Article: I came up with the...

I came up with the idea for What Are You So Grumpy About? while I was on an airplane on the way to California. It seems like I come up with most of my ideas in weird places: on an airplane, at the hardware store or in a crowded elevator. I think it's because being somewhere unusual makes our brains think more creatively. That's why it's easy to think up geniusy thoughts when you're way up in a tree fort or hiding inside a big cardboard box.

Most of the things in this book came from remembering what made me grumpy when I was a kid. For instance, the part about falling into the toilet after someone leaves the seat up came from my own experience. When I was about six years old, I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and didn't bother to turn on the light. When I sat down, my skinny little butt went straight down into the cold water. It was quite a shock, and I remember thinking "who in the world would have such a big butt that they would need to put up the seat in order to fit it on the toilet?"

Some of the other crabby-causing situations in the book came from talking with kids to find out what makes them grumpy. I've learned that there are about a million things that make kids grumpy, but the leading causes are: 1. siblings (looking at you, touching you, being on the same planet as you), 2. food (mixing things together, leftovers, just plain gross), and 3. being bossed around by grownups.

The hardest part of writing this book was coming up with an ending. My wife, Jan, said I should think about things that make kids un-grumpy. So I came up with the tickling situation, which cures even the worst case of grumpiness, and also makes a pretty good ending for a book.

Thank you for reading about my book, and remember; it's impossible to be giggly and grumpy at the same time.

Copyright © Tom Lichtenheld