Monday, April 14, 2003

PEAK alumnus returns to city to tell tales

Nancy Sheehan

TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Jarrett Krosoczka didn't monkey around after meeting success with his first book, "Good Night Monkey Boy.' He got right to work on a second project, "Baghead.' When that book, about a little boy who goes all day at school with a bag over his head (for reasons that won't be revealed here) met with even greater success, there was no Baghead big head for him. Mr. Krosoczka, 25, immediately returned to his studio and came up with "Bubble Bath Pirates,' (Viking, $15.99) about two splashy, puddle-producing bath-shunning boys.

The little pirates were modeled after a bathtime incident involving the author's young nephews, Matthew and Griffin Boyle of Grafton, who were 4 and 5 years old at the time.

"I was at my sister's house and she was trying to get the boys ready for their bath,' said Mr. Krosoczka, who now lives in Dorchester, but grew up in Worcester. "They were running around and acting sort of hyper and crazy. She kept trying to get them upstairs and they were in these pirate costumes left over from Halloween, so I got the idea for the book right away.'

The splashbuckling characters not only act like Mr. Krosoczka's nephews, they look like them, too, because their talented uncle is both the author and illustrator of his books.

His creative renditions of his story ideas, often inspired by family and friends, feature vibrant characters set against bright, eye-fetching background colors. Children relate to them, while book reviewers appreciate their artistry.

For a Halloween-themed book that will come out this fall, called "Annie Was Warned,' Random House, he said, is sending him "on an actual book tour.' He'll go from Vermont down to Philadelphia in a two-week span, hitting every state along the way and then fly to Houston for two weeks to give school visits and do signings in the area.

His earlier book, "Baghead,' garnered plugs in the New York Times Book Review last month and a roundup of recommended children's books in Newsweek last fall.

"I was at home visiting my grandmother, and the publicist at Random House called me up and told me "You need to go out and buy Newsweek, because there are 10 books listed and you're one of the books, and there's also a small image of your book,'' Mr. Krosoczka said.

Random House (he has book deals with both Viking and Random House) told him that from the publisher's point of view, the Newsweek endorsement was really important because the magazine rarely reviews picture books.

"So I ran out to CVS and I bought six copies. And I brought them back and my grandmother looked through them, and she looks up at me and says, "You bought all those copies just for that one little picture?'' he said, laughing. "She keeps me grounded.'

That's something she has always done. Mr. Krosoczka was raised by his grandparents, Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka, in the Webster Square section of Worcester, when personal issues meant his parents were unable to. He remains close to his parents, however.

He attended Gates Lane School, where he wrote his first book as part of a lesson in the PEAK program for talented children. He went on to graduate from Holy Name High School and Rhode Island School of Design, but has never forgotten the PEAK experience he had in his neighborhood grammar school.

He will return tomorrow to sign copies of his new book at Tatnuck Bookseller at 6 p.m. But before that, he will visit several city schools to talk to children, including those currently in the PEAK program, about what it's like to be a writer and illustrator of children's books.

The school gig came about after a teacher told his cousin, PEAK fifth-grader Amanda O'Neil, there was no money this year to bring in Jack Gantos, author of the "Rotten Ralph' books, who had visited every year to talk to the kids. Amanda told the teacher that she had a cousin who was an author and an illustrator.

"So the teacher contacted me, and when I heard it was the PEAK program, which was so influential in my life, I told her I would gladly do it,' Mr. Krosoczka said. "She offered to try to find the funds to pay me, but I was sort of adamant that I just wanted to go and volunteer.'

Why?

"I told her I remembered Jack Gantos coming myself, when I was a student. And I remember drawing the little cat that he drew on the board and him telling me that it was a nice cat - and, believe it or not, that stuck with me through the years,' he said, laughing again. "So if I can just tell one kid their cat is nice ...'

But is it a nice living?

"It's enough that I'm starting to sustain myself,' said Mr. Krosoczka, who also teaches at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly. "I don't think anytime in the near future I'd be able to support myself on just the books, but even if that were to happen I would get bored. I've always loved teaching, and at Montserrat I'm able to see these students over various semesters and see their work grow, and I feel like I can have a hand in improving their work as well.'