Project Mulberry (18 page)

Me:
You think they'll do that?

Ms. Park:
Not all of them. But some of them might.

Me:
I like that.

Ms. Park:
Me, too.

Me:
How many? How many of them will keep thinking about me?

Ms. Park:
Good grief, I have no idea.

Me:
Just guess. A wild guess.

Ms. Park:
There's no way of knowing.

Me:
Ten? Fifty? A thousand? You don't have any idea?

Ms. Park:
You're being ridiculous. If we have to continue this discussion, we should do it later, in private.

Me:
Fine. I'll meet you outside.

Below are the books mentioned in the story, listed alphabetically by author. The page numbers in parentheses indicate where in the text the book is mentioned.

 

Cansdale, C.H.C.
Cocoon Silk: A Manual for Those Employed in the Silk Industry.
London: Sir I. Pitman & Sons, Ltd., 1937. (p. 89)

Enright, Elizabeth.
Then There Were Five.
New York: Puffin Books, 1997. (p. 115)

Hoban, Russell.
The Mouse and His Child.
New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2001. (p. 142)

Holt, Kimberly Willis.
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.
New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1999. (p. 21)

Johnson, Sylvia A.
Silkworms.
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1982. (p. 89)

O'Dell, Scott.
Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990. (p. 85)

 

The quotations on page 195 are not from Sylvia Johnson's book. They are fictional quotes based on fact.

The model for Mr. Maxwell's farm is Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm in northern Virginia. I first read about Polyface in an article by Michael Pollan in the September 2002 issue of
Gourmet.

I had a lot of help doing the hands-on research for this story. My parents, Ed and Susie Park, raised one set of silkworms for me; Melanie and Craig Park, my sister-in-law and nephew, raised another. Special thanks to Melanie who, on learning that mulberry leaves were not available, cooked gallons and gallons of artificial silkworm food. I ordered silkworm eggs from the Carolina Biological Supply Company,
http://www.carolina.com
. My dad kept a diary of the worms' progress; my mom helped him spin the silk into thread; Craig took photos.

The reason my family raised the silkworms for me is because, as Julia guessed, I do indeed have a worm phobia like Patrick's. After writing this story, I can honestly say that I like them a little better now. But only a little.

Marsha Hayles and Vivian VandeVelde read early versions of this story and offered much in the way of suggestion and encouragement. My writing communities, both online and in person, are a constant source of support. Of great inspiration to me were many discussions about form and structure with other writers and illustrators; special thanks to David Wiesner for design advice and overall genius.

I was fortunate to grow up in a family that believed fiercely in racial equality. However, as both a child and an adult, I witnessed many episodes of racism between Asians and blacks, going both ways. Most disturbing of all to me were the news reports of the violence between the two groups in New York City and Los Angeles in the 1990s. As with any problem, awareness and discussion are the first steps toward healing, and my hope is that this book might be one of those small steps.

L
INDA
S
UE
P
ARK
is the author of the novels
A Single Shard,
which received the Newbery Medal,
Seesaw Girl, The Kite Fighters,
and
When My Name Was Keoko,
as well as two picture books for Clarion,
The Firekeeper's Son
and
What Does Bunny See?
Ms. Park lives with her family in Rochester, New York. A hank of raw silk hangs from a shelf in her home office; it was spun by silkworms that were raised as research for this book.