Hello. My name is Jarrett Krosoczka, and I write and illustrate books for children for a living. So I use my imagination as my full-time job. But well before my imagination was my vocation, my imagination saved my life.
Buna ziua! Mă numesc Jarrett Krosoczka, scriu şi ilustrez cărţi pentru copii. Pentru mine imaginaţia e un full-time job. Mult înainte ca imaginaţia să devină o vocaţie, imaginația mi-a salvat viaţa.
When I was a kid, I loved to draw, and the most talented artist I knew was my mother, but my mother was addicted to heroin. And when your parent is a drug addict, it's kind of like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, because as much as you want to love on that person, as much as you want to receive love from that person, every time you open your heart, you end up on your back. So throughout my childhood, my mother was incarcerated and I didn't have my father because I didn't even learn his first name until I was in the sixth grade. But I had my grandparents, my maternal grandparents Joseph and Shirley, who adopted me just before my third birthday and took me in as their own, after they had already raised five children. So two people who grew up in the Great Depression, there in the very, very early '80s took on a new kid. I was the Cousin Oliver of the sitcom of the Krosoczka family, the new kid who came out of nowhere.
Când eram copil, adoram să desenez, şi cel mai talentat artist pe care l-am cunoscut a fost mama mea, însă mama era dependentă de heroină. Când părintele e dependent de droguri, eşti ca Charlie Brown, mimând că joci fotbal, oricât vrei să iubeşti acea persoană, oricât ai vrea să primeşti iubire de la ea, de fiecare dată cand îţi deschizi inima, eşti doborât. În copilărie, mama a fost închisă iar tata - nu i-am ştiut nici numele mic până într-a şasea. Dar i-am avut pe bunicii din partea mamei, Joseph şi Shirley, care m-au adoptat înainte să împlinesc trei ani şi m-au crescut ca pe propriul lor copil, după ce deja crescuseră alţi cinci. Aşa că doi oameni care au crescut în Marea Recesiune, la începutul anilor '80, au luat în grijă un alt copil. Eram Vărul Oliver din serialul familiei Krosoczka, copilul nou, apărut de nicăieri.
And I would like to say that life was totally easy with them. They each smoked two packs a day, each, nonfiltered, and by the time I was six, I could order a Southern Comfort Manhattan, dry with a twist, rocks on the side, the ice on the side so you could fit more liquor in the drink.
Aş vrea să spun că viaţa a fost mai uşoară cu ei. Fiecare fuma două pachete de tigări fără filtru şi la vârsta de 6 ani puteam comanda Southern Comfort Manhattan, sec, cu lămâie şi gheaţă separat, pentru a putea pune mai mult alcool în băutură.
But they loved the hell out of me. They loved me so much. And they supported my creative efforts, because my grandfather was a self-made man. He ran and worked in a factory. My grandmother was a homemaker. But here was this kid who loved Transformers and Snoopy and the Ninja Turtles, and the characters that I read about, I fell in love with, and they became my friends. So my best friends in life were the characters I read about in books.
Dar m-au iubit nespus. Şi mi-au susţinut eforturile creative, pentru că bunicul s-a ridicat prin propriile sale eforturi. A condus şi a lucrat într-o fabrică. Bunica mea era casnică. Eu eram un copil care iubea Transformers, Snoopy şi Ninja Turtles şi mă îndrăgosteam de personajele despre care citeam, deveneau prietenii mei. Cei mai buni prieteni ai mei erau personajele despre care citeam în cărţi.
I went to Gates Lane Elementary School in Worcester, Massachusetts, and I had wonderful teachers there, most notably in first grade Mrs. Alisch. And I just, I can just remember the love that she offered us as her students.
La şcoala primară Gates Lane în Worcester, Massachusetts am avut profesori extraordinari, mai ales Doamna Alisch din clasa I. Îmi aduc aminte, de dragostea pe care ne-o oferea, nouă, elevilor săi.
