By Eliza Ridgeway
 Shirley Climo reads “Cobweb Christmas” to local schoolchildren last Wednesday at Linden Tree Recordings & Books in Los Altos. |
Nationally known Los Altos author Shirley Climo spoke to busloads of schoolchildren at Linden Tree Children’s Recordings & Books last week and shared some of the writing tips she has gleaned over a lifetime as an author. Her newest book, “Monkey Business,” recently hit the shelves. She signed it along with some of her classics, such as the seasonal tale, “Cobweb Christmas.”
Climo used the spider motif from that story to talk about where aspiring authors can look for ideas. She said that fables and folklore are good starting points for young writers because they lend themselves to adaptation.
“Fables are great because they are all short and almost always have an animal as message carrier, and kids like animals,” she said.
“I think the hardest thing about being a writer is having to be a self-starter,” she added. She credited her family’s passion for writing as her inspiration to become an author. Her mother was a writer and her eldest sister an illustrator. Her children have all pursued creative careers.
Climo, who plans to keep writing indefinitely, can feel how age has changed the experience.
“I’m treated wonderfully in New York because I’m the oldest thing to walk through those doors. It’s a young, moving profession,” Climo said.
She found her niche as a children’s author with a specialty in folklore when she traveled to Cornwall with her husband. “I realized it was a hotbed of superstition. There were more magical creatures there than maybe anywhere else in the world,” she said.
Climo’s adaptations of folklore range from her beloved series of four Cinderella tales from around the world to her latest book.
“Monkey Business” visits the monkeys of Africa, Asia and the Americas, juxtaposing regional folktales with facts, sayings and carefully researched illustrations.
Climo worked on the book for six years. “There were far more monkeys than I realized!” she said. “I loved the research. The book was a labor of love.”
