I’m just discovering William Steig. I didn’t read his books
when I was a kid, because his books didn't gain popularity until the 70's. All I knew
about him was that he wrote “Shrek”. But there’s definitely more to
him than that.
Two favorites of mine are "Spinky Sulks" and "Doctor DeSoto".
In "Spinky Sulks", he really captures the essence of a kid who
feels the world is slighting him and decides to withdraw. I’ve read that some
people don’t like the book because Spinky’s family bends over backwards to
placate him. But hey, this is real life. Also, I think writers sometimes want
to paint a picture of children at their best and we all know that isn’t
childhood. As if to satisfy the readers who are annoyed, the ending has a
rewarding (but not forced) conclusion.
In "Doctor DeSoto", I love the world that Steig creates: this
dental practice belonging to the mouse DeSoto and his wife/assistant. Doctor
DeSoto wants to help others, but he’s confronted with the fox who poses a
threat to the dentist, yet needs his tooth extracted. I just love the soul
searching, yet whimsical tone of the book. In the end, the fox is helped but
the Doctor and his wife are safe from being eaten.
There’s something that reminds me of Roald Dahl with Steig.
He admits that children have bad days, and that there’s whimsy and also danger
in the world but things can be worked out. It’s something to aspire to as a
writer (and illustrator).
Interesting facts about Steig: he didn’t start writing kids
books until he was in his 60’s, he never graduated from college, and he was
good at water polo.
There’s a great obit on Steig from the New Yorker that seems
to distill his essence:
Another factoid about Steig: he hated public speaking.
Here’s a letter he wrote after receiving the Caldecott in 1970 for “Sylvester
and the Magic Pebble”:
