Q&A with children’s author Chris Barton

Chris Barton, an award-winning, bestselling author of books for young readers, observes the 150th anniversary of the Reconstruction period of American history with his newest release, “The Amazing Age Of John Roy Lynch” — the same historical figure for whom downtown Jackson’s Lynch Street was named.

A native Texan who resides in Austin, Barton said Lynch’s story of advancing from slavery to a U.S. congressman within the span of a decade caught his attention after he viewed a documentary whose larger context was about how the Reconstruction’s plan for equality for freed African-Americans was stymied in the South through legislation and violence.

This picture book, suggested for third- to sixth-grade readers, includes a section of historical notes that explain the intent of Reconstruction and its eventual reversals in the South, a list of suggested reading, and a historical timeline. The story is supported from start to finish by the illustrations of Don Tate, also of Austin, who uses color and imagery to convey both the harsh realities and the hopeful expectations of Lynch as he went from a life of enslavement to an influential leader in the U.S. government.

Ultimately, this biography, published by Eerdmans, challenges young readers to think critically about tough topics, and how they may still affect American society today. It has earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist.

Barton has also authored “Attack! Boss! Cheat Code!,” “A Gamer’s Alphabet,” “The Day-Glo Brothers,” “Can I See Your I.D.?” and the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller, “Shark vs. Train,” which was the the recipient of numerous awards.

In Austin, he has advocated for greater diversity in children’s literature by cofounding the Modern First Library program with independent bookseller BookPeople.

Please tell me how you became interested in writing children’s books.

That came from one of my kids — a toddler — asking me over and over to tell him a particular family anecdote. In short order, I went from telling it repeatedly, to writing it down, to making up other stories I could write down for him, to wanting to share those stories with other readers. I soon learned how far nonfiction for young readers had advanced since I’d been in elementary school — the text and art in the best contemporary books were far more honest and engaging and ambitious than anything I’d remembered — and I wanted to be part of that.

How did you decide to write about John Roy Lynch of Mississippi?

In 2006, I watched the documentary “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War.” John Roy Lynch’s own story was one of the ones through which the filmmakers told the larger story of Reconstruction. I was captivated by the transformation in his own life in such a short period of time — from enslaved teen to U.S. congressman in just 10 years — and I wanted kids to know about it. To be inspired by it.

But when I realized just how few books there are for young readers about Reconstruction, I knew that my book would be about the era as much as it’s about the man. And that it would try to explain to children why the civil rights movement was still necessary more than a century after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation rather than fully realized in the years immediately following the Civil War.

Briefly, why did Reconstruction after the Civil War fail in the South? (History seems to suggest that had it not failed, things in the South could have been very different.)

Reconstruction failed because racists in the South wanted it to fail more than the general population of the United States wanted to see it through. White terrorists and their political allies were firm in their resolve to deny civil rights and social equality to black Americans, and the will of the federal government faltered.

Tell me about how you conducted the research for the book.

I started with John Roy Lynch’s autobiography and Eric Foner’s books about Reconstruction, just to get a general grounding in Lynch’s life and the context of his times. (Getting praise for my book from Professor Foner — the expert on Reconstruction — meant a ton to me.)

From there, I dug deep into particular elements of Lynch’s story. For example, the father of John Roy Lynch was an Irish-born plantation overseer, so I read up on what his experiences might have been like. Lynch’s mother was enslaved near Vidalia, Louisiana — I read up on the laws regarding her and her children. John Roy Lynch wasn’t freed by the Emancipation Proclamation itself, but rather by the arrival of Union troops who could enforce it, so I found books about the their activity in the area. The same goes for life in Natchez before and after the war, Gov. Ames’ struggles with the Redeemers, and so forth. My bibliography ended up around 60 items long.

But my research wasn’t only in books and online. I spent a couple of nights in the mansion in Natchez where John Roy Lynch had been a house slave, visited the cotton plantation in Louisiana where he’d been sent for speaking his mind to his master’s wife, and saw the chamber in the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson where he resided as speaker of the House when he was just in his mid-20s. I found materials at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and in the basement of the Concordia Parish Clerk’s office. I was down in that basement so long that when I emerged at closing time, the staff seemed startled, and one of them said, “We forgot about you.” I’m glad they didn’t lock me in overnight.

I love researching. Stopping my research is hard to do.

What other books have you written, and what do you have in the works?

My next book for young readers, to be published in September, is “The Nutcracker Comes To America: How Three Ballet-Loving Brothers Created A Holiday Tradition” (Millbrook). Coming up in 2016 are “Mighty Truck” (HarperCollins), “That’s Not Bunny!” (Disney Hyperion), “88 Instruments” (Knopf), and “Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super Stream Of Ideas” (Charlesbridge).

What would you say you enjoy the most about writing children’s book?

I get so much joy out of learning all I can about a subject — be it John Roy Lynch, or daylight fluorescence, or The Nutcracker — and distilling that into a story that fascinates kids as it helps them understand how our world came to be the way that it is. I love the challenge of the work itself as much as I do the fun of sharing the results with a roomful of readers.

Meet the author

Chris Barton will serve on the Children’s Illustrated Books Panel at the Mississippi Book Festival on the grounds of the Mississippi State Capitol Aug. 22. For information about him, visit http://www.chrisbarton.info.