The following interviews were conducted by Weekly Reader Senior Edition editor, Laura McClure.

This year’s Caldecott and Newbery medal winning books transport readers into the past. Newbery-winning book, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz, explores life in the Middle Ages. Caldecott-winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick takes place in the early 1900s in France. Weekly Reader talked with both authors about their success stories. Here’s what they had to say:

Q&A with Brian Selznick
Weekly Reader: Which came first--the words or the illustrations?

Brian Selznick: It started just as a written story. … I thought maybe [there would be] one drawing a chapter or some spot illustrations. While I was working on the book, I started watching all these old movies and I thought it would be interesting to try to tell the story [with images] like an old movie.

WR: How long did it take to finish the book?

BS: I worked on the whole book for about 2 1/2 years, [including] a year to do sketches. … On a good day I could finish two complete drawings. I made them all one-quarter the size that you see in the book. … When you blow up a drawing, … it makes everything softer and lighter, like old movie stills.

WR: Do you see yourself in Hugo, the main character?

BS: I definitely do. … When I was a kid, I really loved to draw and to make things. Hugo is actually much better with his hands then I was as a kid. I remember being frustrated with what my hands couldn’t do.

WR: What advice do you have for aspiring authors or illustrators?

BS: The most important thing is to just write about or draw the things that really interest you. … A reader or someone looking at pictures very often can tell whether or not the person making the thing loved it and was really interested in it.

Q&A with Laura Amy Schlitz

Weekly Reader: What inspired you to write this book of monologues and dialogues?

Laura Amy Schlitz: The children [at the school where I am a librarian] study the middle ages. … They give their imaginations to it and I wanted them to have a dramatic piece [to perform] so I wrote those short plays, those monologues for them and they’ve been performing them for many years now.

This book shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Middle Ages. Why did you decide to show all aspects?

I think when you know about the Middle Ages, you can’t help realizing what a dangerous and difficult time that was. … Suppose it’s winter and you get your feet wet. You don’t have another pair of shoes. If you get frostbite, you’ll go lame. … Those are facts [of life in the Middle Ages], but it doesn’t follow that the people were all miserable. They also had hope and good days and aspirations.

What do you hope readers take away from this book?

I would like to think that readers can imagine that time, but I think what I want most is for readers to be able to have the excitement of pretending to be somebody else. The thrill of performing the pieces in front  of the audience—I want the readers to get the applause.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a chapter book now, I’m on chapter 29 but I don’t yet know the end, I don’t know how far am I from the end and I’m just trusting that the end exists somewhere and that I will find it.

Why, hello there, fellow WORDians. How's everyone doing? Did you catch American Idol last night? I was mostly in and out of the room when it was on, but I did manage to catch that guy with the dreadlocks. He's totally my favorite right now, and it's not just because I think he's adorable. Which is he. But anyway...

With all this Idol watching, I'll admit, I haven't been able to make it to the library in awhile. Actually, I can't just blame my predilection for cheesy reality shows taking up all my time. (Although American Idol is the number one show in the country, so while you're scoffing at me for admitting I watch the show, percentage-wise, I think it's safe to assume that at least some of you watch it as well.) I also haven't been to the library in awhile because I usually end up at a bookstore and buy my books. However, this is an expensive habit, especially since I usually read the books I buy once, and then put them on a shelf and never look at them again. (Except for when I read them over and over.)

I should go to the library more. But apparently libraries are a little different than they used to be. That's right. They're not just for borrowing books anymore. Or even for borrowing cds and dvds. They're for playing video games.

That's not a typo.

Video games!

A library in Michigan has started hosting video game parties! Can you believe it? I used to get shushed for whispering a little too loudly while working on a research paper with a buddy. And now kids are playing video games there!

I guess anything that can draw people into the library is a good thing--but what about the serious readers? I don't think I'd be able to do research or sit in a corner with a good book if people were playing Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution next to me.

What do you think? Do you go to the library for the books, or for the social experience?

by Devon Fonville

I had something I treasured but didn't cherish.
It was given by a person who got the same from me.
The treasure wasn't round or bounced.
It wasn't fluffy with cotton in it.
It wasn't nothing that can be written on
but it could be torn up,
it also could be broken,
but I don't think people wanted it
to brake or tear apart.
They wanted it to stay together,
but my gift began to crumble,
and tear time by time.
It never occurred to me that it would be taken away
so I had no worry.
But it left.

PS The thing I treasure so much was a thing called love.

An eyelash fell off yesterday, and I made a few wishes. World peace. To be a millionaire. To wake up and realize I'm actually married to Brad Pitt (and I look like Angelina). An end to the writers' strike.

Well, one out of four ain't bad.

That's right! The strike is over! Woo-hoo!

Television shows will start to come back pretty soon. We can catch up on all of our favorite shows. No longer is there a need to watch Rock of Love 7: Tommy Tutone Edition (Jenny, Jenny, I Really Want Your Number!) or Who Wants to Buy My Baby? or America's Next Top Paperweight Quality Control Assistant General Manager or whatever other reality show they come out with next. There will be scripted shows!

Say it with me. "Scripted." It sounds so nice rolling off the tongue.

Who would have thought the strike would have lasted three months? Who would have thought we'd miss new TV so much?

I mean, yeah, don't become a couch potato. You should still go out and see natural light once in awhile. And, of course, don't start slacking on your reading. But at least there will be options.

Now, if only my other three wishes would come true...