Allyn Johnston is, quite possibly, the only editorial director in children’s publishing who can hit the surf—and the slush pile—on the very same day.
Johnston, Editorial Director of San Diego-based Harcourt Children’s Books, lives in Mission Beach, one of Southern California’s classic surf towns. Yes, she surfs—a longboard, in fact.
Any wonder why she’s resisted the lure of New York for 17 years?
Johnston, who will be speaking at the 32nd SCBWI National Conference this month, works with a long list of top authors and artists including Cynthia Rylant, Mem Fox, Marla Frazee, Avi, Lois Ehlert, Debra Fraiser and Douglas Florian. She is praised as being particularly passionate about the books she works on.
Says Florian: “Allyn Johnston has a keen eye and ear for what works in children's books, and…possesses a flexibility of spirit that all authors and artists seek in an editor.”
Johnston, mother of eight-year-old Eamon, answered questions via e-mail.
Barb Odanaka: You've said that you once thought of being either a writer or a librarian, but at some point realized "editor" suited you best. Looking back, were there any signs that you were heading in this direction?
Allyn Johnston: Well, does dressing like Laura Ingalls Wilder (yep, bonnet and endless calico skirts) and plowing the beach in front of our house with a huge piece of driftwood count as one of those proverbial signs? If so, then yes.
I couldn't get enough of books as a young person--first as a listener, and then as a reader on my own. Books were everywhere in our house, and pilgrimages to local bookstores were treasured outings. My parents always ferreted out bookstores when we were on family vacations; we can still remember which out-of-the-way shops in faraway states certain books came from.
Despite all this passionate love of books and reading, though, I'd never focused on the fact that a person could actually *be* an editor of children's books--that is until the week after graduation from college while I was in the middle of an informational interview with Howard Cady, a senior editor of adult books at William Morrow.
I was sitting in his office when he had to take a phone call, and while he was talking, I began looking at a pile of Greenwillow, Lothrop, and Morrow Junior books that were sitting on a shelf next to me. When he hung up, I said, "I've always loved children's books. Maybe that's what I should pursue." This may sound corny and made up, but it's true. Right there in a stranger's office at 105 Madison Avenue on a swelteringly hot day, I realized my whole life had been leading to this moment when I suddenly knew I had to be a children's book editor.
And funny enough, though I didn't end up coming to Harcourt for several years, it was also the same day I first discovered I might even be able to be a children's book editor in my home state of California, because in Rizzoli's Bookstore in Manhattan I saw San Diego listed on the title page of a copy of a Harcourt book: The Nightgown of the Sullen Moon by Nancy Willard, illustrated by David McPhail. And now I've been here for 17 years.
Odanaka: You're known as an editor that stands passionately behind the books you love. Are current trends in publishing, such as having to focus on the bottom line, making that more difficult?
Johnston: Yes, the market and the increasing focus on the bottom line are very challenging--and sometimes even discouraging. But that just makes us have to be even more committed and passionate about the books we *do* decide to publish. Some days (even many days . . .) we can get overwhelmed by the state of book buying and library budgets and the economy in general, but then a terrific project arrives from one of our authors or illustrators--or, even more exciting, from someone completely new--and we're rejuvenated immediately and ready to face whatever obstacles the world might put in our paths.
I mean it. There's really nothing quite like reading a submission and realizing that you're holding a gem in your hands. And then when you share it around the office and others respond to it as well--that's magical. Truly.
Odanaka: Tell us, as best you can, how Harcourt children's books are unique from other publishers' offerings. Do you have a favorite motto or mantra in regard to what you're trying to accomplish there?
Johnston: I can't really say that there's a general overarching statement to describe how Harcourt's books are different from those of other houses. I think everyone in the field is trying their best to find things they love and to publish them well in this changing marketplace.
But when I'm looking at projects we're considering, I try to imagine them as finished books being shared in quiet--or raucous--moments between children and adults. Do they elicit an emotional reaction? Are they funny? Is the language bouncy, rhythmic, and irresistible? Is it moving? Is there room for an artist to bring his/her own visual narrative to the story?
