Meet Authors of Children Books

Chatroom - First Animal Diaries Chat
 
29 February 2000

EveG = Evelyn Gallardo, writer of several books
rene = Mr. Rene de Vries, teacher of De Wadden
frank12 = son of Mr. Rene and also student of De Wadden
Goble = Mrs. Joan Goble, teacher of Cannelton Elem., and students
Gobel2 = students of Third Grade Cannelton Elem. 

rene has joined channel #tenan
The topic is: (No topic set)
>> frank12 has joined channel #tenan
rene> hello Eve, nice to meet you here
rene> are you waiting long for me?
[frank12] Type HEREhallo
rene> hello Frank
[frank12] hai pap
[frank12] hai eveg
rene> Eve, Joan is coming a little bit later, but she will be here in time for the chat
rene> Let me explain the chatroom a little
[frank12] .
rene> you type a sentence in the white field / bar .. and after you typed a sentence, you press the ENTER button
[EveG] Hi
rene> it's working ;-)
[EveG] Yeah!
rene> gosh, it's early for you, isn;'t it.
[frank12] .
rene> let me introduce myself, I am Rene de Vries, the cohoster of the Animal Diaries project
[EveG] Now it is.
[frank12] :-}
rene> Frank 12 (well, just Frank) is my son and also a student of my school
[EveG] Hi Frank and Rene.
[frank12] hallo
rene> when the chat starts with the students of Cannelton, I will try to moderate the chat
rene> so, it's only 7:00am for you right now?
rene> Here in Holland it is 4:08pm
[EveG] 7:10 but my watch may be fast.
[frank12] .
rene> are you busy with writing at this moment? A new book perhaps?
[EveG] I have 3 projects in various stages.
rene> what kind of projects?
[EveG] Journey of a Wildlife Photographer, a picturebook, and a how-to book for writers.
[frank12] .
rene> sounds interesting, the Wildlife picture book
[EveG] I'm also working on a book about a 28 year-old Ugandan vet.
[EveG] It's my idea of fun!
rene> in my former life, I was a photographer (before I became teacher)
[frank12] .
[EveG] What did you photograph?
rene> let me explain shortly why Frank types a dot... when he does not type a thing, then after a few minutes (around 3 minutes) he will be kcked out of the room
rene> Mostly advertising and models/kind of fashion
[EveG] The urban jungle...
rene> I also made brochures for for instance stamps and banknotes
[frank12] .
[EveG] I can never get apes and monkeys to pose.
rene> keep trying ;-)
[EveG] The one with the most patience wins.
rene> yep.
[EveG] It helps me with other life situations as well.
[frank12] .
rene> Is your life that hectic?
[EveG] Busy and varied, and at times hectic.
[EveG] Frank, do you have a favorite animal?
rene> sounds like education... but well, what's the difference
>> Goble has joined channel #tenan
rene> hello Cannelton ;-)
[frank12] .yes a rebbit and a quinea pig
[frank12] oeps rabbit
[frank12] ..
[Goble] Hello EveG
[Goble] We are here
[Goble] thank you for coming!
[EveG] Hello, Goble.
[Goble] We are the third grade at Cannelton
rene> Welcome Mrs. Joan Goble and students
rene> How amy students do you have around you?
rene> amy=many
[frank12] pap wij eten vandaag patat
[Goble] We are 15
[Goble] and we have a question
[EveG] I'm ready.
[Goble] When did you know you wanted to be an author?
[EveG] Not until I was in my late 30's. I was too shy to let people read my writing.
[EveG] But I've been writing since I was 8.
[Goble] Another question....
[frank12] how long are you been a wrieter
[Goble] What did you do before that?
rene> oops, two questions now
[EveG] Since 1987. I was a Sales Promotion Manager for an International firm  before.
[EveG] I like writing much better!
[frank12] how many books did you make
[Goble] good question Frank!
[EveG] So far two, with another coming out 12/2001.
[Goble] Was the Among the Orangutans your first book?
[EveG] Yes. I loved traveling to Borneo to write it.
[Goble] What gave you the idea to write that book?
[frank12] what is the book abotut (Among the orangutans
[EveG] I was working as a volunteer on the Orangutan Project and wanted to help beyond that.
[EveG] It's about Dr. Galdikas who has studied orangutans for 29 years.
[EveG] Mainly about hr discoveries.
[Goble] What was it like to be with the scientist and the orangutans?
[EveG] Incredible, exciting, amazing, etc.
rene> did you play with orangutans yourself too?
[EveG] Not with the wild ones! But yes, with the orphaned ones.
[Goble] How did it feel...how did you feel when you first were with the orangutans?
[frank12] .
rene> (last week, I did an imitation of an orangutan on a desk in my classroom, the students thought I was ready for mental hospital)
[EveG] Like my wildest dream had come true! It was a privilege.
[Goble] YOu were not scared?
[EveG] I'll bet you were convincing, Rene.
rene> ;-))
[EveG] Yes, the first day, but then I learned orangutan etiquette.
>> Gobel2 has joined channel #tenan
rene> (If I were convincing, they should have called the zoo instead of mental hospital ;-) ) .
rene> hello Gobel2
[frank12] .
[EveG] lol
[Gobel2] hello
rene> is your book Amongst Orangutans written for children, Frank wants to know
rene> or is it for adults
[EveG] Yes. Mainly for 8-12 year-olds but adults like it too.
