Photo: Bill Binzen
Scholastic Parents: What’s the coolest thing about being an author?
Boynton: Definitely the costume — the flowing cape, the heroic insignia emblazoned on the chest, the dramatic backlighting, and the theme music. The boots are a little snug.
SP: What should people know about the value of books for young children?
Boynton: People already know the value, simply by looking back on favorite books from their own childhoods. Anyone’s first cherished books resonate like nothing else.
SP: What role did books play in your childhood?
Boynton: My father was an English teacher, my mother, an artist. Our house was overrun with books chosen by my father for their sound and sense, and by my mother for their visual glory.
SP: What role do books play in the rest of your life?
Boynton: I have four children and, first by inertia and later by conviction, no TV. There are so many books in the house that we pretty much have to idle around outside in the cold, peering in yearningly.
Elizabeth Callahan is the assistant editor for Parent & Child.
More From Our 100 Greatest Books' Featured Author Series:
- Mo Willems (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!) on getting past writers' block
- Grace Lin (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon) on what parents should look for in a children's book
- Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret) on advice to kids who want to write
- The Madeleine L'Engle you never knew
