Vermont children’s book author scores hit with American Girl series

Author Jessie Haas visited Elm Hill Elementary School last week, reading and signing her books for students and parents.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130415/NEWS02/704159879

Vermont children’s book author scores hit with American Girl series By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 15,2013 Rutland Herald Author Jess Haas of Westminster reads one of her Saige character books to a first-grade class at Elm Hill Elementary School. Haas was at the school to sign her books for students and parents. WESTMINSTER — Jessie Haas has been writing children’s books since she was in college; in all the Westminster author has written 34 children’s books, most with a theme of girls and horses. Her career’s work caught the attention of American Girl, the Mattel-owned company famous for its dolls that some describe as the anti-Barbie doll. “We had Jessie’s fiction and nonfiction books in our corporate library, including her horse novels, so our editors were familiar with her work,” said Susan Jevens, a spokeswoman for Mattel’s American Girl, which has its headquarters in Wisconsin. American Girl approached Haas more than two years ago about whether she would be interested in writing for their series. The book had to be about a girl who lives in Albuquerque and loves horses, art and hot air balloons. The result is “Saige,” and “Saige Paints the Sky,” companion books to American Girl’s 2013 doll, Saige Copeland. “When it was determined that Saige’s story would feature horses, we approached Jessie to see if she’d be interested in writing the series. In the Saige books, she artfully describes horse behavior and training methods in a way that’s relatable for the reader,” Jevens said. Another condition was that Haas had to keep her assignment from American Girl a secret for more than a year, which Haas said in an interview Wednesday was harder than she realized. She said she sort of spilled the beans to her writing group, but American Girl wouldn’t let her discuss the book in progress with anyone, out of fear that word would get out. “That was hard for me,” said Haas, who dedicated “Saige” to J.D. “Jo” McNeill, a member of her writers group, who died recently. Haas said writing for American Girl “was among the best experiences I’ve had,” and she traveled to their headquarters in Wisconsin to meet the editorial team. “It was in a really pink conference room, with all these terrific women,” Haas said. American Girl “is not afraid to be a little political,” said Haas, who herself has been active politically, lobbying for single-payer health care and against the operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Haas has also written two books on her hometown’s history. On Jan. 1, Haas could finally spill the beans when the doll and books became publicly available. In her future is a book tour, and a trip to Albuquerque for that city’s famous hot air balloon festival. It will be her first trip to New Mexico, despite her two books set in that state. She said she worked closely with a woman in Albuquerque to get “everything right.” “I’ve always loved New Mexico from a distance,” she said. Haas said she came up with the name of the heroine of her two books from a Brattleboro elementary school where her children’s book authors group meets weekly. She said she took the name from a piece of artwork on the wall of a classroom, which ironically links perfectly with one of the major themes of the book. Saige becomes an activist, working to raise money for arts programming for children. Her original code name was Alberta, Haas told children Wednesday at Elm Hill School in Springfield. American Girl also wanted Saige to have a close relationship with her grandmother, whose health was somehow threatened, Haas said. Haas said she didn’t want to have the grandmother become seriously ill or permanently incapacitated. In Haas’ books, the grandmother breaks her arm and leg, because of a fight between her dog and cat, and ends up in a rehabilitation center. “(She) also captures the emotional connection Saige has with her grandmother’s horses, Picasso and Georgia,” Jevens said. Picasso, Haas explained to the first-graders at Elm Hill, is a famous artist. “Saige” and “Saige Paints the Sky,” not surprisingly, are Haas’ best-selling books, she said. Haas took the first-graders on a tour of her home in Westminster, a small house that she and her husband, Michael Daley, another children’s book author, built shortly after they got married. Haas and Daley met in high school — at Bellows Falls Union High School — but really didn’t meet until college, said Daley, who was also at the school, reading to children. Each author has their own seven-by-five-foot writing room, Haas told the children. “I love my desk,” she said, and even showed the children a stack of her books, which she said was “taller than Saige.” They live off the grid, but get their electricity from solar panels. She introduced the young readers to her horse Robin, a Morgan, and her dog Arrow, an Australian shepherd, and two cats, Cinnamon and Ria. Haas explained the themes of conflict that are present in every book, and in life. They live in the woods, she said, but need the sun for their solar panels. Saige teaches her grandmother’s horse Picasso to paint, using the well-known clicker method, Haas said. Haas in her private life is also a big advocate of training using the clicker method, in which rewards are coordinated with the sound of a clicker. Haas said the offer from American Girl “came out of the blue.” “It’s a real compliment to a writing career,” her husband said. “It’s too bad they don’t have an “American Boy,” she teased her husband.