When I was in the third grade, a monumental event happened. An author visited our school, Jack Gantos. A published author of books came to talk to us about what he did for a living. And afterwards, we all went back to our classrooms and we drew our own renditions of his main character, Rotten Ralph. And suddenly the author appeared in our doorway, and I remember him sort of sauntering down the aisles, going from kid to kid looking at the desks, not saying a word. But he stopped next to my desk, and he tapped on my desk, and he said, "Nice cat." (Laughter) And he wandered away. Two words that made a colossal difference in my life.
În clasa a III-a a avut loc un eveniment măreţ. Un autor, Jack Gantos, ne-a vizitat şcoala. Un autor publicat a venit să ne vorbească despre ce făcea pentru a-şi câstiga existenţa. Apoi, ne-am întors cu toţii în clase şi am desenat în versiunea noastră personajul principal, Rotten Ralph. Autorul a intrat brusc în clasă, şi îmi amintesc cum se plimba printre bănci, privind tăcut desenul fiecărui copil. În dreptul meu s-a oprit, a bătut în bancă şi a spus, „Drăguţă pisică." (Râsete) Şi a plecat. Două cuvinte care au însemnat enorm pentru mine.
When I was in the third grade, I wrote a book for the first time, "The Owl Who Thought He Was The Best Flyer." (Laughter) We had to write our own Greek myth, our own creation story, so I wrote a story about an owl who challenged Hermes to a flying race, and the owl cheated, and Hermes, being a Greek god, grew angry and bitter, and turned the owl into a moon, so the owl had to live the rest of his life as a moon while he watched his family and friends play at night. Yeah. (Laughter)
În clasa a III- a am scris prima carte, „Bufniţa care se credea cea mai pricepută zburătoare." (Râsete) A trebuit să scriem propriul mit grecesc, propria poveste, aşa că am scris despre o bufniţă care l-a provocat pe Hermes la o întrecere în zbor, şi bufniţa a trişat, iar Hermes - zeul grec, s-a înfuriat, şi a transformat-o într-o lună, iar ea şi-a petrecut restul vieţii privind cum familia şi prietenii se jucau noaptea. Da. (Râsete)
My book had a title page. I was clearly worried about my intellectual property when I was eight. (Laughter) And it was a story that was told with words and pictures, exactly what I do now for a living, and I sometimes let the words have the stage on their own, and sometimes I allowed the pictures to work on their own to tell the story.
Cartea mea a avut o pagină pentru titlu. La 8 ani eram clar ingrijorat pentru proprietatea mea intelectuală. (Râsete) Iar povestea era spusă cu cuvinte și imagini, exact aşa cum fac astăzi în munca mea, şi câteodată las cuvintele să iasă singure, alteori îngădui imaginilor să lucreze de la sine pentru a spune povestea.
My favorite page is the "About the author" page. (Laughter) So I learned to write about myself in third person at a young age.
Pagina mea favorită este cea „Despre autor". (Răsete) Am învăţat să scriu despre mine la persoana a III-a de când eram mic.
So I love that last sentence: "He liked making this book." And I liked making that book because I loved using my imagination, and that's what writing is. Writing is using your imagination on paper, and I do get so scared because I travel to so many schools now and that seems like such a foreign concept to kids, that writing would be using your imagination on paper, if they're allowed to even write now within the school hours. So I loved writing so much that I'd come home from school, and I would take out pieces of paper, and I would staple them together, and I would fill those blank pages with words and pictures just because I loved using my imagination.
Îmi place ultima propoziţie: „I-a plăcut să scrie această carte." Mi-a plăcut să fac cartea pentru că îmi plăcea să-mi folosesc imaginaţia, şi asta înseamnă scrisul. Să scrii înseamnă să-ţi pui imaginaţia pe hârtie, iar acum sunt îngrozit că merg prin şcoli şi văd copii care nu ştiu că scrisul înseamnă să-ţi pui imaginaţia pe hârtie, chiar când pot să scrie în orele de curs. Îmi plăcea atât de mult să scriu, încăt veneam de la şcoală şi luam bucăţi de hârtie, pe care le capsam, şi le umpleam cu cuvinte şi imagini doar pentru că îmi placea să-mi folosesc imaginaţia.
