Today I have the honor of interviewing Natasha Wing. Natasha has been writing for children since 1991, and is the author of over 20 books including Jalapeño Bagels, Go to Bed, Monster! and An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers. But she is probably most well known for her popular ‘Night Before’ series. The first book in that series, The Night Before Easter, was published in 1999. Since then she has written several books in the series addressing a multitude of holidays, celebrations, and other major events in a child’s life, including The Night Before Kindergarten, The Night Before The Tooth Fairy, and the Night Before the 100th Day of School.
The newest book to her collection, The Night Before My Birthday, will be available on January 16, 2014. For this interview I am going to let the Birthday Kid from her upcoming book ask her a few questions about writing and her birthday.
The Birthday Kid: I love my birthday! Thank you so much for writing a story about my special day. I’d love to talk to you a little bit about your birthday if you don’t mind.
Natasha Wing: Sure!
The Birthday Kid: First of all, I always have a hard time going to bed on the night before my birthday. I’m just too excited. Do you have any tricks for falling asleep quickly?
Natasha Wing: I like to read. It relaxes me.
The Birthday Kid: That’s a great idea! I might have some warm milk too. Second question – I have lots of friends and my birthday parties are huge! Who do you like to invite to your birthday celebrations?
Natasha Wing: When I was young, I invited kids I was friends with at school and kids from my neighborhood. Now I like to invite my girlfriends for a special night.
The Birthday Kid: I’ve noticed from all the parties I’ve gone to that people like different types of cakes. So I was wondering what’s your favorite cake?
Natasha Wing: My favorite cake is carrot cake. But I’m very picky. It has to be moist with lots of carrots and walnuts, and have a thick-thick layer of cream cheese frosting – on top and on the inside. No skimping on frosting!
The Birthday Kid: Yum! Some parties have themes. If you could have any theme for your next birthday, what would it be?
Natasha Wing: I love champagne and my birthday is a week before Valentine’s Day so maybe I love Bubbly Birthdays! I hope to spend one of my upcoming birthdays in Paris and then my theme will be Oo-la-la!
The Birthday Kid: What is the best birthday present you’ve ever gotten?
Natasha Wing: On my sixteenth birthday I got a wide sterling silver bracelet engraved with my initials which back then were NLL for Natasha Leigh Lazutin. I still have the bracelet.
The Birthday Kid: I know you have written a lot of Night Before stories, do you have a favorite, and do you plan on writing any more?
Natasha Wing: My favorite is The Night Before Easter since it was the first one and I also happen to love the Easter Bunny. I do plan on writing more because my fans keep sending me great ideas!
The Birthday Kid: Natasha, thank you so much for talking to me about your writing and your birthday. Congratulations on the publication of this book! And Happy Birthday to you in February! I hope you get your Oo-la-la birthday in Paris very soon!
You can win a free copy of The Night Before My Birthday until January 15th on Goodreads.
If you would like to learn more about Natasha Wing and her writing, please check out her website.
Juliana Lee 