If it's a novel, do I find that I can't put it down and that I'm still thinking about the characters after I've finished it? Is the voice unexpected and compelling? Do I envision it immediately as a published book that I can share with all my friends?
Odanaka: You've said that you used to be wary of books written in rhyme, but that changed somewhat once you became a mom. What rhyming books have you fallen in love with? Is there a standard you wish all rhyming manuscripts would measure up to?
Johnston: My feelings about rhyming picture books really did change after I our son was born. I used to be a complete pill about how much I disliked them, and then my husband and I spent endless hours reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Dr. Seuss books and The Seven Silly Eaters and Time for Bed and Hattie and the Fox (and other young Mem Fox books), and I saw how much fun it was to laugh and cuddle and repeat goofy stanzas with Eamon--and I became a convert. We still have rhymes we say to each other in silly moments from those early years. So now I feel that when rhyme is great, there's nothing like it to engage very young children with books. (Mem's adult book Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children will Change Their Lives Forever includes lots of great info on this topic.)
As for books we've published, One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler; and Babies on the Go and Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs by Linda Ashman are three recent rhyming ones that I think are very successful.
Lisa's book is a super read-aloud that builds to a great surprise, all brought vividly to life by Ivan Bates's cozy, classic illustrations. And Linda's two are perfect examples of great rhyme combined with accurate natural history for very young children. Put the texts of those two books with the delicious illustrations by Lauren Stringer and Jane Dyer, and you've got something really special that children--and their parents--enjoy coming back to again and again.
I think the most important thing to keep in mind when writing in rhyme is that you must avoid choosing words that are only there for the sake of the rhyme and not for the sake of advancing the story. Sounds simple, but you would be *shocked* at how many rhyming stories run aground for this reason.
Odanaka: Can you give us an example of a manuscript (or two) you've recently fallen in love with? What was it about the manuscript that convinced you it was worth buying?
Johnston: Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story by Lisa Westberg Peters, illustrated by Lauren Stringer (last year's recipient of a Golden Kite Honor for illustration). This story riveted me from the first time I read it. I mean, the 3.6 billion-year-old story of human evolution told with the rhythm and magic of a bedtime story--amazing! And no matter how often I read and re-read and re-read it again, it still gives me goosebumps, a pretty sure sign of a strong text, wouldn't you say? And Lauren's illustrations just blow me away--the colors, the immense scope, the warmth, and the brilliant family-walking-on-the-beach framework--all combine with the text to make a book that is, to me, unforgettable.
The Bubba and Beau series by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Arthur Howard. Kathi's humorous language and perfect emotional pitch make me laugh every time I read these stories. I love the irreverent reverence and the fresh take on friendship and family relationships. And Arthur (who has spent little to no time around babies and has *never* been to Texas) is a genius, period. I can't get enough of poring over the pages of the books in this series. (Watch for Bubba and Beau Meet the Relatives next year.)
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee. The understated, indirect approach to the telling here really caught my eye when Marla first showed me her story. I loved the way so much of the rounding-out of the plot was left up to the illustrations. She really went to town with the visual narrative here. You can follow the threads of many stories within the book as you track various characters and their reactions to the experience of riding--or not riding!--that roller coaster. Marla always brings this sort of passionate attention to detail to her books, and I think that's one of the reasons they resonate so strongly with children.
Odanaka: Speaking of things that resonate, what did you end up doing with your Laura Ingalls Wilder costume? Framed on your office wall, I hope?
Johnston: I wish I could say I still had all of it, but, alas, I don't even have the red-and-white gingham bonnet anymore. What I miss the most, though, is my driftwood plow. I wonder which beach it's resting on today. . . .
Barb Odanaka is the author of the forthcoming picture books SKATEBOARD MOM (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) and SMASH! MASH! CRASH! THERE GOES THE TRASH! (Margaret K. McElderry Books). Barb, founder of the International Society of Skateboarding Moms, lives with her family in Laguna Beach, Calif. Visit her website at www.SkateboardMom.com
