Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions
Nancy McArthur

Where did you get the idea for THE PLANT THAT ATE DIRTY SOCKS?

I thought of the title one day and saved it. (I write down my ideas and save them in idea files. I never know which ones will be useful.) I liked the title so much that I decided to try to think of a story to go with it. The first question I asked myself was: who would want a plant like that? A very messy kid would be the perfect person, of course. When I was a kid, I was the messy one in my family so I could write about what that is like from experience. I thought the story would work better with a boy character, so that became Michael. My little brother and sister were very neat, so that prompted me to give Michael a younger brother who is a neatness nut and expert pest. I decided they would share the same room, so they’d be sure to drive each other crazy. That got my story started. Then I thought about the funny problems two plants like that could cause and what Michael and Norman would do to solve them.

Where did you grow up?

In suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.

How many books have you written?

Fourteen children’s books so far, including nine about the The Plants.

How long does it take you to make a book?

The Plant books each take sixty or seventy days spread out over about four months. That includes writing a messy rough draft very slowly to figure out the whole story. Then I revise the whole thing twice, and kid-test it by reading it aloud to some children. That helps me find more places that need improving. Then I revise and polish some more before sending it to my editor. For my shorter books, I use the same process spread out over two months. (Sometimes I work faster.)

Who draws the pictures?

I have not met or even talked to any of the artists who have done the pictures for my books. The editor and art director at the publishing company hire an artist who they know will do a good job. See the book list for names of the artists for the shorter books. The recent Plant book covers are by Tom Newsom.

What is your favorite book that you wrote?

It’s hard to choose because I really like them all, but since kids always ask me this question, I usually say THE PLANT THAT ATE DIRTY SOCKS, because it’s the first story about Michael, Norman, Stanley, and Fluffy, who seem like old friends to me now, and because so many readers love them. MEGAN GETS A DOLL HOUSE is also especially dear to my heart because I got the idea from something my sister did when she was little.

Do you have any pets?

At the moment just plants. In the past I have had cats and dogs (not at the same time).

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