‘Froggy’ writer’s many muses

Viking Press editor Nancy Paulsen, who worked with London on the first three Froggy books, was initially drawn to the playful onomatopoeia and the call-and-response dialogue in his writing.

“Kids adore chanting along as Froggy’s mom calls to him, ‘FRRROOGGYY!’ ‘Wha-a-a-a-t?,’ ” Paulsen says. “The sounds Froggy makes as he gets dressed — the zoop, zup, zat, swit, zum, zip, zut and zap — make for a lively read aloud, as well. Kids also get to feel like they are three steps ahead of Froggy as he keeps forgetting to put on the appropriate clothing for playtime in the snow.”

When you walk into the London house now, more than two decades after his first book sold, you immediately see a shelf lined with “Froggy” books and other works like “Hip Cat,” “The Eyes of Gray Wolf” and “Let the Lynx Come In,” translated in Korean, French, Dutch, Japanese and Spanish.

“The Lion Who Had Asthma” was inspired by his son Sean’s childhood battle with the breathing disorder. A family rafting trip led to “White Water.”

A nature trip to Big Sur brought about “Condor’s Egg.” And seeing flamingos in the south of France led to “Flamingo Sunset.”
In his free time, London likes hiking Sonoma County trails or traveling. But one of his favorite pastimes is reading his work to Sonoma County school children.

“Without fail, every year he comes and reads to my class,” says Peggy Heil, third-grade teacher at Oak Grove Elementary School in Sebastopol. “He really gets into it. When he goes ‘flop, flop, flop,’ he jumps from side to side and the kids just crack up.”

And when she assigns her students to interview someone famous every year, invariably many of them will write to London, asking for advice on becoming a writer. He always responds with a personal letter, usually accompanied by a copy of one of his books.

It turns out his advice and nurturing can go a long way. In 1999, while volunteering at a writing workshop at Santa Rosa’s Willowside Middle School, he helped 11-year-old Sebastopol student Emma Kallok land a book deal when he recommended her work, “The Diary of Chickabidee Baby,” to an editor he knew at Tricycle Press.

“I feel like I stumbled upon something and I like to give something back,” London says. “I’m lucky. I’m a bit of a goof. I’m just glad to reach a lot of kids. I love kids and I’m really happy that they want to read books I’ve written. It makes me want to write more.”

Bay Area freelancer John Beck writes about entertainment for The Press Democrat. You can reach him at 280-8014, john@sideshowvideo.com and follow on Twitter @becksay.

JONATHAN LONDON
Age: 65
Occupation: Children’s book author
Years living in Sonoma County: 34
Percentage of income from Froggy series: 80-90 percent
Odd jobs: Construction worker, dancer, trade-show assembly, poet
Daily ritual: Wakes up every day around 5:45 a.m., reads in bed, swims at Ives Park and starts writing by 9-10 a.m.
Number of books he’s written: More than 100. “At some point I lost count,” he says.
Number of languages his works have been translated into: 7
Secret to writing for children: “It’s me remembering my own childhood.”