This post is inspired by Pink Me http://pinkpicks.blogspot.com/
the pink-haired librarian who occasionaly drinks in my cafe.
Before my book bow wow meow meow was published I got a call from my intrepid editor. "Somebody doesn't like the pink jacket," she informed me. "Who's 'somebody'?" I inquired. "Barnes & Noble," was her reply. Why didn't B&N want a pink jacket? "Boys don't buy pink," was the answer. Never mind that many boys today wear pink, chew pink bubblegum, and may play baseball or handball with a pink rubber ball (Spauldines orPensky Pinkies we used to call them). Marketing was insistant, so I suggested that they show me alternate covers, which they did: a red one, and a chocolate brown one, among others. None seemed to work. Meanwhile I visited a small conference of about 30 librarians to share my poetry and painting. They unanimously suggested I "think pink," which I did.
So, in the end, thanks to the fortitude of my editor, the wisdom of librarians, and the flexibility of my marketing people, bow wow meow meow was printed with a bright pink jacket, and went on to sell a good number of copies at Barnes & Noble, a great number of copies to school and public librarians, garner three starred reviews, and win the first Center for Children's Books
Gryphon Award in 2004. And gryphons, as we all know, can be any color they want to be.
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4 comments:
Great story. Love your books!
Cool! And I love the pink cover!
Hey, thanks!
When my older son was 4, his aunt, who has been a pediatrician for 20 years, asked him his favorite color.
"Pink and brown," he said.
"Go figure," I said (I was thinking, HUH? BROWN?), and Mary told me, "All little boys love pink, until they get to school and the other kids tell them pink is for girls."
Those daggone 'other kids'!
We like it pink in our library!
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