The Storyteller An Interview with Josh Funk ’93

“ I always read a lot of books to my children,” Josh starts. “One day, I realized I wanted to try to give writing a shot.” With 12 picture books in print, more on the way and a gig as a Barnes & Noble

National Storytime featured author, Josh has clearly hit the mark. Nearly two dozen awards from the Smithsonian and Goodreads to “Top Ten” lists from libraries and literary associations across the nation demonstrate that Josh’s characters and themes are catchy and current. Becoming a children’s book author proved to be a completely novel process, though, entirely different from Josh’s work as a software engineer at MIT Lincoln Labs where he writes code, builds models and simulations of networks.

“I had been a B student in English class,” Josh explains candidly. “English was one of my weaker subjects. I was a math and science kid and not a great reader. I wrote terrible manuscripts at first, then enrolled in an adult education class at the Lexington Community Education Center on children’s book writing which I took eight times.” Through the class, Josh discovered organizations such as the Society of Children’s Book Writers and the Writers’ Loft. Relentless networking, classes and workshops paid off as Josh’s writing steadily improved. His tenacity and resolve were buoyed by a simple, affirming belief. “Anyone can be an author. You need to know two things to be a writer: you need to know the alphabet and you need to be able to tell a good story. If you know those things, you are as much of a writer as I am.”

After receiving over 90 rejections from agents, Josh finally acquired one. Even with an agent, rejections are nonetheless the norm. “There are lots of good books out there, but most books do not even sell 1,000 copies. It just takes one.” Indeed, Josh sold the “one,” Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, in the fall of 2013. Before it had even been published, Josh had sold three more books. The process that transforms the endearing characters and rolicking rhymes of Josh’s imagination to the printed page is complicated. Josh readily acknowledges that he “[does] not know how to make a book. I do lots of marketing and promotion on my own, but I rely on the publisher to know what looks good on a cover and to bring my books to trade shows, librarian conferences and book expos.”

Josh reveals the roots and rewards of writing. “I get ideas from all over the place. Each story has its own origin and I think about what I would like to see illustrated. I am lucky to have very talented artists draw pictures of what I write. My favorite books entertain me and crack me up when I am writing. On playdates with [Schechter classmate] BJ Novak on the weekends, we would write funny stories together. I wrote poetry about Larry Bird and Roger Clemens when I was in grammar school. I wrote for the school newspaper in high school, random editorials about nonsense. In college, I played guitar and wrote songs with rhyming, clever lyrics. My books really evolved from there and about half of them rhyme.”

Josh’s characters and tales are nothing if not diverse. The anthropomorphic pancake and French toast that race through the refrigerator in Josh’s hilariously over-the-top first book are now part of a four-book collection. Josh’s Meta-Fractured-Fairy-Tale series twists classic stories into unexpected, comical capers with more than a few undercurrents of parent humor woven into the storylines. Dear Dragon details the charming friendship that develops between a little boy and dragon who get to know each other as pen pals and discover their commonalities despite having totally different backgrounds. “I love that people interpret and use my books in ways I never imagined. Teachers have been using Dear Dragon to discuss what it means to make assumptions about someone and who they are or why they do what they do.”

Josh has recently written two books in conjunction with the world-renowned computer science nonprofit Girls Who Code. How to Code a Sandcastle and How to Code a Rollercoaster feature the indomitable Pearl and her sidekick robot friend, Pascal, who work together using code to solve everyday challenges like building a sandcastle or figuring out how to get a seat on the most popular roller coaster at the amusement park. “When I was writing How to Code a Sandcastle, I went back to fifth grade at Schechter with [General Studies teacher] David Wolf and his annual routine of having his students explain to him, step by step, how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have thought about it over and over all my life, in my day job as a software engineer and as a picture book writer. Sequence is critical. To coders, it’s obvious, but kids need to learn that you have to be specific in your instructions in order to make something happen in a certain order.”

When asked why he loves being an author, Josh is straightforward. “Reading is fun and storytelling is fun. That’s why I write.” This easy statement belies the layers of humor, humanity and courage that define the heroes and heroines of Josh’s stories. Children, parents and teachers alike laugh and learn from one page to the next, often in ways Josh never predicted or intended. “That,” says Josh, “is when I know I have written something good.”