LEARNING ABOUT
APRIL HALPRIN WAYLAND

Compiled by Kay Vandergrift

I always envied my mother, who is a concert pianist, my father, who was a farmer, and my sister, who seemed destined to be a journalist. What was I going to be?

We spent school months in Santa Monica, California. During school vacations, we were on the farm in Yuba City, California, swimming in the river, driving tractor, raising ducks, and working in the walnut orchard.

At school, I played the violin in orchestra, and loved acting in plays. At the University of California at Davis, I ran on the track team, worked on political campaigns and in the theater, and learned to play folk fiddle. I graduated with a B.S. in Human Development.

When my father died, I helped run the farm for several years. Then, I went exploring: I worked at the Rand Corporation; was a governess for Joan River's child; co-founded a tutorial agency called Positive Education Inc.; backpacked with my fiddle through Europe and the Middle East' married Gary Wayland (from Albuquerque); became a marketing manager at Pacific Bell; gave birth to our son, Jeffrey.

I left the corporate world to write full time in 1985. To Rabbittown was accepted for publication three months later. Today, I'm a writer; I love my work!

Publications

Books

Poetry Is My Underwear. New York: Knopf, 2001. [forthcoming]

It's Not My Turn to Look for Grandma! Illus. by George Booth. New York: Knopf, 1995.

The Night Horse. Illus. by Vera Rosenberry. New York: Scholastic, 1991.

To Rabbittown. Illus. by Robin Spowart. New York: Scholastic, 1989.

Poetry Anthologies

"Taking Violin at School" in Call Down the Moon: Poems of Music. Ed. by Myra Cohn Livingston. 1995.

"Busssssss" and "Truck Quake" in Roll Along: Poems on Wheels. Ed. by Myra Cohn Livingston. New York: Margaret McElderry Books, 1993.

"Bath" in Poems for Brothers, Poems for Sisters. Ed. by Myra Cohn Livingston. New York:Margaret McElderry Books, 1990.

"I've Never Seen A Real Owl" in If the Owl Calls Again. Ed. by Myra Cohn Livingston. New York: Margaret McElderry Books, 1990.

"When Mom Plays Just for Me" in Poems for Mothers. Ed. by Myra Cohn Livingston. New York: Holiday House, 1988.

Radio

Halfway Down the Stairs, KPFK - 91.7 FM. A children's program, continues to air April Halprin Wayland's Stories and Poems.

Audio Tapes

It's Not My Turn to Look for Grandma and Other Stories. Audiotape. 40 Minutes, $10. (Available in southern California children's book stores and through the author.) Won the NAPPA Gold Award for storytelling/spoken word.

Includes all of April's published books, poems, and several brand new stories. (A total of five stories, 17 poems-most published in anthologies and/or in Cricket Magazine, and the "Chickadilla Song," accompanied by fiddle, banjo, and spoons. Read by the Author.

Critical Commentary

To Rabbittown. Illus. by Robin Spowart. New York: Scholastic, 1989.

"A little girl dreamily asks her pet rabbit, 'Where do the rolling hills go?' He answers her on a journey beyond the wheat, to a pine forest, to Rabbittown. Soft, beautiful watercolors show the magical transformation that lets the girl become a rabbit and experience for a time the sights, sounds, and scents of the world as a rabbit does.
Junior Library Guild

"A dream-like fantasy whose soft-edged illustrations are reminiscent of Brown's Runaway Bunny (Harper, 1972). Here a young child holds a conversation with her pet rabbit. The rabbit invites the child beyond the rolling hills to a pine forest, to the edge of Rabbittown. While in Rabbittown the child assumes the physical characteristics of a rabbit, and learns to observe the quiet beauty of the world as a rabbit would. After a fashion the Rabbittown are curious about the child's world, and at this point the child wants to return 'to the houses filled with the people I love.' Once home the child assumes her own human physical characteristics, and returns to her special moments playing with a pet bunny (who holds the memories of Rabbittown). This should work well with the pre-school set during storytime, and with children who want to enjoy a solitary escape to a fantasy world. A very gentle and uncomplicated book, with a special beauty and grace that make it better than most fantasies for this age level."
Starred Review April 1989.

It's Not My Turn to Look for Grandma! Illus. by George Booth. New York: Knopf, 1995.

"The story's lively mountain twang is well paired with wild cartoon illustrations that highlight its sassy tone. Finish read-aloud with a sing-along (music and new lyrics provided). It will be a silly good time for all."
School Library Journal August, 1995.

"From its . . .goony title-page rendering of the Knopf borzoi to its droll locutions ('Where in the hictory stick is Grandma?'), this volume establishes a rollicking hootenanny feel. . .fans of the New Yorker artist will instantly recognize a certain pointy-eared, barrel-chested dog."
Publishers Weekly June 1995.

"Los Angeles author April Halprin Wayland has crafted a hilarious story full of memorable characters and, thanks to her training as a poet, even more memorable turns of idiomatic phrase ('Noon was sizzling like an egg in a cast-iron pan.') Meanwhile, the great New Yorker cartoonist George Booth has created wackily apposite pictures filled with eccentric. . .characters. . .caught in laugh-out-loud situations."
Los Angeles Times Book Review July, 1995.

"A brand new hill tale with so much pep readers will swear it's been handed down for generations. Read it aloud."
Kirkus Reviews May 1995.

It's Not My Turn to Look for Grandma and Other Stories. Audiotape. 40 minutes.

". . . I have become a major listener to audio tapes for children, so I could hardly believe my good fortune when I walked into Dutton's [bookstore] tonight and saw the tape . . .I am so thrilled to be able to tell [parents] about [this one. . .
. . . tour de force . . .[her] voice is very expressive, and filled with life . . . a quality that makes listening both easy and exciting. . .
I have a hard time reading poetry, but love to listen to it on tapes. I'll best I'm not the only one!"
Janet Zarem, Children's Book Reviewer.

Appearances

To arrange television, radio, conference and school appearances contact:

April Wayland
1097 Aviation Blvd.
Hermonsa Beach, CA 90254
email: aprilstory@aol.com

website: http://www.aprilwayland.com
voice mail: 310-376-8760-- ONLY 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Pacific Standard Time.

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Created March 25, 1997, Last Updated March 23, 2000.