I have had some pretty geeky fangirl moments at writer’s conferences. I have geeked out meeting Tamora Pierce, John Green, Henry Winkler (yes, The Fonz, and also children’s books author), Sherman Alexie, Carrie Jones, and others. I have books proudly enshrined on my shelves with the signatures and best wishes to me from amazing authors. I even made it into a page of mentions in a wonderful middle-grade novel.

But it was when I had the brief opportunity to meet, and hug, Paula Danziger, that shines the brightest of them all.

I have written in a previous post about how important the books of Judy Blume were in walking me down the path of girlhood. If Judy Blume held onto one of my hands, Paula Danziger held firmly onto the other. She tugged me along with promises that a geeky, sensitive, never-to-be-pretty-in-the-tampon-ad-kind-of-way girl would eventually triumph- as long as I never gave up on what made me special.

In books like The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (which invited a conversation with my mom about what were gymsuits exactly?) and The Divorce Express, Paula’s characters were not every-girl; they were the slightly irregulars, the intelligent and the misfit- they were more me than any other characters I had met.

Parents who yelled at each other and yelled at their kids. Characters who talked to themselves and sounded out how they were sure to goof up. The consequences of divorced parents who were “finding their happy” but resulted in kids dragged from house to house or even to space stations. Unlikely friendships that blossomed between total opposites, and even between (gack!) girls and boys!

Paula Danziger’s stories would not be considered Young Adult in today’s market, but in the 1980’s they felt just right to me as a young teenager, consumed with issues of self-esteem and friendships, but not yet pushed into the edgier world of “books with S-E-X” in them. Parents were not just authorities, but beginning to seem as if they were characters in their own right, not just obeyed or ignored, but sometimes pitied. It was enough to consider having an actual conversation with my mom over dinner. Maybe.

Years passed. I carried some of her books with me to places of my adulthood, and even parenthood. And when my own daughters were getting to be real little people and I was alone for sometimes as much as 2-3 hours a day, I began thinking of what I should “do” someday, and how exactly one went about being a grown-up.

So, I thought about trying to become a writer – not too sure that I had anything to say. Despite my love of reading and maybe of playing with words (and, honestly, I thought everyone heard sentences in their heads that they would try and rework until they sounded just right) I was pretty sure one would FEEL like a writer if you really were one. But I was curious about the world of children’s books, and I was lucky to discover SCBWI, The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators- a group devoted to finding, polishing, celebrating, and honoring those who have created the world of kid lit.

(By the way- I highly suggest SCBWI as a place for anyone who wants to know more about writing or illustrator for children- and here is the handy-dandy link: SCBWI )

It was here, at my very first national event, that I got the opportunity to meet HER. That’s Paula Danziger!!! Squeeee! PAULA DANZINGER!!!!!*gasp*  She shone with verve and personality, in layers of colors and jewelry, the epitome of her own advice- writers are artists- dress like it!

I got the chance that evening to thank her. And hug her.

Paula Danziger died in 2004, far too young, and with so much more artistry in her. I felt grief but solace that I had the opportunity to say thank you to someone who was a hero to me. I am grateful that I had the chance, though, of course, there was not enough time for me to express it all.

 

Those who are a bit younger than me may recognize Paula Danziger as the author of the popular early chapter book series featuring a girl named Amber Brown:

 

Here is a lovely tribute to Paula Danziger from some of her friends in the children’s book world:Tribute to Paula Danziger

And by the way, the SCBWI loves Paula Danziger so much that they created a grant in her honor.  A school can win a visit from a children’s book author or illustrator. You can read more about it here:

 

And another article about the influence and life of Paula Danziger: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/32633-paula-danziger-remembered.html