Library member Sally Lloyd-Jones thinks of herself not as an author, but rather as someone who writes stories for children. According to Lloyd-Jones, "the stories found me, and not the other way around." Lloyd-Jones is the bestselling writer of many picture books including
Time to Say Goodnight,
Handbag Friends, and the New York Times Notable Children's Book
How to Be A Baby -By Me, the Big Sister.
Lloyd-Jones was born and raised in Africa and England and moved to the United States in 1989. As a child, Lloyd-Jones remembers reading Edward Lear's
The Complete Nonsense, which made her realize that "you could have that much fun with words and drawings...I didn't know it was allowed." In particular, Lloyd-Jones loves creating picture books because of "the way words and images work together...like a puzzle."
Before writing, Lloyd-Jones worked as a publisher, an experience which gave her "realistic expectations of the [publishing] process and how long it takes." Lloyd-Jones values the Society Library for its "amazing collection of hard-to-find children's books." Her advice to aspiring authors: "Write the book only you can write. If you're writing a book someone else can write, stop. They'll probably do it better anyway."
NYSL Books:
- Lloyd-Jones, Sally, How to be a baby-- by me, the big sister Juv-E L OVERSIZE (2007)
An all-knowing big sister gives her baby sibling lessons in being a baby. Take it from the narrator of this book, an all-knowing big sister: when you're a baby you don't read books. You eat them. You don't know how old you are, or even if you're a boy or a girl. And you have to keep a special plug in your mouth to stop your scream from coming out. But one day, you won't be little anymore, and then you'll be taller and smarter, and actually quite clever. Like the narrator. And you'll be able to share memories of what it was like when you were little with your incredible Big Sister.
- Lloyd-Jones, Sally, Time to say goodnight Juv-E L (2006)
In the same way that baby animals stop whatever they are doing and close their eyes for the night, so a child must finally go to sleep when bedtime comes.
(Research and writing contributed by member Dan Rubins)
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