Rick Walton Biography

Biographies of Other Children's Authors

Rick Walton became a children's writer because, after trying almost every other career in the book, he finally realized that writing for kids was one of the few things that he both enjoyed and was good at. Since that realization he has had over thirty five books published, with another ten or so more scheduled for publication over the next couple of years. His works include picture books, riddle books, activity books, a collection of poetry, and educational and game software. His books have been featured on the IRA Children's Choice list, on Reading rainbow, and on CBS This Morning.

Questions Kids Ask Rick

Q: Why do you write?
A: Because...
...I love the creative process.
...I like playing with words.
...Writing lets me pretend to be someone else.
...I want to leave as much of value as I can when I'm gone.
...I like reading my stories to my kids.
...I like to belong to writers groups.
...I like something I've done to add to the lives of others.
...I like to communicate what I believe about life.
...I like to see my name in print.
...I've tried every other career, and this is the only one left.
...Money.

Q: All that?
A: And more--I write for the same reason I eat. Because I'd die if I didn't. It's an obsession.

Q: Why do you like to write for children?
A: Children's literature is incredibly varied. I like to write for children because I can write about anything in almost any fashion. I can be more inventive in writing for children than I can in writing for any other audience.

Q: What should good children's literature do?
A: First it should delight, and second, teach. If literature for children attempts to teach without being delightful, it will fail.

Q: Where do you get your ideas?
A: Absolutely everything is a source of ideas. For example, your shoes are giving me an idea for a book right now.

Q: How much money do you make?
A: Not nearly enough.

Q: How many books have you written?
A: Several hundred. How many have I had published however? See my bibliography.

Q: How long does it take you to write a book?
A: Some books take me an hour to write. Some books take me several days. Some take me several weeks. It depends on how long the book is, how well the book is developed in my mind, and how much research I have to do for the book.

Q: How old do you have to be to get a book published?
A: How old are you? That's old enough.

Q: Do you have any kids?
A: Four. So far. I'm hoping that at least one of them will be able to support me in my old age--which should be here any minute now.

Q: Is writing fun?
A: For me it is. For others, plumbing might be fun. I hope it is. I have some pipes that need fixing and I hope my plumber enjoys himself, because the job isn't going to be easy.

Q: What do you hate most about writing?
A: Deadlines. And not knowing how much money I'm going to get, or when it's coming.

Q: What would you be if you weren't a writer?
A: A tour guide, or a songwriter, or a presidential adviser, or if Harold II hadn't lost the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the right 100,000 people had died in the right order--King of England.

Q: What jobs have you had?
A: Yard worker, copy center clerk, dishwasher, cook in a Mexican restaurant, secretary, arts administrator, research assistant, technical editor, school teacher, educational software designer.

Q: What's your favorite book you've written?
A: All of them! (It's like asking "What's my favorite kid?") Okay, I admit, I do have some books I like better than others, but I'm not telling you which. I'm more interested in what's YOUR favorite book I've written.

Q: What's your favorite book you've read?
A: I don't have one favorite book. When I was a kid I read every funny book and every mystery series I could find. Now I read all kinds of books, but my favorite are funny books, the funnier and weirder the better. I like Roald Dahl, Daniel Pinkwater, Babette Cole, John Scieska, Dave Barry, Patrick McManus, David Wiesner, E. Nesbit, and anything you've written.

Q: When did you start writing?
A: When I was a kid I did some writing just for fun. Mostly really silly stuff. But I decided I wanted to be a professional writer when I was in my early twenties.

Check out books by Rick Walton

Visit the official Rick Walton web site