It's not like we hadn't heard about Oberman before. His credits are inspira- tional. Among them, three published and two upcomîng kids' books, a long and fruitful association with Fred Penner, a children's version of the board game, A Question of Scruples (Hasbro), The Folk Festival Book, and an anthology of Jewish writing, The Mirror of a People. Have I missed anything?
With all these books hitting stores almost simultaneously, it seems Oberman's been in overdrive, but he says it takes years for him to turn a story into a book. "I'm in no hurry," he says. "The French-English alphabet took eight years to corne about."
He admits to a file of manuscripts to which he retums from time-to-time, when it feels right. "I started telling stories to my children. The first piece I wrote, after putting it in a drawer, it's going to be on Sesame Street next year. A little one-minute animated story. I had put it in a drawer and forgotten about it," he says.
To think of writing children's fiction as simple is deceptive. Oberman wrests with finding the perfect words, and keeps reworking until he's completely satisfied. "I'll sing the entire text just to get the rhythm," he says. "When I read a sentence that doesn't work, it's like the scraping of a rock."
No stranger to musie, he's written songs for Fred Penner but he says he's not getting rich off them. "I'm paid a sad and embar- rassing fee," he says. "When Fred was first starting out, I gave him some material. The royalties for one song was three-quarters of a cent per record. That was the rate set in 1921, and it dîd not change until about five years ago. There's a real good reason there's not a lot of songwriters in Canada."
Oberman has a strong political conscience which shines through his work, although there's nothing soapboxey about it. The Great White Stone cf Casa Loma, to be released by Tundra Press in spring, is an historically accurate fictional account based on old-time philanthropist Sir Henry Pellatt who commissioned the entire city of Toronto to bring him stones to build a wall around his castle.
"He would pay a dollar for each stone which, at the time, was a daily wage of a skilled craftsman. It was the age of philanthropy - people were expected to be gener- ous if they were great, so his greatness did depend, on some part, on his generosity," says Oberman.
Little peasant boy meets benign capitalist, with a moral. "It's a moral placed within a - I hope - a real kind of political consciousness. It's subtle, but it's there," he says. He hopes to do similar books based on three or four other Canadian cities if he can find the right stories.
Although he's not getting rich, Oberman has a quirky sense of magic. "There are moments when all your psychic power is centered around something, and things hap- pen. I see those kinds ofthings," he says.
"0f course, no writing really pays anyway. I eam my living as a teacher. I take a year off about every five, when I can save up enough money to do that, or when I get a grant or something. It's a little close to the bone. The writing does give me enough to justify that; well, I wouldn't work full-time anyhow," he says.
THE LION IN THE LAKE LE LION DANS LE LAC
by Sheldon Oberman
Illustrated by Scott Barham (Peguis Press)
This French-English alphabet book is the winner of the 1990 Silver
Medal at the International Children's Book Fair in Leipzig, Germany, and
deserved it. lt's destined for classic status as one of the only existing
bilingual alphabet books. Illustrations are colourfully zany without being
insulting. "Oo An ogre cats on ions and oranges* Un ogre mange des oignons
et des oranges" Wonderfully read-aloudable.
TV SAL AND THE GAME SHOW FROM OUTERSPACE
by Sheldon Oberman
Pictures by Craig Terlson (Red Deer College Press, Northern Lights)
Words like BRUM*GRUZZEBEEP* HAZAP, BUZZAT! make this a lively read-aloud
story for kids ages 4-8. Sal, who probably watches a bit too much television
and doesn't want to go for a walk in the fog with her loving family, gets
buzzatted into another world where weird, televi- sioney stuff happens
and lots of time passes. Naturally, she learns a lesson, but it's not preached
down.
THE ALWAYS PRAYER SHAWL
by Sheldon Oberman
lllustrated by Ted Lewin
(Boyds Mills Caroline House)
A breathtaking tender story about the passing of time and the passing
of traditions. It'll be available in Canada by the holidays, and it's a
must-have family book in the treasured parabolic tear-jerk category of
The
Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and I Love You Forever by Rohert
Munsch. Written for about the same age group which is, I believe, two to
ninety, this is a story with soul. The cover blurb from Chaim Potok calls
this "a tender, richly illustrated tale of faith that warms the heart and
pleas- es the eye." He's right. Tell your favourite bookstore owner to
order this one.
THE WHlTESTONE
by Sheldon Oberman (Tundra Press)
Set in Toronto in 1912, a poor peasant boy from the village of Yorkville,
Tommy Fiddich, sets himself a tough task-to earn a silver dollar from the
grand industrialist who is building Casa Loma. Startling visuals take you
on an accurate historical walking tour from Yorkville up the hill. A proletariat
dream.
JULlE GEROND AND THE POLKA DOT PONY
hy Sheldon Oberman (Hyperion Press)
A modern fairy tale about a girl and a wooden pony. Julie's courage
and love breaks the spell that binds the pony to its merry-go-round. Both
escape to find their fantasy land at the edge of a shimmering sea.