[Goble] We liked the photographs
[Goble] Did you take all of them or some of them?
[frank12] .
[EveG] I took half. Since it's a biography I had to get some archival photots.
[EveG] Check the copyright page for photo credits.
[Goble] ok
rene> Do the Cannelton students have more questons about this book? or shall we ask her now some facts about her second book?
[EveG] The photography is the fun part of my job.
rene> yep, it sure is!
[frank12] .
[Goble] Did the orangutans try to copy you (mimic you) or did they try to teach you ?
[EveG] Writing is the hard part. (Good writing, anyway.)
[EveG] They would steal my soap and wash their armpits with it!
rene> you make a book about how to write, ... what is the secret of good writing?
[EveG] Rewriting!
[Gobel2] The photo aer nice
[frank12] .
[EveG] Thank you!
[EveG] Would any of you like to travel to Borneo someday?
[frank12] what is your second book a bout
[Goble] Yes, we would!
[Goble] It sounds exciting!
rene> I can recommend Indonesia... haven't been on Borneo, but were in the jungle of Sumatra
[EveG] A "How-To" book fro writers. I'm also working on picturebook based on my heritage.
[EveG] Perhaps we'll run into one another there someday.
[Goble] what kinds of orangutans did you study? Are there many different kinds?
[frank12] .
[EveG] I studied Bornean orangutans. Sumatran orangutans are the other subspecies.
[EveG] Looking in their eyes in the wild is quite eerie.
[Goble] why?
rene> can you explain us in short the main difference between the two species?
[EveG] They seem to mirror our emotions.
[frank12] .
[Gobel2] WHAT OTHER PRIMATES HAVE YOU STUDIED,OR WRITTEN
[Gobel2] ABOUT
[frank12] were you afrait
[EveG] Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.
rene> oops, Gobel 2 switched onthe capslock... ;P
[Goble] yes
[Goble] it is fixed now
[Goble] sorry
[EveG] My first2 rolls of film of the gorillas were blurred from my hands shaking.
rene> wow, also gorillas !
[EveG] The gorillas maintain more eye contact than we do!
[EveG] They were studying me!
rene> how close (in distance) were you with gorillas in the wild?
rene> did they allow you to come near?
[EveG] Two different times gorillas came noe-to-nose with me.
rene> oopsssss. that would be nerve breaking, right?
[EveG] Often withing 5 feet.
[EveG] I was sweating bullets.
[EveG] One gorilla even licked the sweat off my wrist.
rene> that's close!
[EveG] ..and thrilling.
[frank12] dete is very scery
rene> (that is very scary)
[EveG] I'll never forget it.
rene> right, I assume it was one of the highlights for you?
[Goble] Did you feed the gorillas?
[Goble] Or did you wathc them eat?
[EveG] Yes.
[EveG] No, I
[EveG] didn't feed the wild gorillas.
[EveG] I watched them eat all day.
[Goble] What did they eat?
[EveG] Leaves, flowers, termites.
rene> gosh, you cannot see any bananas nowadays... or do you like bananas?
[EveG] Yum.
rene> no bananans?
[EveG] They didn't grow wild at 10,000 feet.
[EveG] I love bananas.
[frank12] did you see other animals
[EveG] I didn't feed them so as not to alter their behavior.
[EveG] Cape buffalo, 16-inch long earthworms, monkeys.
rene> yagg, womrs?
[Goble] Why do you study the endangered primates? We like studying them too.
[EveG] And hyrax. They look like a small rodent but scientists say they're realted to elephants!
[EveG] I want to help save them, and I'm endlessly fascinated by them.
>> Gobel2 has left channel #tenan
[Goble] Are you saying, the mountain gorillas eat monkeys?
[EveG] No! I saw monkeys in the same habitat.
[EveG] Chimps eat monkeys.
[Goble] ok, we see that now, ha!
[frank12] .
[EveG] Apes are so much like us.
rene> yes, I have an ape here next to me (oops, sorry Frank)
[Goble] you said you saw monkeys...do you know if any of them were endangered?
[EveG] Yes, because of rain forest destruction.
rene> did you noticed much of the destruction? much burnings?
[EveG] I saw colobus and vervet monkeys.
[EveG] More so in Borneo. Each of my 3 trips revealed more destruction and burning.
[frank12] what is a hyrax?
[Goble] Do youy have anyt photos of the hyrax?
[EveG] A earless rabbit-like rodent related to an elephant!
[EveG] Yes, I have photos of them taken in Uganda.
[frank12] i will try to find it on internet
[Goble] We have to leave for lunch
[Goble] We enjoyed this very very much!
[Goble] We are so glad that you came!
rene> Yes, Eve, thank you so very much for this chat
[EveG] It ended too quickly!
[Goble] We would like to chat with you again soon!
[EveG] My extreme pleasure.
[EveG] Of course!
[Goble] We saved this chat...we will send it to you
rene> yes, that would be nice....
[EveG] Thank you.
rene> you did too? I did too
[frank12] bye all
[Goble] bye all
[Goble] bye Eve
[Goble] bye Rene
[Goble] goodbye Frank
[EveG] Follow your wildest dreams!
rene> bye for now, good luck with all your work, Eve
[Goble] Yes!
[Goble] thanks!
rene> bye friends of Cannelton
[EveG] Bye for now.
>> Goble has left channel #tenan
[frank12] have a good day
[frank12] and bey
>> frank12 has left channel #tenan

END OF FIRST ANIMAL DIARIES CHAT