Q&A WITH ALETHEA EASON, AUTHOR OF HUNGRY
We don’t often publish books about 6th graders whose parents tell
them they have to eat their best friend. But Hungry is more than
just science fiction. Alethea Eason is a teacher whose two decades
in the schools have informed her writing and taught her much
about kids and their concerns and values.
How did you come to write the novel Hungry?
Hungry began as a short story called “Deborah’s Choice” for Bruce
Coville’s anthology ALIEN VISITORS, published by Avon Books.
This was my husband’s favorite story. He asked me several times
to write more about the characters, but I figured one story about
flesh eating aliens was enough. Finally, Bill said, “Do it for my
birthday.” “Darn, he’s got me,” I thought. But I managed to write the
first draft in a year.
Say a few words about your teaching life.
I’m in my twenty-first year as a teacher and work now as a reading
specialist. I see kindergarteners through sixth graders during the
day, doing phonemic awareness, English Language instruction,
front loading concepts and vocabulary, writing instruction, and I
have a reading group this year of fourth through sixth graders.
Does your work as a teacher influence you as a
writer?
I bring drafts of my work to show my students when I want to
reinforce the need to rewrite. Also, I think some of the kids are
more willing to take chances at expressing themselves because
they know me as a writer as well as a teacher. I’m there with bad
hair days, looking up how to spell words in the dictionary, dealing
with behavior, and giving assignments. I’m sure some think, if she’s
a writer, I can be one.
I’m currently working with a fourth grade group in narrative,
emphasizing making “mind movies” to create specific details. This
particular group of kids has picked up these ideas fast, and it’s
been exciting to watch them grow as authors.
Kids I've worked with also give me ideas. The idea of the wedding
in the cemetery came from a boy whose dad and step-mom got
married in the Lower Lake Cemetery on Halloween. Their family
also celebrated the “month of Halloween,” though Jon didn’t come
to school in costume the way Willy does.
What relevance does Hungry have for kids as they
approach middle school?
I think Deborah voices the range of emotions kids experience at this
age. She loves her family, but her parents also embarrass her and
make what she perceives as impossible demands. She struggles
with the values she’s been raised with, those of her family and of
21st century American culture, and the values she is cultivating for
herself. Her “eating issues,” the disruptions that puberty presents,
her fluctuating feelings about her friend Willy…
I believe all these things will resonate with kids.
Deborah often feels no one is listening to her and put-out by her
parents and teacher. She doesn’t like her teacher. I think every kid
knows a Mr. Bartlett; even teachers who are loved are at times
perceived as unfair. But I believe Deborah has the optimism that
keeps kids going, despite fluctuating hormones or whatever life
might be throwing at them.
What are you writing now?
I think Deborah has more to say. I’ve started what I’m calling
STARVED, though it’s still very early in the process. Deborah will
be a little older and struggling more with the things she’s done to
survive, and finding the values of the Home World still have a
strong pull as she’s trying to be “human.”
We don’t often publish books about 6th graders whose parents tell
them they have to eat their best friend. But Hungry is more than
just science fiction. Alethea Eason is a teacher whose two decades
in the schools have informed her writing and taught her much
about kids and their concerns and values.
How did you come to write the novel Hungry?
Hungry began as a short story called “Deborah’s Choice” for Bruce
Coville’s anthology ALIEN VISITORS, published by Avon Books.
This was my husband’s favorite story. He asked me several times
to write more about the characters, but I figured one story about
flesh eating aliens was enough. Finally, Bill said, “Do it for my
birthday.” “Darn, he’s got me,” I thought. But I managed to write the
first draft in a year.
Say a few words about your teaching life.
I’m in my twenty-first year as a teacher and work now as a reading
specialist. I see kindergarteners through sixth graders during the
day, doing phonemic awareness, English Language instruction,
front loading concepts and vocabulary, writing instruction, and I
have a reading group this year of fourth through sixth graders.
Does your work as a teacher influence you as a
writer?
I bring drafts of my work to show my students when I want to
reinforce the need to rewrite. Also, I think some of the kids are
more willing to take chances at expressing themselves because
they know me as a writer as well as a teacher. I’m there with bad
hair days, looking up how to spell words in the dictionary, dealing
with behavior, and giving assignments. I’m sure some think, if she’s
a writer, I can be one.
I’m currently working with a fourth grade group in narrative,
emphasizing making “mind movies” to create specific details. This
particular group of kids has picked up these ideas fast, and it’s
been exciting to watch them grow as authors.
Kids I've worked with also give me ideas. The idea of the wedding
in the cemetery came from a boy whose dad and step-mom got
married in the Lower Lake Cemetery on Halloween. Their family
also celebrated the “month of Halloween,” though Jon didn’t come
to school in costume the way Willy does.
What relevance does Hungry have for kids as they
approach middle school?
I think Deborah voices the range of emotions kids experience at this
age. She loves her family, but her parents also embarrass her and
make what she perceives as impossible demands. She struggles
with the values she’s been raised with, those of her family and of
21st century American culture, and the values she is cultivating for
herself. Her “eating issues,” the disruptions that puberty presents,
her fluctuating feelings about her friend Willy…
I believe all these things will resonate with kids.
Deborah often feels no one is listening to her and put-out by her
parents and teacher. She doesn’t like her teacher. I think every kid
knows a Mr. Bartlett; even teachers who are loved are at times
perceived as unfair. But I believe Deborah has the optimism that
keeps kids going, despite fluctuating hormones or whatever life
might be throwing at them.
What are you writing now?
I think Deborah has more to say. I’ve started what I’m calling
STARVED, though it’s still very early in the process. Deborah will
be a little older and struggling more with the things she’s done to
survive, and finding the values of the Home World still have a
strong pull as she’s trying to be “human.”
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Questions and Answers for parents and teachers