Featured Author: Frieda Wishinsky

Bibliography at Orca

[New!] Blob: It's hard enough for Eve to adjust to a new high school without the extra weight she's gained over the summer. Her best friend is ashamed to hang out with her, and she's become the focus of a schoolmate's cruelty. Determined not to be "that pathetic fat girl" at school, Eve struggles with a diet and forces herself to join a mentoring program. The diet only makes her food obsessed, and she feels she is failing as a mentor. How can a lonely fat girl gain the confidence she needs to succeed?

A Frog In My Throat: When Jake starts spending time with his cousin, Kate feels hurt and seeks new friends to play with.
Dimples Delight: Lawrence cannot bear Joe's teasing about his dimples, but nothing he does will make it stop.
Queen of the Toilet Bowl: Renata learns to be proud of who she is.
A Bee In Your Ear: A spelling bee threatens Kate and Jake's friendship.
Each One Special: A funny and touching tale of a cake decorator extraordinaire and his young friend, Ben, who helps rejuvenate his creative spirit.
A Noodle Up Your Nose: When Violet thinks that she isn't invited to Kate's birthday party, she spreads rumors that threaten to ruin everything.
Just Call Me Joe: Life in New York City in the early twentieth century is tougher than Joseph ever dreamed it would be.

Interview

What prompted you to write Blob? I gained twenty pound the summer I was 18. I felt fat and ugly and it took me three years to lose the weight. But I didn't want to tell a typical weight/gain/loss story. I wanted to tell one where the main character realizes that she's more than her looks. That being a good person counts more than anything else. It's hard though in a world where being beautiful and perfect is so important.

Learn more about the story behind the story in Frieda's post on the Orca blog.

What kind of research do you do before writing a book? Depends on the book. In historical books I do a lot of research. For pure fiction I usually  tap into my memory and imagination.

Do you put your family and friends in your books? Often. Sometimes the characters are bits and pieces of different people I know. But real life is a definite inspiration. I base a lot of my work on my own experiences.

Do you have any favorite or funny childhood memories? Lots of memories. Blob was inspired by the year I was a counselor and had a bunch of tough teens. I tried to cheer my self up by visiting the local Dairy Queen—way too often. It was agony to a teen.

What's the funniest or most interesting reader response you've ever had? I love this one from Michael: "I really liked your book because it surprised me." I also like this one: "I like your thinking."

Biography

Frieda Wishinsky began writing in the 1980s. She wrote book reviews, profiles and articles for magazines and newspapers. In 1990, her first picture book, Oonga Boonga was published by Little Brown and was voted "Pick of the List" by American Booksellers. Frieda has published over forty trade and educational books. Her books have been translated into French, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Korean, Spanish and Catalan.

Frieda's books have been nominated for international awards, earned critical praise, and featured in magazines and newspapers around the world including The London Times, The Observer and The New York Times. Many of her titles have been praised by the CBC's prestigious book panel. Each One Special was nominated for a 1999 Governor General's Award for text and won the 1999 Print Braille Book of the Year Award. Her picture bookJennifer Jones Won't Leave Me Alone won three children's choice awards in the UK in 2004/5.