Daughter of NFL
Hall-of-Famer Pens Children’s Book On The Pursuit Of Stardom & Meaning Of Friendship
Michelle Staubach
Grimes grew up in a household where she saw firsthand how hard work and
sacrifice needs to be made to achieve success -- or even stardom. Her dad is a
legendary Heisman Trophy winner, a two-time Super Bowl champion, and a member
of the National Football League Hall of Fame, Roger Staubach.
In Michelle’s newest book,
Pidge
Takes the Stage, the second
in a children’s book series, our young female hero decides to audition for the
school musical along with her canine buddy, Maverick. Not everyone thinks Pidge can learn to sing
or that Maverick can be trained, but Pidge believes. Through their theatrical escapades, Pidge
discovers that singing requires hard work, and that Maverick might not be ready
for his stage debut after all. By the end, Pidge understands that being a star
is all a matter of perspective, and that unconditional love matters more than
fame.
Michelle, who wrote
and created the series, joined forces with illustrator Bill DeOre. He enjoyed a
34-year career as a nationally syndicated editorial and sports cartoonist for
the Dallas Morning News.
She says she learned
all about commitment to hard work from her dad who would tirelessly practice
basic fundamentals, even many years into an illustrious career.
The late Pat Conroy,
a best-selling author who wrote several acclaimed novels that were turned into
Oscar-nominated films, The Prince of
Tides and The Great Santini, said
this of Michelle’s book:
“Where is Pidge? is a book for the ages. I know of no American writer who didn’t fall
in love with language by hearing children’s books read to us by our parents. Michelle’s book is charming, funny and
delightful. It is so full of family love
that you’ll want to buy it for every child you know. It has the look, feel, and smell of a classic
about it.”
1.
Michelle, what inspired you to create
a children’s book series?
Writing this series evolved for me from years of journaling. Years ago, I began
attending the Barbara Bush Foundation Celebration of Reading Event in Dallas,
which focuses on the importance of literacy, and I always left inspired to
write. That led me to enroll in the SMU Creative Writing Continuing Education
Program and I fell in love with creative writing. However, the program was not
directed at writing books for children.
After drafting a novel, I began writing the story of Pidge at my kitchen
table in a spiral notebook and couldn’t stop. To my surprise, my voice flowed
naturally on the pages and I realized it was my core story. And there began my
entry into the world of writing for children. I loved writing the first Pidge
story and sharing the story with children, so it was natural for me to write a
second book and create a series. I am currently writing the third Pidge book
and hope to write many more.
2.
In the newest book, Pidge Takes the Stage, what happens to
our young heroine? Pidge
decides to try out for the school musical, along with her canine buddy
Maverick. However, she must learn to sing and to train Maverick. She learns
that singing is not easy, and well, Maverick is not a good listener. In the end, Pidge learns to sing after hard
work. But Maverick is a different story. Maverick is a complete disaster at the
audition. Pidge realizes that her hard work paid off for her singing, but she
must accept and love Maverick for who he is, and that he’s not destined for
fame in the theater.
3.
As Pidge discovers being a star
requires a lot of hard work, what message do you hope to convey to others? When I share the story with
children at schools or book events, I always address the hard work Pidge
dedicated to her singing lessons. And I tell the kids – her hard work paid off.
She was ultimately granted a role in the school musical. I talk to the kids about hard work and how I
know going to school every day is tough. But that is how we power through life.
We have to work hard whether it be at school, in our job, exercising to stay
healthy, in our sport, with our musical instrument, etc. – and in the long run
the effort will pay off.
4.
The story is also about conquering
your fears, reaching for your dreams, trying something new, believing in
yourself, not giving up, and being perseverant.
How can parents inculcate such values into their children? First and foremost by
example. We can preach to our kids all
day, but they must witness us following our dreams, trying new things, and
persevering in tough times. For example,
if our child comes to us and wants to give up – that is the perfect time to
talk to him or her about the ramifications of giving up, and then give him or
her true-life examples of not giving up.