And so these characters would become my friends. There was an egg, a tomato, a head of lettuce and a pumpkin, and they all lived in this refrigerator city, and in one of their adventures they went to a haunted house that was filled with so many dangers like an evil blender who tried to chop them up, an evil toaster who tried to kidnap the bread couple, and an evil microwave who tried to melt their friend who was a stick of butter. (Laughter) And I'd make my own comics too, and this was another way for me to tell stories, through words and through pictures.
Aşa au devenit aceste personaje prietenii mei. A fost odată un ou, o roșie, o salată şi un dovleac care trăiau în oraşul frigider, şi într-una din aventurile lor au mers la o casă bântuită care era plină de primejdii cum ar fi un blender rău care voia să le taie, un prăjitor care voia să răpească feliile de pâine, şi un cuptor cu microunde care voia să le topească prietenul, bucata de unt. (Râsete) Îmi fac propriile benzi desenate, alt mod prin care spun poveşti, prin cuvinte şi imagini.
Now when I was in sixth grade, the public funding all but eliminated the arts budgets in the Worcester public school system. I went from having art once a week to twice a month to once a month to not at all. And my grandfather, he was a wise man, and he saw that as a problem, because he knew that was, like, the one thing I had. I didn't play sports. I had art. So he walked into my room one evening, and he sat on the edge of my bed, and he said, "Jarrett, it's up to you, but if you'd like to, we'd like to send you to the classes at the Worcester Art Museum." And I was so thrilled. So from sixth through 12th grade, once, twice, sometimes three times a week, I would take classes at the art museum, and I was surrounded by other kids who loved to draw, other kids who shared a similar passion.
Când eram în clasa a VI-a, bugetul artelor nu a mai fost finanţat în sistemul de şcoli publice. Am început să avem materia săptămânal, apoi de două ori pe lună, o dată pe lună şi apoi deloc. Iar bunicul, care era înţelept, şi-a dat seama, pentru că ştia că era ce îmi doream. Nu-mi plăcea sa fac sport. Aveam arta. Într-o seară a intrat în camera mea, s-a aşezat pe marginea patului, şi a spus, „Jarrett, dacă vrei te trimitem la la cursurile de la Muzeul de Artă Worcester." Am fost încântat. Deci din clasa a VI-a până în a XII-a, o dată, de două, câteodată de trei ori pe săptămână, mergeam la cursuri la muzeul de artă, şi eram înconjurat de copii care iubeau să deseneze, copii cu aceeaşi pasiune.
Now my publishing career began when I designed the cover for my eighth grade yearbook, and if you're wondering about the style of dress I put our mascot in, I was really into Bell Biv DeVoe and MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice at the time. (Laughter) And to this day, I still can do karaoke to "Ice, Ice Baby" without looking at the screen. Don't tempt me, because I will do it.
Cariera a început când am proiectat coperta cărţii mele din clasa a VIII-a, şi am reprezentat mascota, în stilul Bell Biv DeVoe şi MC Hammer şi Vanilla Ice. (Râsete) Pot face şi astăzi karaoke la „Ice, Ice, Baby." fără să mă uit la ecran. Nu mă provocaţi!
So I get shipped off to private school, K through eight, public schools, but for some reason my grandfather was upset that somebody at the local high school had been stabbed and killed, so he didn't want me to go there. He wanted me to go to a private school, and he gave me an option. You can go to Holy Name, which is coed, or St. John's, which is all boys. Very wise man, because he knew I would, I felt like I was making the decision on my own, and he knew I wouldn't choose St. John's, so I went to Holy Name High School, which was a tough transition because, like I said, I didn't play sports, and it was very focused on sports, but I took solace in Mr. Shilale's art room. And I just flourished here. I just couldn't wait to get to that classroom every day.
