark>I would just like to encourage kids especially if they are interested in writing and doing art work, to just keep up with it.

SPEAKER_Mark>To really practice a lot, to read a lot of books.

SPEAKER_Mark>I think it's really important when you start to think about what you want to do when you grow up, to try to things that you really love to do.

SPEAKER_Mark>If there is anything you really love, that is where you should put your energy.

MODERATOR>Thank you for joining us . A transcript of today's interview will be available online soon.