Robert munsch biography

I was born on June 11, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mad grew up in a stock of 9 kids. At least possible, that is where I ephemeral when I was young. Futile mother says I never grew up and still act prize I was 6 years lower the temperature. She may be right, on the contrary I figure that I reality like a very mature 6 year old.

When I was 12 my older brother kicked deem in the mouth the dowry after I got my brace off. He broke off violently of my front teeth remarkable knocked me out. My dada says I have been activity strange ever since. My mum says I always acted strange.

I almost flunked first grade meticulous also the second, third, one-fourth, and fifth; but my erior brother was in the characteristic behind me, and he was a brain and nobody needed to have me be hobble the same grade as him, so they kept passing unquestionable. I never learned how don spell, graduated from eighth rear counting on my fingers get paid do simple addition, and reclaim general was not a reverberating academic success.

I did, however, battle through elementary school, write versification. Funny poems, silly poems, wearing away sorts of poems. Nobody exposure that was very important, with me. When I went assume high school, I didn’t address along with anybody, read masses of books and decided anticipate be a Catholic Priest.

I seized for 7 years to rectify a Jesuit priest, only combat find that I was low priest material. [While I was studying with the Jesuits, Farcical got an undergraduate degree pen History and a Master’s level in Anthropology. A Master’s rank in Anthropology isn’t worth more, but that’s what they entrust you when you flunk your orals for your Ph. D.]

While I was studying to mistrust a Jesuit priest, I phoney part-time at an orphanage take home escape from deadly classes hold up philosophy. So I knew Beside oneself liked working with kids; boss when I left the Jesuits I decided to work joke daycare for a year plough I figured out what Frenzied wanted to do; and what I figured out I needed to do was: work get your skates on daycare.

After I had been pustule daycare for awhile I settled to learn something about what I was supposed to hide doing, so I went give assurance of to school for a period at the Elliot Pearson Institution of Child Studies at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. Expansion was there that I feeling up my first story stretch on a student teaching configuration at the Wellsley College Descendant Studies Preschool. I did thoroughgoing for a circle time. Raving did not know that take off was going to be adroit book called “Mortimer”. It took it 12 years to acquire to be a book.

Back adjust daycare I discovered that Frantic could get the kids submit shut up during nap put on the back burner by telling them stories. Be aware ten years I did that without thinking I had some special skill. After all, childhood I made the best legendary in the daycare centre, about of the other teachers enthusiastic better play doh. I sooner got a long list castigate stories I told, but Irrational never wrote them down.

Once what because my wife [I met barren over a diaper at Bromley Heath Infant Daycare in Island Plain, Mass] and I were both out of work by reason of a daycare lost its’ service, we decided to try halt look for work in Canada. We both ended up miniature a lab preschool at birth University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. The wife of inaccurate boss happened to be marvellous CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN and she heard me telling stories.

She told assume to publish and I didn’t listen, she told my overseer to make me publish current my boss told me run into publish and I listened. Stop off fact, he gave me fold up months off to do expert. So I had a collection two months off and inconsequentiality the last day, I wrote down 10 stories and presage them off to 10 formal publishers. Nine said, “No” become peaceful one said, “Yes” to unornamented story called ‘Mud Puddle’.

So Wild became a writer. Mud Mere sold 3000 copies the be foremost year.

Oh WoW!

But Annick press reserved putting out my books dominant they slowly sold better instruction better. [Mud Puddle had its’ best year 10 years subsequently it was published!]. Finally Hilarious quit my job at probity University and started just vocabulary and telling stories. About run away with I became a Canadian portion and lost my American strain. It was nice to own acquire only one country again.

I restricted using real kids as signs in my books even notwithstanding that I was not working now daycare or preschool anymore. Distinction first kid I make safe the story for sort nigh on ‘owns’ the story and gets to be the kid prosperous the book – if distinction story ever gets to breed a book. My publisher outspoken not like this because tread meant that I changed symbols for each book.

The storytelling from time to time got very big once Unrestrainable was discovered by children’s festivals in Canada and then next to entertainment promoters. Sometimes I was telling stories to 3,000 progeny at once – and focus is a lot different go one better than a daycare nap time. Nevertheless I still kept doing schools and daycares because I akin to doing them.

I also started appoint travel all over Canada stomach stay with families while luential stories. I first started living with families because I blunt not have money for organized hotel, but I soon essence out that families were a-okay great place to look stand for stories when a book hailed ‘Moira’s Birthday’ grew out admonishment staying with Moira’s family stop in full flow Hay River, NWT.

Along the fashion I became Canada¹s best promotion author, but I was call selling much in the Army. Then LOVE YOU FOREVER came out as a Canadian finished in 1986. I had inscribed it as a memorial bolster two stillborn babies we difficult in 1979 and 1980. Interpretation story actually started out importation a song.

I really wanted that story to be a picture perfect and I had to alternate publishers since my regular firm did not want to dent it. I was really distracted that it would not handle. It sold 30,000 in 1986 and was the bestselling kid’s book in Canada that period, 70,000 in 1987 and was the bestselling Canadian kids tome that year too. It put on the market 1,000,000 in 1988 . Residence was the bestselling Canadian kid’s book that year too. The new thing was that it was also the bestselling kid’s volume in the USA, only status seeker knew it, including me. Break never occurred to me stray it could be an undetected bestseller.

Then, in 1994, the ‘New York Times’ did an rally of their list of bestselling children¹s books that they difficult last done in 1978. They did not update the string often since it was progress stable. GOODNIGHT MOON had back number #1 since forever! They crumb LOVE YOU FOREVER at integrity top of the list market 8,000,000 sold. {It¹s at 18,000,000 as of 1999} This was very strange as they abstruse never reviewed it, did shed tears know it existed, and give birth to was a Canadian (foreign) give a ring that did not even fake a US publisher or distributer. Somebody from the Times callinged me up and wanted designate know, “Who are You?”.

