Behind the Scenes with Mike Huber

by Hannah Crawford

Check out “Baby Maria” as a printable picture book. This book has special meaning to us here at Rainbow Rumpus because “Baby Maria” was the first story we ever published. To mark the occasion, we talked to Mike Huber, the story’s author.

How did you get started writing for Rainbow Rumpus?

I wrote “Baby Maria” in 2003. When Laura [Matanah] started Rainbow Rumpus in 2005, she published the story in the first issue.

How did you think up the story for “Baby Maria”?

I had a few kids in my preschool class who were adopted from Guatemala. Some of these kids had two moms and we had no books about two moms adopting a child. I decided I should write that book.

When did you start writing for kids?

I started telling stories for children when my class was on a field trip to an apple orchard in 1998. The bus broke down and the one book we had to read soon lost its charm. I started to tell stories and it kept the children somewhat engaged while we waited for another bus. After that I started telling stories every day. A few years later I tried writing the stories down.

Have you always been a storyteller?

I started telling stories for grown-ups when I was in college. It was called performance art (or monologues) at the time.

Your stories (“Baby Maria,” “Ta-cumba Goes By Himself,” and “Lost and Found”) all feature a wide range of characters and themes. Are there certain themes or ideas that particularly inspire you or that you like to write about? Where do you get your ideas?

I tell one or two new stories each day. Often, I just start with a character and situation. As I tell the story one situation leads to another. I have a child choose a story for me to retell every day. A small portion of the stories I tell are chosen to be retold. Some of the stories that keep getting requested, I try writing as stories.

Also, I have a few stock characters that I make up stories about: Sally, a baby who wanders off and gets into mischief; Backwards Bob who does everything backwards; Tom, a king’s servant who never quite hears the king’s orders; and others.

How does your writing help make you a better teacher, or how does your teaching help make you a better writer?

I think my storytelling helps me teach the kids the parts of a story. I’m not sure if writing them makes me a better teacher, but it helps me reach beyond the walls of my classroom. On the other hand, I think my being a teacher helps me see what types of stories are missing from children’s literature.

You teach preschool—how do you encourage kids of that age to become readers, writers, or storytellers?

I read to my preschool class every day and I tell stories every day. I think it is important they get both. We also have times where we tell stories together as a group, and times to tell stories individually. Just as importantly, I have conversations with each child every day. At the age of four, the most important thing for future literacy success is oral skills. The more conversations, and the longer those conversations, the better.