Letter to My Younger Self: Tara Lazar

Many of the experiences we have in elementary school shape the person we become in adulthood. Often those experiences are embarrassing or even painful. But what if you could write your younger self a letter to ensure her that everything was going to be alright? Or even better, what if you could send that letter along with a copy of your newly published picture book? 

We asked Tara Lazar, author of Normal Norman, to do that very thing. She’s written a book that explores the idea of normalcy via an english-speaking purple orangutan! Here’s what Tara  had to say to her childhood self:

(March 2016, yes, I’m living in the FUTURE!) ~

Hey, I know it stinks. Being told you shouldn’t be reading picture books anymore. WHAT? I’ve got to read chapters? And worse still… chapters with NO PICTURES???

What kind of NONSENSE is THAT?? Pictures make the story interesting!

You feel like you’re not a normal 2nd grader, that you’re a BABY and you read BABY BOOKS. (WAAA! I can’t draw.)

WELL, IT’S NOT TRUE!

I’m 45 years old & not only do I still read PICTURE BOOKS ~ I WRITE THEM!

That’s right!

I am (you are) a PICTURE BOOK AUTHOR! (Wow!)

So tell those teachers and kids to STUFF IT!

(Or wait, maybe that’s not nice.)

Just go to the PICTURE BOOK section and read as much as you like. It’s good practice for later, when you’re writing them.

Love,
me

P.S. There are NO flying cars.

Street magic performer. Hog-calling champion. Award-winning ice sculptor. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been. Instead, she writes quirky, humorous picture books featuring magical places that everyone will want to visit.

Her last name rhymes with “bazaar”—you can listen to Tara pronounce her name on TeachingBooks.net. She’s not Tara Laser-beam (although that would be awesome).