Dinner with David Greenburg

Tim Bev and David Greenburg go out to Dinner

David talking to the Secondary students

Autographs were popular

We had Goose as part of out dinner

We had a great time taking David out to Dinner

Bev was a co-team leader for Book Week this past week at our School. As such she had many tasks. (Book Week is a big deal). With every teacher making a display and many daily activities. One activity was to host a visiting author. David Greenburg is from the Portland area. He is a well renowned children's poet and has most recently written a novel about Civil Rights. His father was Jack Greenburg noted defense attorney for NAACP and Martin Luther King. Besides being very entertaining he was absolutely delightful to talk with and kept ourselves and our students mesmerized. We had the privilege to take Mr. Greenburg out to Dinner. Here are some pictures of David and a candid interview that Bev conducted with him.

This week is Earth Week. The week before Book Week it was spring Spirit Week, The week before that was Strawberry Tea, big talent show etc. The school has many activities, so many that they sometimes overlap and compete for students, everyone's time, and talent. Students and parents get much more than just a full educational experience.

Here is an Interview that Bev conducted while having Dinner with David.

AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID GREENBERG

Mr. David Greenberg visited QSI during Book Week as our guest author. Interviewed by Bev Wnterfeld here are his answers to a few questions about being an author.

BW: Tell us a little bit about yourself?

DG: I am here by myself, and have a 19-year-old son who is going to school in Scotland.

My dog and girlfriend are at home in Portland, Oregon.

BW: How many books have you authored, and what’s your favorite thing to write about?

DG: I ‘ve authored 16 books, there are more coming that are not yet published. I love kids so I have written mostly kids books, but my heart is with poetry.

BW: What brought you to QSI in Shekou?

DG :I received an email from Mr. Brantley, and started corresponding with him. Now, I’m here and going to other QSI schools. It just started by my answering an email.

BW: What inspired you to become an author?

DG: My mother was a teacher, and my father used to read poetry to me as a kid.

BW: Are any of your books translated into other languages?

DG: Yes, some of my books are in other languages, Korean being one of them.

BW: What trends are you seeing with children’s books, and literacy?

DG: With the economy book sales are down in the U. S., but it’s interesting because I offer a summer workshop on “Authoring Children’s Books” and the demand is more than ever. You can find information, to register on my website. It’s very popular with kids.

BW: Having visited a bookstore in China, what did you notice?

DG: In the children’s reading section, there are ample amounts, and the culture is hungry for literacy. People are spending money on books, desiring to read.

BW: What other things do you like to do?

DG: I like to spend time on outdoor sports, travel, eat and one of my favorite places to visit is a bookstore. I also love my dog.

BW: Can you give kids some advice about writing?

DG: Writing is hard work, requiring practice and it’s good to write about observations of normal things. I’m always making notes because writing is my passion.

BW: Tell us about the novel you authored?

DG: My novel A Tugging String challenged me, took a long time to write, but it’s good to challenge yourself.

BW: Do you make a lot of money being an author?

DG: No! Not necessarily, because you must pay the costs of the publisher and illustrator. I have to sell lots of books to make very much money.

BW: Was it hard to get started as an author?

DG: I wrote a book, and got 111 rejections, before the 112th publishing company offered to publish my book at the age of 28. It is hard work to be a writer; sometimes it takes month or years to finish a book.

BW: Would you like to return again to China?

DG: I like it very much, and would love to spend more time here on my next trip.