Inspired by Fairy Tales: Mary Ann Hoberman

In the news last week: National children's poet laureate shares pizza, advice with students from her hometown by Lauren Mylo. The article is about Mary Ann Hoberman. I'm a fan of her picture books of children's songs illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott. I've used them over and over in storytimes and had page turns memorized with Skip to My Lou from constant rereads to my niece. The Lady With the Alligator Purse is my personal favorite although Michael Finnegan is a close second.

The article had this fun bit about fairy tales:

Lauren Cunningham, 13, asked what inspired Hoberman to begin writing. The children's poet laureate said she grew up during the depression and her family didn't have many books, but three that remained with her were "Told Again" by Walter De La Mare and fairy tale collections from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen.

"A lot of fairy tales, they've sort of come down to us and we don't know who wrote them," said Hoberman. "But Hans Christian Andersen wrote his own, and I loved them. So when I realized -- and I was tiny, probably four years old -- but when I realized someone had written them, that's when I realized I wanted to be a writer."

So add another author to the list of those inspired by fairy tales. Not a surprise with Hoberman--she's also responsible for You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together--but I like reading the proof.