Secrets Out!

  Ms. S: My friends were understanding about my reading, but I’ve certainly had friendship issues in the past.

  I think friendships can be challenging in different ways. Sometimes two friends are good together generally, but something goes wrong. They need to work to get the friendship back on track.

  In other instances, friends are just not well matched. There are a lot of different friendship problems, and a solution that’s good for one might not work well for another.

  Me: Jo’s bad friend Trina is not well matched for ANYONE.

  Ms. S: It sounds like Jo is better off without her.

  Me: Yes, she is. But I have more questions. What’s the BEST thing about being an author?

  Ms. S: I love spending my days trying to tell a good story. And I’ve always felt so happy in the world of children’s books, first as a reader and now as a writer. It’s nice having a chance to talk with kids like you, too, about writing and reading.

  Me: And bubble letters. We talked about those, too.

  Ms. S: Yes, that’s true—we did.

  Me: What if I want to be an author someday? What should I do?

  Ms. S: All you have to do to become a writer is write and then keep fixing and fixing and fixing what you’ve written, until it feels true.

  Me: I can do the writing. I don’t know about the fixing.

  Ms. S: I have a hunch you’re pretty good at storytelling without too much fixing.

  Me: Thank you.

  And that was THE END of our conversation. (I did those bubble letters. Not Ms. S.)

  JULIE STERNBERG is the author of Bedtime at Bessie and Lil’s and the best-selling Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. Visit juliesternberg.com

  JOHANNA WRIGHT has illustrated several books, including her own The Secret Circus and Bunnies on Ice. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon. Visit johannawright.com

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