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Q&A with Pam Muñoz Ryan

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?

A: I wanted to be the boss. At home I was the oldest of three sisters, and next door to us there lived

another three girls, all younger than me, too. Whenever we played together, I was in charge of what we
did. I was the director of the play, the conductor of the train, the Mom in a pretend family, or the heroine

who saved the day. I was also the oldest of the twenty-three cousins on my mother’s side of the family.

When we had a get-together at my grandmother’s house, I was the self-appointed coordinator again. I

would say, “Let’s pretend this is a circus or a school or a jungle.” Then I would tell everyone what to do
and what to say. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was already creating stories with a cast of characters.

Q: Have you always been a writer, even as a child?
A: As a schoolgirl, I never kept a journal, made a book in class, or had an author visit my school.

Curriculum was different then and I never knew that an author was something I could be someday. So,

when students ask me, “Did you write as a child?” the answer is, not exactly. But I could imagine just
about anything. I was a benevolent queen, an explorer, or a doctor saving people from precarious deaths.

It never occurred to me to write a story on paper, but I pretended many, right in my own backyard. Also, I

come from a family that likes to talk. It wasn’t unusual to sit around after a big Saturday midday meal and
“visit” for hours, telling stories. This was all a great foundation for writing.

Q: As a child, what types of books did you read?

A: I don’t remember all of the books I read as a child but some are memorable. I read the Little House on
the Prairie books. I read (and reread) Sue Barton, Student Nurse and other series-type stories. I

remember reading Treasure Island, The Swiss Family Robinson, and Gone with the Wind in junior high

school.

Q: How would you describe your books?

A: I write books about dreams, discoveries, and daring women. I write short stories about hard times,
picture books about mice and beans, and novels about journeys. I write fiction, nonfiction, historical

fiction, and magical realism. That’s part of the enchantment of writing and creating characters — the

variety. The most wonderful thing about being a writer has been that I can “try on” many lives that might
be different from my own. Part of the appeal of writing (and reading, too) is the well of strengths,

weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies that I can sample and then keep, discard, or consider for my characters,

and ultimately for myself.