A Bone to Pick with Jon Klassen

Intro

In our second episode, we delve into the mind of renowned children's author Jon Klassen. We discuss his unique perspective on storytelling, his writing process, and how his personal experiences have influenced his work.

Key Quotes

"Books about villains and heroes never really interests me. And they don't do now either. But it's books about people who are like, I shouldn't be doing this. Why am I doing this?"

"Most kids, what they're wishing for sort of some sort of predictability, that they can settle back into, lean against and look forward to. And I read that and I was like, 'that's just what grownups want, I'm 40 years old, I want stability.'"

"As a creator, you're you're prompting this amazing imagination machine. It's so rich, you know, these kids are just living in their heads in this huge way."

Timestamps

01:21 - Jon's experience with COVID and its impact on his work

03:01 - The heavy-handed morals in many children's books

07:44 - Jon's approach to writing for kids and simplifying things

10:06 - The space and ambiguity that allows both kids and adults to engage

13:08 - Jon's experience working on Shape Island

14:24 - Jon's thoughts on the care and attention that goes into his work

35:13 - Jon's hopes for the launch of his new book

Key Links

- Buy The Skull on on Amazon or Bookshop.org

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