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The majority of my books are retellings of folktales, myths, legends, and fairy tales from around the world. I think a
large part of what urges me to write about global cultures (including our own) is a lifelong interest in the ways people live and think: the differences and similarities. Even as a child, I was
intrigued with the idea of traveling (at least in my imagination) to the four corners of the world. This combined with my early (and enduring) love of fairy tales and folktales when I discovered
Andrew Lang's Rainbow Fairy Books (Schocken), brimming with retold tales from the world's folk literature. I was fascinated to discover how many stories from even the most exotic lands had echoes of the familiar tales by the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. It was exciting to find that, through these stories, I was able to understand and share a bond with peoples from many different regions. Today, in books such as A Weave of Words (Armenia) (Orchard), Cendrillon (the Caribbean) (Simon & Schuster), Little GoldStar (Mexico) (HarperCollins), or The Samurai's Daughter (Japan) (Penguin Putnam/Puffin), I try to share that sense of discovery and delight in how much alike and yet how wonderfully different are so many peoples.
Part and parcel has been the exploration of my own roots. New England/French Canadian on my father's side, Irish on my mother's, I
have been eager to learn more about both sides. The better I understand who my forebears were, the better I sense who I am. So some of my works—Brave Margaret: An Irish Adventure (Simon & Schuster) and several of the ghostly tales from New England and French Canada in the Short & Shivery volumes (Delacorte/Random House) of world "scary" tales have explored my own roots. Many more of my stories reflect my ongoing interest in other regional traditions within the United States. My first published book was The
Legend of Scarface:A Blackfeet Indian Legend (out-of-print). Over the years, I've touched on many areas: Two Bear Cubs (Yosemite) retells of a Southern Sierra Miwok story from California's Yosemite Valley, The Talking Eggs (Dial) is a Creole story from nineteenth century Louisiana; and Kate Shelley (Dial) is a true story of Iowa's young heroine of a century ago. Whether retelling an Armenian or African or regional American story, I strive to make sure that the particulars are totally accurate. Fortunately, a love of research has always been there beside my love of reading and writing. And I have been blessed with illustrators who share my interest in "getting things right."
I try to make an unfamiliar time or place appealing through selective use of interesting, colorful details. I focus on the humanity
of my characters, to make them attractive and recognizable—even if the world they move through is unfamiliar and governed by very different customs and beliefs. I look for exciting or amusing stories
with universal themes—trying to strike a balance between the unique or "different" aspects of another culture or historical period, while emphasizing how similar the human heart and the human
situation remain the world over and down the centuries.
I have always believed that a writer can make an honest and valuable contribution to the understanding of another culture—and to a
deeper appreciation of our own heritage—if he or she approaches the source material with care, respect, and a commitment to present matters accurately and honestly, no matter the depth of research
required. I like to think that my books offer first and foremost a good story, while, at the same time, serving as an informative and sympathetic "bridge" from culture to culture, past to
present.
In the main, I find that I prefer to write about cultures of the distant or more recent past, since there is a "fixed" quality about
them (though new archaeological and anthropological discoveries are constantly altering our perceptions about older societies). I like the idea that I can get a firmer grasp on a past culture because
I can focus on a specific historic time, and consult a wide range of resources that bring to bear the studies of many disciplines on how a society existed within the story's framing years.
Contemporary cultures are quicksilver—fluid, volatile, ever-evolving; for me, it's like trying to discern the view from inside the kaleidoscope. In the enduring myths, legends, folktales, and so on of the world, I can discern truths that transcend borders and eras, and provide the subtexts that make these narratives endure for generations.
Through stories we share who we are, and learn to understand who others are, and it is this give and take process which (I hope) my
books in some small way facilitate. What we don't understand, we too often fear; I like to think these books of mine are helping, in their small way, put to rest some small amount of fear in a world
that has grown increasingly troubled. •
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About the Author:
Robert D. San Souci was born in San Francisco, and still lives and works in the City by the Bay. Before
establishing himself as a full-time writer, he worked as a bookseller, a marketer for several publishing companies, and as an in-house and freelance editor. His books include: two
Caldecott Honor Books, The Talking Eggs, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, and The Faithful Friend (Simon & Schuster), illustrated by Brian Pinkney; two Aesop Awards from the Children's
Folklore Section of the American Folklore for Cut From the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale (Puffin/Penguin Putnam) and The Hired Hand (Dial); and
numerous other awards and honors.
Mr. San Souci created the screen story for Disney's animated feature, Mulan (1998), which was based on his
retelling of the legend published as Fa Mulan (Hyperion), a 1999 Notable Book for a Global Society (sponsored by the International Reading Association). He is widely sought as a presenter at
conferences, trade shows, and in schools across the country. He is also a regular contributor to a variety of magazines for young readers including Cobblestone, Faces, Calliope, and Appleseeds.
Recent books written by Robert D. San Souci include:
Cinderella Skeleton, illustrated by David Catrow (Harcourt, 2000)
Peter and the Blue Witch Baby, illustrated by Alexi Natchev (Random House/Bantam Doubleday, 2000)
Callie Ann and Mistah Bear, illustrated by Don Daily (Dial/Penguin Putnam, 2000)
Little Gold Star: A Spanish American Cinderella Tale, illustrated by Sergio Martinez (HarperCollins, 2000)
Six Foolish Fishermen, illustrated by Doug Kennedy (Hyperion, 2000)
To contact this author or illustrator, please use the information for his or her publisher provided on our list of CBC member publishers.
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