Kathleen Krull
Of her writing, Krull states, "When Lives of the Musicians came out in 1993, the Internet wasn't much of a factor. Now this universal accessibility to mountains of facts has changed the landscape of children's learning. To hold their own, nonfiction books have to reflect something special. As with fiction, every sentence in nonfiction is there for a reason, reflecting endless choices within a structure designed to meet some challenge. In the "Lives of" series, our challenge is to enliven the biographies of notables who have already been exhaustively biographied. For me, mixing in fictional elements would seem like cheating, and also would have a dated feel. Instead I try to make fresh, contemporary choices from my research - little ironies, the opinions of the neighbors, amusing juxtapositions, details like hair and underwear" (Krull 2004).
In the "Lives of��" series which highlight the lives of twenty famous people from a specific group such as artists, athletes, or writers, Krull seeks to find those incredibly interesting tidbits of information that others have overlooked, but that will appeal to children. In writing the first of the "Lives of�." books, Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought), Krull instinctively knew when her research uncovered the fact that Beethoven loved macaroni and cheese, that this was the perfect fact to include to interest children, allowing them to identify with this musical great. "Because we include twenty people in each book (an arbitrary decision made early on), the text must get to the point so quickly that all the "boring parts" must go. Shaping each person differently from his or her 19 companions has the effect of highlighting startling or unique features" (Krull 2004).
Due to the brevity (3-5 pages) of the entries in this series, Krull spends a great deal of time thoroughly researching each figure and then even more time deciding which facts to include. "I research tons of material, gleaning a mountain of stuff I think is most interesting, and then revise, tinker, revise, edit, whittle, and then do some more revising to get what I hope is the very tiptop of the mountain. If there is a magic key to what I do, it's this: After I soak up all the information, I don't use it all. Being selective is the trick" (Krull 2004).
The format of the "Lives of�.." books makes them ideal for initial research on historical figures. Since each book contains twenty individual biographies, there is no need to read them sequentially, or even in their entirety. Young researchers can utilize only the portion of the book that they need, but, if they are like most, reading one biography from one of these books will lead to reading another.
Krull extends a great deal of credit to her friend, Kathryn Hewitt, illustrator of the "Lives of�." books. Recognizing the importance of creating a book that is not only intellectually, but visually stimulating, Krull states, "The biggest help has been the visual enhancement: the elegant book design and especially the portraits painted by Kathryn Hewitt. Most kids can't seem to stop a grin at their first sight of the big heads, persuading them to look closer and appreciate the rest of what we're trying to do" (Krull 2004).
Krull's talent for finding just the right details to interest children in her subject matter is further exhibited in her individual biographies of Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss), The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss, Cesar Chavez, Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, Wilma Rudolph, Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman, and Victoria Woodhull, A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull.
Krull's picture book biographies follow a more traditional biographic pattern, covering the lives of famous persons chronologically through their lives. Here, her writing does not focus so much on finding their eccentricities as relating the substance of their lives. However, she manages to interest young readers in the same manner as in her "Lives of���." books by including information that children can readily relate to their own lives. Her writing is clear, concise, and peppered with witty insights that are the direct result of her meticulous research and knack for knowing what children find interesting. Her passion for a variety of subjects, music, civil rights, strong women, has inspired her to write on a broad range of people and topics. "More intellectually, I'm intrigued by the shape and structure of a person's life--the arc, the story of it. As stories, biographies are some of the very best--people have definite beginnings, middles, and demises. I'm motivated by the challenge of trying to write about a life in a pithy, meaningful way--sculpting with words a portrait that conveys the essence of a person--accurately yet dramatically. I use a "warts and all" approach because I want to write biographies for kids living in the real world. I know readers have to survive all kinds of hurts and traumas; my way of helping is to dramatize how people in the past have done it" (Krull 2004).
In a review of one of her most recent books, The Book of Rock Stars, a reviewer for Kirkus reviews states that Krull uses "her remarkable gift for witty, brief, and incisive biography" (Kirkus 2003). This gift is seen repeatedly in her writing as she finds the perfect details to make historical figures come alive for young readers."She is able to distill important facts and details into a few paragraphs or pages of text, often in a humorous way. She is just as knowledgeable and clever as a guest speaker, by the way!" (Vardell, 2004)
Through her writing, Kathleen Krull has made an indelible mark in the genre of children's biography. Who will she choose to write about next?
Kirkus Reviews. 2003. Review of The Book of Rock Stars. http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/search/search_results.jsp (accessed February 19, 2005).
Krull, Kathleen. 2004. Kathleen Krull FAQ. Kathleen Krull.com. http://www.kathleenkrull.com/faq.html (accessed March 14, 2005).
Vardell, Sylvia. 2004. Lecture notes on Kathleen Krull. http://online.twu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=%2Fbin%2Fcommon%2Fcourse.pl%3F course_id%3D_7519_1( accessed March 20, 2005).
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Updated: March 15, 2005