We, as parents, have to live a fulfilling life if we expect our kids to
live a fulfilling life. And that also means that we have to let our children
fail. Maybe after the long talk about
not giving up, the child gives up the next day and quits their team. We may not
agree with our child, but we also have to let them make their own decisions at
the appropriate age and suffer the consequences.
5.
How do we show others love for who
they are? We show
love for others for who they are by telling them how important they are to us.
Simple compliments throughout the day let those we love know we care. We have to be careful about critiquing or
implying we want them to do something different – because then we are not
accepting them for who they are.
6.
You teamed up with a nationally
syndicated editorial and sports cartoonist Bill De Ore, who worked for the Dallas Morning News for 34 years. What was it like to collaborate with him? It was fabulous. Since we
collaborated, I was able to express to Bill my visions of Pidge, the dog, and
certain family members. Then I let him go to work. He would show me his
sketches throughout the process and ask my opinion. However, rarely did I
suggest any changes. He’s been drawing his entire life and his work is
spectacular. I’m blessed that he brought my characters to life just as I
imagined.
7.
In Pidge Takes the Stage, the teacher says to her young, eager
student: “But it takes a lot of
unspectacular preparation to get spectacular results.”
That’s actually a quote from your
dad, the legendary Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Roger Staubach. Tell
us what he meant by that. I
asked my dad one day to describe to me what it was like, in the summer, at
training camp for the Dallas Cowboys -- and that is the quote he gave me. It
really describes life for all of us. The
day-to-day grind for almost anyone is unspectacular – whether you are an
athlete, writer, lawyer, painter, etc.
There is a lot of repetition in any type of work. But that repetition
can create spectacular results if you work hard. And for my dad the day in day
out of training camp was lifting weights, running, learning plays, and throwing
the ball over and over. These were all unspectacular activities. But the
spectacular results came on game day when he threw a beautiful touchdown pass
or when he became the MVP of a Super Bowl.
It’s a great talking point with kids. I often talk to kids about how I
know school can be tough and maybe they are struggling with learning to read or
write, but with practice, which is unspectacular, they will then get
spectacular results.
8.
How can we, as parents, help
validate children’s feelings and emotions? We as parents must talk to our children and reaffirm
our love for them. As parents we may not
agree or understand their emotions, but to our child it’s their “truth.” We must listen to our children and not judge.
Just because we validate their feelings, doesn’t mean we agree, but it’s very
important to the child to know they are loved and their voice matters. And
siblings need to care for one another. Siblings must tell their siblings they
love them or remember to thank a sibling for help on homework, or whatever it
may be.
9.
Your books also contribute to
building literacy. I understand you
worked with Barbara Bush’s organization to promote literacy. What did you learn from her? Where
do I start? She was an amazing woman on a mission to increase literacy, and she
cared deeply for those who didn’t have access to education. First, she started
these fabulous literacy events called the “Celebration of Reading” to raise
money for literacy and to educate those who attended the events about the
literacy crisis. I began attending the events many years ago in Dallas, and I must
admit, I was surprised to learn how many people were illiterate. After the
first event, I was a changed person and began working more closely with the
Barbara Bush Foundation to increase literacy rates. It’s very important to me
to continue to work closely with literacy organizations. Secondly, after
attending the “Celebration of Reading” events, I was inspired to follow my
dream, to write, which led me to enroll in the SMU Continuing Education Program
for Creative Writing.
10. You
teach the power of gratitude in your books.
Why is it such an important value that we need to be reminded of it? Gratitude makes the world a better
place. There is so much negativity in the world, and we need to create more
positive energy. It’s so easy to go
about our day with our heads down and not even notice those around us,
especially those that have made our life better. We need to keep our heads high and thank
those who have made a difference in our lives. And by reminding ourselves daily
about all the great things in our life, we in turn are ultimately more at peace,
I believe.
Please
note: This author is a client for the public relations firm that I work for.
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