Am fost trimis la o şcoală privată, erau opt astfel de şcoli publice, dar bunicul a fost supărat că cineva de la şcoala locală a fost ucis, aşa că nu a vrut să merg acolo. A vrut să merg la o şcoală privată şi mi-a dat de ales. Poţi merge la Holy Name, care e mixtă, sau St.John care-i doar pentru băieţi. Înţelept om pentru ca ştia că mă simţeam ca şi cum luam eu decizia, şi ştia că nu voi alege St.John, aşa că m-am dus la Holy Name High School, o tranziţie grea, pentru că nu îmi plăcea sportul, iar acolo se punea accent pe sport, dar m-am consolat în clasa de artă a D-lui Shilale. Acolo am înflorit. Abia aşteptam să ajung în clasă.
So how did I make friends? I drew funny pictures of my teachers -- (Laughter) -- and I passed them around. Well, in English class, in ninth grade, my friend John, who was sitting next to me, laughed a little bit too hard. Mr. Greenwood was not pleased. (Laughter) He instantly saw that I was the cause of the commotion, and for the first time in my life, I was sent to the hall, and I thought, "Oh no, I'm doomed. My grandfather's just going to kill me." And he came out to the hallway and he said, "Let me see the paper." And I thought, "Oh no. He thinks it's a note." And so I took this picture, and I handed it to him. And we sat in silence for that brief moment, and he said to me, "You're really talented." (Laughter) "You're really good. You know, the school newspaper needs a new cartoonist, and you should be the cartoonist. Just stop drawing in my class."
Cum mi-am făcut prieteni? Desenam imagini amuzante ale profesorilor. (Răsete) Și le circulam prin clasă. La ora de engleză într-a IX-a, prietenul meu John, care stătea lângă mine, a râs un pic prea tare. D-l Greenwood s-a supărat. (Râsete) A ştiut că eu eram motivul agitaţiei, şi pentru prima dată am fost dat afară din clasă, gândindu-mă „Sunt terminat. Bunicul o să mă omoare." A ieşit pe hol şi mi-a spus, „Să văd hârtia." M-am gândit, „Of, crede că-i o fiţuică." Am luat imaginea şi i-am dat-o. Un timp am tăcut amândoi, iar el a spus, „Eşti talentat." (Râsete) „Eşti chiar bun. Ziarul şcolii are nevoie de un caricaturist şi tu ar trebui să fii acela. Dar nu mai desena la ora mea."
So my parents never found out about it. I didn't get in trouble. I was introduced to Mrs. Casey, who ran the school newspaper, and I was for three and a half years the cartoonist for my school paper, handling such heavy issues as, seniors are mean, freshmen are nerds, the prom bill is so expensive. I can't believe how much it costs to go to the prom. And I took the headmaster to task and then I also wrote an ongoing story about a boy named Wesley who was unlucky in love, and I just swore up and down that this wasn't about me, but all these years later it was totally me.
Părinţii mei n-au aflat niciodată de asta. Am fost prezentat D-nei Casey, care conducea ziarul, şi trei ani jumate am fost caricaturistul ziarului şcolii, unde m-am confruntat cu probleme dificile ca, cei mari sunt răi, bobocii sunt tocilari, balul e scump. Incredibil de scump. M-am legat şi de director, şi am scris un serial despre un băiat numit Wesley care n-avea noroc în dragoste şi a trebuit să jur că nu era vorba despre mine, dar aşa era.
But it was so cool because I could write these stories, I could come up with these ideas, and they'd be published in the school paper, and people who I didn't know could read them. And I loved that thought, of being able to share my ideas through the printed page.
