Southwest Children's  Literature

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It Rained on the Desert Today

These are photographs of Ken and Deborah Buchanan

Author Interview with Deborah Buchanan:

Have you written other books?

Deborah and Ken have written two other books. They are Lizards on the Wall and This House is Made of Mud. Lizards on the Wall is a continuation of the book This House is Made of Mud. This House is Made of Mud was the Arizona State Library Association's "Children's Book of the Year" in 1991. It is also a "Reading Rainbow" book. This House is Made of Mud describes life in the desert and was written by Ken in an effort to show his love for his children.


What is the best thing about being an author?

The aspect they enjoy most is being able to visit schools and reading their stories to the children. Deborah has traveled to over one hundred schools throughout the United States and to Germany to visit American military base schools. Ken has only been on half of these trips because he is currently working. Their talks include a number of topics from writing and rewriting the story, where their ideas for stories come from, how and why they both became writers, and what it takes to become a successful author. Ken and Debby also tell the students how they had always dreamed of becoming writers and how they made their dreams come true.

How many children do you have and do you have any pets?

Deborah and Ken have two children, both boys. They also have one dog and one cat.

Do you live in Arizona?

Deborah and Ken both grew up in Tucson, Arizona, but they are currently living in Northwestern Oregon.

Others facts about this book:

It Rained on the Desert Today received the "Southwest Book Award" from the Border-Regional Library Association of the Pecos-Texas/New Mexico area. It is also a "Reading Rainbow" book, and was republished in Your Big Backyard in their Earth Day issue in April, 1997 .

This interview took place on November 9, 1999. If you would like to visit their web site the address is: http://www.aone.com/~rossanan. If you would like to contact Deborah and Ken Buchanan, you can reach them online at: rossanan@aone.com. (If you are a student e-mailing the Buchanans, please give them your grade level and the city and state where you live.)

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