“Cynthia Levinson did an insane amount of
research!”
That’s what a librarian said after reading Watch Out for Flying Kids: How Two Circuses, Two Countries, and Nine Kids Confront Conflict and Build Community (Peachtree Publishers).
She had a good point. Here’s a small sample
of my insanity:
Saratoga Springs
circus performers in 3 languages and dozens of other people via Skype,
Facebook, email, IM, telephone, and in-person
Middle East and Midwest, circus since Roman times, and equilibristics
—Lessons in juggling, wire-walking,
globe-walking, silks, trapeze, and lyra. (I was not crazy enough to unicycle.)
and more—much more—to write a book for ten- to fourteen-year-olds?
research itself would drive me crazy (understandably, teenagers don’t consider confiding
in a 65+ year-old writer a high priority), the reason was not in my head but in
my heart: I cared deeply about these teens. Through “social circus,” programs
that bring together kids who would never otherwise meet or get along, they’ve
overcome cultural, linguistic, and physical barriers as daunting as high
buildings and reached literally soaring accomplishments.
mother, Jessica, Circus Harmony’s founder
 |
| Kellin (left) and Ikling (right) |
afraid of Jews
just about everything, including bugs
 |
| Hla (left) and Rory (right) |
together, all of these kids became unlikely friends and stars. They have much
to teach us, and I had to tell their
stories, regardless of the time and cost.
My debut middle-grade nonfiction book We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham
Children’s March (Peachtree Publishers) and a successor, The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey
Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist (Simon & Schuster),
similarly propelled me. These books focus on four of the 3,000-4,000 children
who protested segregation and went to jail, some for a week. Audrey was only
nine.
a segregated high school, only dimly and distantly aware of their sacrifices
and courage. Four years, multiple trips, dozens of books, articles, and
documents, and countless interviews went into these two books. In comparison to
theirs, my efforts seem minimal.
Although the publisher didn’t realize it when
they asked me to write a biography of a presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All the Good You
Can (HarperCollins) has a personal connection also. We were college
dormmates!
My most recent book is personal for a
different reason. I wrote it with my husband, a law professor. Fault Lines in the Constitution: The
Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today (Peachtree
Publishers) is his life work translated into kid-speak, and our daughters and
their husbands—two lawyers, an epidemiologist, and an education professor—all
contributed vital information.
allows us authors to pursue and share our curiosities, passions, concerns, and
values.
Cynthia Levinson
writes nonfiction for readers ages six and up. Her books have won the
SCBWI Golden Kite and Crystal Kite, Jane Addams, ILA Social Justice, and NCSS
Carter G. Woodson Awards, among others. Previously, she taught pre-kindergarten
through graduate students and worked in education policy. She and her co-author
husband live in Austin and Boston.
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3 Responses
Wow. This is why good books are so much more than words on paper. Excellent post.
Such wonderful books that connect to kids and all readers, including me. You make it personal and compelling by your research. Ty, Cynthia.
I am astounded and impressed by such dedication. This makes the research I'm doing for one of my nonfiction picture books look like small potatoes. How can someone afford to do such travel/lesson/translator-extensive research? Do you get grants for this kind of thing?