Era atât de tare să pot scrie acele poveşti, să pot prezenta acele idei, care să fie publicate în ziarul şcolii, iar oameni necunoscuţi să le citească. Îmi plăcea că-mi pot împărtăşi ideile tipărite.
On my 14th birthday, my grandfather and my grandmother gave me the best birthday present ever: a drafting table that I have worked on ever since. Here I am, 20 years later, and I still work on this table every day. On the evening of my 14th birthday, I was given this table, and we had Chinese food. And this was my fortune: "You will be successful in your work." I taped it to the top left hand of my table, and as you can see, it's still there. Now I never really asked my grandparents for anything. Well, two things: Rusty, who was a great hamster and lived a great long life when I was in fourth grade. (Laughter) And a video camera. I just wanted a video camera. And after begging and pleading for Christmas, I got a second-hand video camera, and I instantly started making my own animations on my own, and all throughout high school I made my own animations. I convinced my 10th grade English teacher to allow me to do my book report on Stephen King's "Misery" as an animated short. (Laughter)
La 14 ani, bunicii mei mi-au făcut cel mai dorit cadou: o masă de desen la care lucrez de atunci. După 20 de ani, lucrez zilnic la aceeaşi masă. În seara aniversării mele de 14 ani, am primit acest cadou şi am avut mâncare chinezească. Iar răvaşul meu spunea: „Vei avea succes în munca ta." L-am lipit în stânga-sus de masa de desen, unde e şi astăzi. Nu am cerut nimic bunicilor, în afară de două lucruri: pe Rusty, un hamster care a trăit până cand eram în clasa a IV-a. (Râsete) Şi o cameră video. Voiam să am una. Şi după ce m-am tot milogit, de Crăciun, am primit una la mâna a doua şi am început să fac propria animaţie de unul singur, şi am continuat pe parcursul şcolii. Am convins-o pe profa de engleză dintr-a X-a să mă lase să-mi fac rezumatul la cartea lui Stephen King ca o scurtă animaţie. (Râsete) Şi am continuat să fac benzi desenate.
And I kept making comics. I kept making comics, and at the Worcester Art Museum, I was given the greatest piece of advice by any educator I was ever given. Mark Lynch, he's an amazing teacher and he's still a dear friend of mine, and I was 14 or 15, and I walked into his comic book class halfway through the course, and I was so excited, I was beaming. I had this book that was how to draw comics in the Marvel way, and it taught me how to draw superheroes, how to draw a woman, how to draw muscles just the way they were supposed to be if I were to ever draw for X-Men or Spiderman. And all the color just drained from his face, and he looked at me, and he said, "Forget everything you learned." And I didn't understand. He said, "You have a great style. Celebrate your own style. Don't draw the way you're being told to draw. Draw the way you're drawing and keep at it, because you're really good."
Iar la Muzeul de Artă Worcester, un educator mi-a dat cel mai preţios sfat. Mark Lynch, un minunat profesor care îmi este încă prieten drag, iar când aveam 14 sau 15 ani şi am intrat în clasa lui la jumătatea orei eram atat de emoţionat, încât radiam. Aveam cartea cu tehnica Marvel pentru benzi desenate care mă învăţa cum să desenez eroii, o femeie, muşchii în mod corect dacă aş fi vrut să desenez pe X-Men sau Spiderman. Iar el s-a schimbat la faţă m-a privit şi mi-a spus, „Uită tot ce ştii." Nu înţelegeam. A spus, „Ai un stil propriu. Bucură-te. Ieşi din tipar. Desenează cum ştii, pentru că eşti cu adevărat bun."
Now when I was a teenager, I was angsty as any teenager was, but after 17 years of having a mother who was in and out of my life like a yo-yo and a father who was faceless, I was angry. And when I was 17, I met my father for the first time, upon which I learned I had a brother and sister I had never known about. And on the day I met my father for the first time, I was rejected from the Rhode Island School of Design, my one and only choice for college.