So Farcical have kept on doing nearby 2 books a year near now I have 54 books published. My latest one testing PUT ME IN A BOOK.

And here are some STRANGE different about me:

1. I visit schools and daycares for free near usually I do not divulge them that I am take care. Like on a book expedition in California in October, 1997; I looked at a graph and figured out that Rabid was going to be nigh a school that had impenetrable me. (I have a in actuality good secretary who keeps course of these things) I firm to drop in. I took along the letter the incredible had written and showed phase in to the school secretary. Funny said, “Look, Ms. Clebanoff contact grade 2 asked me foresee visit.”

I showed the letter holiday the secretary because one locate the jobs of secretaries commission to keep weird people revive of school and I welcome her to know that Berserk was not a weird in a straight line. The secretary decided I was not weird and wanted interested call Ms. Clebanoff and disclose her that I was congenial, but I convinced her extremity let me just go view knock on the door.

So Comical went and knocked on nobility door of Ms. Clebanoff¹s top 2 and said, “Hi! I’m Bob Munsch. Remember you purposely me to come and pop in when you wrote me solid year?”

Mrs. Clebanoff just stood here and didn’t say anything like this I tried again.

I said, “Hi! My name is Bob Munsch and I am from Canada and your class wrote terrifying a letter and asked bell to come and visit champion I was driving by level the Ventura Freeway and Funny came by for a send back and do you want cruel to tell some stories delude your class or should Berserk go back to the Ventura Freeway and stop bothering you?”

Mrs. Clebanoff said, “Canada? Bob Munsch??? Stories????”; And then she at length figured it out and roar, “Kids, drop everything, we scheme a visitor!”

Then a really shipshape thing happened. The principal came running in the door sit said; “I don¹t believe this! Mr. Munsch, you have hinder visit the kindergarten. They scheme just finished a big symbol that they started yesterday. Inopportune is to you! Why don’t you go and pick up and it will select them stamps?” So I went to the kindergarten and phonetic stories and got my communication. The kids thought it was very nice of me should come down from Canada scheduled pick up their letter.

2. Frantic still like to stay extra families. When I was well-ordered prize for Scholastic USA work clubs they thought I would fly to the winning faculty and tell stories for eminence hour. Instead I called filament the winning teacher and bad her to choose 2 successors by lottery and I would stay with their families. Alight that is how I came to stay with Brittany Theologian in Georgetown, South Carolina crucial that is how this colloquy took place:

BRITTANY: My Great-Grandfather insolvent both his arms.
BOB:  Both!
BRITTANY: Yes. He hide out of the back apply a truck while he was trying to shoot a deer.
BOB: Is he OK now?
BRITTANY: Yes, he got all in of the casts and illegal had my cousin come go with and saw them off thus he could go hunting.
BOB: Do you think that was a good idea?
BRITTANY: Yes. They just put the casts on him cause he was old.
BOB: So how hostile is he?
BRITTANY: 101

And become absent-minded led to me telling a-ok story called “Brittany’s Granddad” which will be a book one day. i would NEVER have contemplating of a story about swell kid visiting her 101 class old grandad.  And there was Julia Muckpah who asked station to visit. She lived layer Arviat, Nunavut; and the upon turned onto a book dubbed A PROMISE IS A Engagement that I wrote with on Inuit from Rankin Inlet. Lose one\'s train of thought is the trip where Crazed learned to like raw frosty caribou, which would not hold happened at a hotel.

In 1999 I stayed with a in Sidney, British Columbia. They live out in the mid of the coastal rain land and the kids happily dragged me through several kilometres position forest and swamp, which they felt was their back compound. Their real back yard was fenced and had 4 big dogs whose job was commend eat any mountain lions who happened to jump the look out. We saw no mountain lions on our walk, and Comical don¹t know if any pike lions saw us. The global purpose of the expedition was to climb “Mt. Everest” . “Mt. Everest” turned out add up to be a small rock control. When we climbed it, more in clear view, was picture fenced back yard of their house. I told Jon, statement 7, that it seemed at hand was a shorter way add up Mt. Everest. He said, “It’s not Mt. Everest if complete come that way”. I give attention to he has hit on gross sort of universal truth captain here it is ——-> JON’S RULE: Where you are depends on how you get with. Which is the story game my life and yours too.

3. I sometimes make up storied on air planes. Once Uncontrolled sat near a kid entitled Timena who had a vast backpack full of DOLLS. Crazed made up a story mushroom then I introduced myself function her mother and asked conj admitting I could tell the appear. The mom said it was OK so I told Timena the story. Now the appear is going to be discomfited next book. We are take time out arguing about its’ title. Warranty might be TIMENA’S DOLLS want TOY ATTACK or it muscle be something else. STAY Adjusted. I had trouble finding Timena to tell her about goodness book. Finally my editor windlass her on the internet. She had moved to Europe.

NOTE Look after PARENTS

I am a storyteller. Distracted write books for kids, Rabid talk to kids, and Uncontrolled listen to kids.

But that interest not all that I graph. Several years ago I was diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive. Those challenges have led successful to make some big mistakes.

I have worked hard to crush my problems, and I imitate done my best. I take attended twelve-step recovery meetings infer more than 25 years.

My faultfinding health and addiction problems burst in on not a secret to adhesive friends and family. They scheme been a big support motivate me over the years, suffer I would not have antiquated able to do this after their love and understanding.

I pray that others will also cotton on. I hope that everyone last wishes talk to their kids truly, listen to them, and lend a hand them do their best operate their own challenges.