Episode 44: Why did you want to be an author? -with Ernesto Cisneros
Welcome to episode 44! Grace Lin and Ernesto Cisneros answer this kid question: Why did you want to be an author?
TRANSCRIPTS:
Grace Lin: Hello. I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books, including the middle-grade novel, When the Sea Turned to Silver, and the picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Today, I'm here with Ernesto Cisneros, the author of the middle grade novel, Efren Divided. Hi, Ernesto.
Ernesto Cisneros: Hi. Thank you for having me.
Grace Lin: Oh, thank you for joining us. Okay, are you ready for today's question?
Ernesto Cisneros: Yes, I am.
Grace Lin: Okay. Today's question is from a person named Layla and they ask...
Layla: Why did you want to be an author?
Grace Lin: Why did you want to be an author?
Ernesto Cisneros: That's actually kind of a tricky question to answer, but it's almost like, I think ... Here, let me start when I was little. When I was little, I was a little bit of a space cadet, and every time I was in class, I was daydreaming. I could be in the middle of a kickball game and I would be daydreaming. All day long, it's all I did. And I do have ADD, and I thought that something was wrong with me, why I couldn't focus on things. And it wasn't until a lot later, as an adult, that I realized that I was always writing stories in my head. The only difference was that I wasn't actually writing them down on paper. I was just running them through my mind.
Ernesto Cisneros: And so eventually I decided, you know what, I've got these stories just, they were almost like movies taking place in my mind. And I decided, you know what, I think I'm going to try writing these down. And I started writing them for the students in my class. And one day, one of my students told me that I should write them down, because she was really enjoying the stories, and I should try and publish them, publishing them. And so I joined the SCBWI, and then a whole bunch of different people took me underneath their wing and they showed me the ropes and told me, "Okay, these are the things you need to work on." And it was a 14 year endeavor, but eventually I got here.
Grace Lin: Wow. That's amazing. So what was the inspiration for Efren Divided, then?
Ernesto Cisneros: The inspiration for Efren Divided was it was right after the elections, and there was a lot of really hurtful things being said about Latinos. And that year, three of my students had parents that were deported right in the middle of the year, and they were dealing with that, and I just felt a little bit helpless and I felt like I needed to do something. So I figured, well, you know what, there's so many people saying hurtful things about Latino families, why don't I go ahead and introduce them to my family and let them get to know us? And then they could make up their minds, after they've met us. I think it's a lot easier to dislike people when you don't know them, and once you get to know them, I think it's a little more difficult. So that was pretty much my thinking on that.
Grace Lin: Oh, that's wonderful. So you thought of these stories, but you hadn't thought about writing them. So you'd never really kind of planned to be an author. You just kind of thought of stories, is that correct?
Ernesto Cisneros: Yes. I just thought of myself as being very unfocused, and I always just didn't like that part about me. I thought it was kind of a curse that I had, something that I just, I didn't see a point. I'm like, I wonder why my mind does this? And it wasn't until now that I realized, oh, this was actually a gift, I just never recognized it as such.
Grace Lin: And what was so interesting in the story? You said it was your student that told you to be an author. So usually it's the other way around, a teacher will say, "You should be an author," to a student. But this is the other way around, where a student said, "You should be an author." So that's really neat.
Ernesto Cisneros: Yes. I'd say over, I've been teaching for about 24 years now, and I'm pretty sure the kids have taught me a lot more than I've taught them.
Grace Lin: Oh, that's amazing. So what grades do you teach?
Ernesto Cisneros: I teach sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Same city where I grew up. So I've never left Santa Ana. And so it's kind of nice, because the school site, where the school's actually built, that's the parking lot where I learned how to ride a bike, where I learned how to drive my car. I have so many memories of going shopping there. Of course, the stores where I used to go to, like Newberry's, Montgomery Wards, they're not there anymore, but yeah, I just feel like it's my home.
Grace Lin: So did you love books when you were younger?
Ernesto Cisneros: I used to. I think when I was in elementary, all the way to fifth grade, I loved reading. I just didn't have access to books. I was in a, I guess I was in the bilingual program, even though Spanish was not my first language, and we just weren't taken to the library. They just assumed that we weren't going to be reading. And I think I picked up on that, and the message that was given to me was books really didn't matter. So I didn't read. It wasn't until, from fifth grade I stopped reading, and then I think I picked up my next book when I was a junior in high school.
Grace Lin: Oh, wow.
Ernesto Cisneros: And that's when I had to read Shakespeare, and my teacher pretty much called me out and forced me to read. And that was the best thing. That was kind of an awakening for me.
Grace Lin: Huh. It's interesting that being forced to read turned out to be a really good thing for you.
Ernesto Cisneros: Yes, yes. And you know what it was, it was just, again, having the access to the books. One thing that really turned me on to reading again was reading The Moths by Helene Viramontes. And I remember the day Maria, she actually invited her to her classroom, and she spoke, and she asked me, "Are you going to be going to college?" And I said yes. And she asked me what my major was. And I'm not sure why, because I'd never thought about it before, but I just instinctively said English.
Grace Lin: Huh. That's amazing. That's so interesting. It's so nice to hear everyone's different paths of why they want to be an author. I think some of us came to, like you came to loving books a little bit later, and then some of us, like me, I think I just always loved books, even from a young age. I feel like it was in my blood, but it's so nice to know that we all came to it eventually.
Ernesto Cisneros: Exactly. Yes.
Grace Lin: All right. Well, thank you so much, Ernesto, for answering today's question, and thank you so much, Layla for asking it.
Ernesto Cisneros: Thank you, Grace. It was a pleasure being here.
Grace Lin: Thanks. Bye.
Ernesto Cisneros: Bye-bye.
Grace Lin: And now, we'll close this episode with a joke.
Today’s JOKE comes from Chloe!
Why don't fish play tennis?
Why?
Because they are afraid of the net!
More about today’s authors:
Ernesto Cisneros was born and raised in Santa Ana, California, where he still teaches. He holds an English degree from the University of California, Irvine; a teaching credential from California State University, Long Beach; as well as a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from National University. As an author, he believes in providing today’s youth with an honest depiction of characters with whom they can identify. The real world is filled with amazing people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. His work strives to reflect that. Efrén Divided is his first book. You can visit him online at www.ernestocisneros.com.
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.
Special thanks to the High Five Books & Art Always Bookstore, Ms. Carleton’s 2nd grade class at Jackson Street School for their help with our kid questions and reviews.