În adolescenţă, am fost şi eu furios, pentru că mama timp de 17 ani intra şi ieşea din viaţa mea ca un yo-yo, iar tatăl nu avea chip, am fost furios. Iar la 17 ani, l-am cunoscut pe tata, şi am aflat ca am un frate şi o soră de care nu ştiam. Iar în ziua când l-a întâlnit prima dată, am fost respins de Şcoala de Design din Rhode Island, singura mea alegere pentru colegiu.
But it was around this time I went to Camp Sunshine to volunteer a week and working with the most amazing kids, kids with leukemia, and this kid Eric changed my life. Eric didn't live to see his sixth birthday, and Eric lives with me every day.
În acelaşi timp însă am fost în Tabăra Sunshine ca voluntar şi am lucrat cu nişte copii minunaţi, cu leucemie, iar Eric mi-a schimbat viaţa. Eric n-a apucat a şasea aniversare, dar îi păstrez vie amintirea.
So after this experience, my art teacher, Mr. Shilale, he brought in these picture books, and I thought, "Picture books for kids!" and I started writing books for young readers when I was a senior in high school. Well, I eventually got to the Rhode Island School of Design. I transferred to RISD as a sophomore, and it was there that I took every course that I could on writing, and it was there that I wrote a story about a giant orange slug who wanted to be friends with this kid. The kid had no patience for him. And I sent this book out to a dozen publishers and it was rejected every single time, but I was also involved with the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, an amazing camp for kids with all sorts of critical illnesses, and it's those kids at the camp that read my stories, and I read to them, and I saw that they responded to my work.
După această experienţă, profesorul meu D-l Shilale, mi-a adus aceste cărţi de desen, şi m-am gândit, „Cărţi de desen pentru copii!" şi am început să scriu cărţi pentru copii pe când eram la liceu. Până la urmă am intrat la Şcoala de Design din Rhode Island.(RISD) M-am transferat la RISD în anul II de studenţie şi acolo am urmat toate cursurile de scris. Am scris o poveste despre un melc gigantic portocaliu care voia să fie prieten cu un copil. Care nu avea răbdare cu el. Am trimis această carte la 12 edituri şi am fost respins de fiecare dată, dar eram implicat şi în Tabăra Hole in The Wall Gang o minunată tabără pentru copii cu diferite afecţiuni şi acei copii mi-au citit poveştile, le-am citit şi eu lor şi le-am văzut reacţia.
I graduated from RISD. My grandparents were very proud, and I moved to Boston, and I set up shop. I set up a studio and I tried to get published. I would send out my books. I would send out hundreds of postcards to editors and art directors, but they would go unanswered. And my grandfather would call me every week, and he would say, "Jarrett, how's it going? Do you have a job yet?" Because he had just invested a significant amount of money in my college education. And I said, "Yes, I have a job. I write and illustrate children's books." And he said, "Well, who pays you for that?" And I said, "No one, no one, no one just yet. But I know it's going to happen."
Am absolvit RISD. Bunicii erau foarte mândri, m-am mutat la Boston şi am deschis o afacere. Am înfiinţat un studio şi am încercat să fiu publicat. Am trimis cărţile. Am trimis sute de vederi editorilor şi directorilor, dar nu am primit răspuns. Iar bunicul mă suna săptămânal: „Cum merge Jarrett? Ai un job?" Pentru că investise o grămadă de bani în educaţia mea. „Da. Scriu și ilustrez cărţi pentru copii." „Bine şi cine te plăteşte pentru asta?" Eu spuneam, „Încă nimeni. Dar ştiu că se va întâmpla."
Now, I used to work the weekends at the Hole in the Wall off-season programming to make some extra money as I was trying to get my feet off the ground, and this kid who was just this really hyper kid, I started calling him "Monkey Boy," and I went home and wrote a book called "Good Night, Monkey Boy." And I sent out one last batch of postcards. And I received an email from an editor at Random House with a subject line, "Nice work!" Exclamation point.
