We are excited to present San Diego Festival Award Recipient, Chris Baron. Here is our interview with him:
Q1:Tell us a little bit about your books (All of Me and The Magical Imperfect) and what inspired you to write these stories.
A1: In so many ways they are vastly different! But let me start with how they are similar. Both books are Middle Grade Novels in Verse that take place in the Bay Area. This place is just a part of me. The settings of these books live in my heart–from the ocean to the redwoods and beyond. I lived there during my middle school years!
All of Me is the story of Ari Rosensweig, an overweight, seventh grade boy who loves cryptozoology and role-playing games. Ari is tired of being bullied and letting his weight define him. His parents’ marriage is struggling. They are too busy to focus on his life, much less help him with his already late bar mitzvah, and things take a turn for the worse. Ari’s mother, a painter and sculptor, decides to open an old gallery at the beach that summer. She puts him on a diet, and with the help of some unexpected friends, he tries to make a change physically, but that’s only the beginning of their adventures and the real change that comes.
The Magical Imperfect takes place in 1989–and is considered historical! What?! Anyway, The Magical Imperfect tells the story of deep family connections and finding empathy in the most difficult and unexpected places:
Of a small town between the Redwoods and the Sea in Northern California where a community of immigrants (who came through Angel Island) accept each other and form meaningful bonds even though they come from many different places.
Of an unlikely friendship between outcasts: Etan, who is selectively mute and spends most his days working with his grandfather on Main Street, and Malia who lives near an ancient grove of redwoods and never leaves the house because of her skin disease .
Of the magic that brings them together and changes their world.
Q2: What do you hope young readers take away from your stories?
A2: As a dad of three, I think about how at bedtime we read books and share stories about everything–real, imagined–everything goes. It’s joyful and free, and it is sacred. This time together connects us to each other and to characters in stories who teach us about the life we have, and the life we have yet to experience. I hope my stories can create connections in families. I also hope readers will learn about empathy and kindness for others, Jewish culture and tradition, overcoming struggles with body image, friendship, taking risks, and learning more about being brave and being themselves no matter what. I hope readers will know that if they are going through difficult things like the characters in the book, they will know that they are not alone. I also hope they will find a sense of wonder.
But also courage: Recently, I met a kid who struggles with weight, and has been whispered advice to about diet and exercise for as long as he can remember. He has trouble fitting in the small desks at school. But his eyes lit up when he told me how his teacher and classmates make sure he gets the bigger desk every time he comes. “There’s a place for me.” He smiles.
This kind of empathy and courage, to make sure our classmates have a place where they fit, where they belong? This seems like one of the best places to start taking a stand.
Q3: Who (or what) was your inspiration for the character Ari Rosensweig?
A3: It’s fun to say this: the LA TIMES called this a “fictional retelling.” So my inspiration comes from the life I have lived, my own struggles with weight, bullying, and trying to find my way in the world. Growing up overweight was challenging. I felt fine, normal, like every other kid, but people were so concerned about how I looked. So writing ALL OF ME is an exploration of those times. It’s also specifically tied to the magical summer in the Bay Area where the book takes place. I really do believe that middle grade — even with its wide range of ages — is a time of wonder and growth like no other. The experiences we have and the stories we read at this age are formative for how we see the world, find hope, and experience so many things.
Q4: On the topic of body positivity, what do you hope readers learn from reading All of Me?
A4: With ALL OF ME, I wrote a book for the young me, and for any kid who has felt like an outcast for wanting to just accept who they are. I wanted to focus the story not on “bettering yourself” through weight loss, but on accepting who you are all the way—health included—whatever that means for you. The best place to start is with empathy, inclusion, and compassion, and to make sure that kids know that they are included. It’s been inspiring to meet so many parents and educators who are learning to model what it means to be healthy and whole in the best possible way they know how.
And of course, empathy…
Q5: What is your favorite review or feedback that you have received from a young reader?
A5: Two stories come to mind. One of them is when a young reader took a poetry workshop with me during NerdCamp Socal. He got ALL OF ME in the morning, but by the afternoon, he had already finished half of it. “I love it!” he said. But then his mom came up behind him and told me she had never seen him read so fast, that this was a big deal!
The other time was on my launch day for ALL OF ME. I was greeted at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore by a young reader, an eighth grader who had preordered the book, received it the night before, and finished it. There I was, my arms full of pizza and drinks for the launch party (we brought in the food favorites from the book!) trying to shuffle my kids all around, but this reader NEEDED to talk. He told me it’s the first time he’d really felt seen. I asked him how he already read it. He told me he read about it in the San Diego Union Tribune, bought the book that morning, and read it that day. Wow.
Q6: What inspires you to write in verse and do you have any tips for writers who want to write in this format?
A6: I think that poetry speaks to the heart. We see with more than just our eyes, and the music of poetry helps to make words sing directly to us.
Poetry relates to all kinds of readers. There is space on the page, measured breaks, pacing, music, and movement of lines that a reader of almost any level can find their way into. The structure of verse creates an intimacy with a reader that allows them to hear the tone and cadence of a character’s voice. This can create even stronger connections for readers.
For me, poetry allows for more internal exploration to match the power and action of the external journey of a novel.
Tips? Maybe take a poetry workshop through San Diego Writers Ink, or something connected to the SD Writer’s Festival. Also-almost all the community colleges have good Creative Writing Programs. Just do what you can to learn more about poetry. Most of all, I would say, read. There are so many great verse novels out there. Read Rajani LaRocca, Nikki Grimes, Kip Wilson, Rachel Tolason., Dusti Bowling, KA Holt, Lisa Fipps, Laura Shovan, Amber McBride, Megan Freeman, Reem Faruqi, Jacquleine Woodson, Laura Shovan, Jacqueline Woodson, and so many more. Reading has helped me more than anything else.
Q7: Do you have any words of advice for San Diego writers of Middle Grade Fiction?
A7: Advice? Oh, similar to what I mentioned before. Read as much Middle Grade fiction as possible, and definitely plug into community. SCBWI is awesome, and anywhere you find the people who you can trust and who will lovingly stay with you and make sure you get the work done! Also, there are so many great colleges, organizations, and writing communities in San Diego. We have such a great community. Writing is so often solitary, but we don’t have to do it alone.
Thank you Chris and congratulations again!
