An Interview with Peter Brown

Peter Brown is the author and illustrator of many award-winning and bestselling books for kids. His middle-grade novel, The Wild Robot, has been adapted into a major motion picture by DreamWorks Animation.

Today, Peter is sitting down for a conversation with Sarah Baker.

Sarah congratulates Peter on his many achievements—he has a lot to celebrate!

Peter shares that he was a pretty shy but artistic kid, able to focus on projects for long periods of time. From a young age, he took his creativity seriously.

There’s a lot of nature in Peter’s books, and Sarah asks about that connection. Peter grew up in New Jersey, near the Delaware River, and spent a lot of time in nature. After moving to the city as an adult, he found that being in nature remained a source of comfort. Writing nature-centered stories helped balance out his life as a city dweller—it was a way to reconnect with his childhood and find comfort.

Peter shares that he has always been struck by the fact that, while humans are animals, we are so disconnected from the wild. He notes that kids (especially young kids) have a stronger connection to that animal side, but we as adults now much farther away from it.

Sarah asks Peter, as he moved toward The Wild Robot, at what point he knew this book was going to be different. He wondered what would happen if there was an intelligent robot in the wilderness. At first, he thought it would be a picture book. In thinking about making readers care about the robot, he came up with the idea of the robot adopting a wild animal in the forest. That's when he knew there was more to the story and additional characters, so he started exploring it as a middle-grade novel.

Peter was nervous about writing his first novel, so he made some rules for himself. He outlined and figured out every little detail. He then tackled each chapter as if it were a picture book, which made it feel doable for him.

Peter's illustration process, which focused on simplicity, informed his writing in The Wild Robot. He forced himself to keep both simple.

Peter says he couldn't have made this book earlier in his career—he needed all the experiences that came before.

As a final question, Sarah asks Peter for his best piece of advice for the writers and illustrators in the room.

Peter shares, "If you have stories you really love, they will help you work through the tough stuff... because you need to finish them. Pick projects you really love... You're going to do your best work if you really love what you're doing."