The author unveils her latest book
By Nina Livingstone
When a college professor encouraged Jane Sutton to write about something that she’d always wanted to do, the assignment proved to be life-changing for the Brandeis University student, who shared her love of writing children’s books.
Jane Sutton
Now, with 12 books to her name, Jane’s work includes not only children’s picture books, but novels for middle-grade children and young adults, too. With titles such as Esther’s Hanukkah Disaster, Aiden’s Magical Hanukkah, and Paulie’s Passover Predicament, Jane won’t let her books fill just one niche. Instead she will also introduce you to Trudy the chicken who refuses to get off her eggs, a koala bear who thinks eating cauliflower gives him bad luck, and a poetry-writing pig. Her wildly popular middle grade novel Me and the Weirdos has gained second and third callings as a French translation and a school musical, with filmmakers over the years exploring the idea of bringing it to the big screen. Since its first printing in 1981, Cindy Krinkle’s efforts to “un-weird her family” remains a favorite – even for Jane.
“I’m partial to all my books, since the author and I are BFFs,” she quips, but “I’d have to say, Me and the Weirdos is my fave, as it seems to have universal appeal with wacky humor, loveable characters, and a message that it’s fine to be different.”
Me and the Weirdos cover by Jane Sutton
Jane is currently writing a Weirdos sequel.
Her most recent picture book, Gracie Brings Back Bubbe’s Smile, has also been applauded by critics for its use of Yiddish language and its approach to the complicated topics of grief and death.
So where does she come up with her ideas? “I don’t have a set schedule. It varies,” she said. “A lot of my ideas come to me during my hot, environmentally incorrect long showers. And I think, ‘Yes! Great idea!’ Then dripping wet, I grab a pen and paper to write it down and by then I forget what it was.”
To learn more about Jane Sutton’s work, follow her on Instagram, Facebook or visit her website. Jane will be sharing Gracie Brings Back Bubbe’s Smile, at a book launch on Nov. 19 at 11 AM at Maxima Book Center, 1717 Mass Ave., Lexington, MA.
What’s in the mail?
NINA: What was your proudest moment?
JANE: When we dropped off our daughter at college and I managed not to start sobbing and blubbering until I was in the car and she couldn’t see me.
NINA: What should we know about you before meeting you?
JANE: That half of what I say isn’t true. But I will eventually tell you I was kidding because besides not being able to resist making a joke, I’m a pathological truth-teller.
NINA: What do you like most about yourself?
JANE: I thought you’d never ask. I like that it comes naturally to be a good listener and to make people feel comfortable and comforted, if that’s what they need. So many times someone has said to me, “I’ve never told anyone this before…”
NINA: What has been your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
JANE: I’ve had long bouts of debilitating neck and shoulder pain. I just kind of wait it out and try to remember that it’s happened before and has eventually gone away. My doll of a husband is relentlessly encouraging and waits on me as if I’m a queen, which segues seamlessly into the next answer. Nice, Jane! I just patted myself on the back.
Jane Sutton reading at Maxima Books
NINA: What streaming series (Netflix, HBO, Hulu, etc.) got you through the past pandemic winters? And which ones do you recommend or what are a few of your favorites?
JANE: “The Crown,” “Last Tango in Halifax,” “Borgen,” and “Trying” (on Apple)
NINA: If you could be anywhere in the world, where would it be?
JANE: Right now I’d be answering these questions sitting on a beach on the island of St. John, gazing up occasionally at the turquoise water and planning when to put on my snorkel and…oh, sorry, I got lost there. I need to leave heavenly St. John and answer the next question.
NINA: What is your go-to place to relax?
JANE: My yard. It’s green and private, and I love to lounge in the shade and read by our sometimes sandbox for our grandchildren/sometimes my husband’s Zen garden.
NINA: What is the one thing you can’t live without?
JANE: Seeing my children and their spouses and four grandchildren at least once a week.
NINA: If you could invite four celebrities, (actors, historic figures, astronauts etc.) for dinner, who would they be and what would you serve?
JANE: Mick Jagger, Bono, Susie Essman, and Stephen Colbert. Well, I’d be too star-struck to eat anything. But now I’m nervous! What should I serve?
NINA: Picture it: You’re 25 years old, where would you be and what would you do differently?
JANE: Let’s see, that’s back when I got married. My husband and I thought he might teach in another country for a year, and I could have written anywhere. We decided to stay in the U.S., and I wish we had lived in another country and experienced another culture for a year. Oh! I just noticed that 3 out of 4 of the TV series I mentioned to you are British! So…at 25 years old I’d be in the Cotswolds living in a cottage with a thatched roof in a village with a colorful name and calling each other Nigel and Hinkley. “Nigel, luv, could you fetch me a cuppa?”