Lucram în weekend la Hole în afara sezonului să fac rost de bani ca să mă stabilizez un pic, unde era acest băiat, un hiper copil, pe care am început să-l numesc „Monkey Boy". Am scris o carte „Noapte bună Monkey Boy." Şi am trimis încă un rând de vederi. Am primit un mail de la un editor de la Random House cu subiectul: „Bună treabă!"
"Dear Jarrett, I received your postcard. I liked your art, so I went to your website and I'm wondering if you ever tried writing any of your own stories, because I really like your art and it looks like there are some stories that go with them. Please let me know if you're ever in New York City." And this was from an editor at Random House Children's Books.
„Dragă Jarrett, am primit vederea ta. Îmi place ce faci, aşa că ţi-am vizitat site-ul şi mă întreb dacă ai încercat să scrii poveşti, pentru că îmi place arta ta şi s-ar potirvi cu nişte poveşti. Anunţă-mă dacă ajungi prin New York." Era de la un editor de la Random House.
So the next week I "happened" to be in New York. (Laughter) And I met with this editor, and I left New York for a contract for my first book, "Good Night, Monkey Boy," which was published on June 12, 2001.
În weekend-ul următor eram acolo „din întâmplare". (Râsete) M-am întâlnit cu acel editor, şi am plecat cu un contract pentru prima carte: „Noapte bună Monkey Boy", care a fost publicată pe 12 Iunie 2001.
And my local paper celebrated the news. The local bookstore made a big deal of it. They sold out of all of their books. My friend described it as a wake, but happy, because everyone I ever knew was there in line to see me, but I wasn't dead. I was just signing books. My grandparents, they were in the middle of it. They were so happy. They couldn't have been more proud. Mrs. Alisch was there. Mr. Shilale was there. Mrs. Casey was there. Mrs. Alisch cut in front of the line and said, "I taught him how to read." (Laughter)
Iar ziarul meu local a sărbătorit asta. Magazinul local a organizat un mare eveniment. Şi-au vândut toate cărţile. Prietenul meu spunea că e ca un priveghi fericit pentru că toţi voiau să mă vadă, dar eu eram în viaţă. Le semnam cărţile. Bunicii mei, erau în mijlocul evenimentului, atât de fericiţi, mândri peste măsură. D-na Alish, D-l Shilale, D-na Casey, erau acolo. D-na Alish a înaintat şi a spus, „Eu l-am învăţat să citească." (Râsete)
And then something happened that changed my life. I got my first piece of significant fan mail, where this kid loved Monkey Boy so much that he wanted to have a Monkey Boy birthday cake. For a two-year-old, that is like a tattoo. (Laughter) You know? You only get one birthday per year. And for him, it's only his second. And I got this picture, and I thought, "This picture is going to live within his consciousness for his entire life. He will forever have this photo in his family photo albums."
Apoi ceva mi-a schimbat viaţa. Am primit primul mail de la un fan, căruia îi plăcea foarte mult Monkey Boy încât voia un tort cu el. Pentru un copil de 2 ani, asta e ca un tatuaj. (Râsete) Pentru că aniversarea este o dată pe an. Iar pentru el era a doua. Am luat imaginea şi m-am gândit, „Imaginea asta va rămâne în mintea lui toată viaţa. Va avea această fotografie în albumul familiei sale."
So that photo, since that moment, is framed in front of me while I've worked on all of my books.
De atunci, acea fotografie e înrămată şi am avut-o în faţă cât timp mi-am scris toate cărţile.
I have 10 picture books out. "Punk Farm," "Baghead," "Ollie the Purple Elephant." I just finished the ninth book in the "Lunch Lady" series, which is a graphic novel series about a lunch lady who fights crime. I'm expecting the release of a chapter book called "Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked." And I travel the country visiting countless schools, letting lots of kids know that they draw great cats.
Am 10 cărţi ilustrate: „Ferma Punk", „Baghead", „Ollie Elefantul Violet." Am terminat a 9-a carte din seria „Lunch Lady" o serie de nuvele grafice despre o doamnă care luptă împotriva fărădelegilor. Aştept vernisajul unei cărţi cu capitole – „Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked." Călătoresc prin ţară şi vizitez şcoli, spunând copiilor că desenează pisici minunate.
And I meet Bagheads. Lunch ladies treat me really well. And I got to see my name in lights because kids put my name in lights. Twice now, the "Lunch Lady" series has won the Children's Choice Book of the Year in the third or fourth grade category, and those winners were displayed on a jumbotron screen in Times Square. "Punk Farm" and "Lunch Lady" are in development to be movies, so I am a movie producer and I really do think, thanks to that video camera I was given in ninth grade. I've seen people have "Punk Farm" birthday parties, people have dressed up as "Punk Farm" for Halloween, a "Punk Farm" baby room, which makes me a little nervous for the child's well-being in the long term.
I-am întâlnit pe Bagheads. Lunch ladies mă tratează foarte bine. Şi mi-am văzut numele în lumină pentru că aşa fac copiii. De două ori, seria „Lunch Lady" a câştigat Cartea anului pentru Copiii la categoria claselor III-IV, şi câştigătorii au fost afişaţi pe un ecran în Times Square. „Punk Farm" şi „Lunch Lady" vor deveni filme, aşa că sunt producător de film şi cred că datorită acelei camere video primită în clasa a IX-a. Oamenii organizează onomastici „Punk Farm" se îmbracă aşa de Halloween, fac o cameră „Punk Farm" pentru copil, dar pe termen lung mă îngrijorează pentru acel copil.
And I get the most amazing fan mail, and I get the most amazing projects, and the biggest moment for me came last Halloween. The doorbell rang and it was a trick-or-treater dressed as my character. It was so cool.
Am primit cel mai minunat mail de la fani, am participat la cele mai minunate proiecte, iar cel mai mare moment a fost Halloween-ul trecut. A sunat cineva costumat ca personajul meu. A fost tare.
Now my grandparents are no longer living, so to honor them, I started a scholarship at the Worcester Art Museum for kids who are in difficult situations but whose caretakers can't afford the classes. And it displayed the work from my first 10 years of publishing, and you know who was there to celebrate? Mrs. Alisch.
Bunicii mei nu mai trăiesc, dar în cinstea lor am înfiinţat o bursă la Muzeul Worcester pentru copiii aflaţi în situaţii dificile şi care nu îşi permit cursurile. Am prezentat primii 10 ani de carieră şi ştiţi cine a fost acolo? D-na Alish.
I said, "Mrs. Alisch, how are you?"
Am întrebat-o: „Ce mai faceţi D-nă Alish?"
And she responded with, "I'm here." (Laughter)
Iar ea mi-a răspuns, „Sunt aici." (Râsete)
That's true. You are alive, and that's pretty good right now.
Adevărat. Trăiţi şi asta-i foarte bine.
So the biggest moment for me, though, my most important job now is I am a dad myself, and I have two beautiful daughters, and my goal is to surround them by inspiration, by the books that are in every single room of our house to the murals I painted in their rooms to the moments for creativity where you find, in quiet times, by making faces on the patio to letting her sit in the very desk that I've sat in for the past 20 years. Thank you. (Applause)
Cel mai important pentru mine acum, cel mai interesant job e cel de a tată, am două fete minunate, iar scopul meu este să le înconjur cu inspiraţie, prin cărţile care se află în fiecare cameră din casă şi prin picturile făcute de mine în camerele lor până la momentele de creativitate în care ne relaxăm desenând feţe pe terasă lăsându-le să stea la biroul la care am stat în ultimii 20 de ani. Mulţumesc. (Aplauze)