Literary Safari

The science adventure novel for kids, George’s Secret Key to the Universe, by physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking, was published this week. Following is my Q & A with Lucy Hawking. You can also catch my review of the book here.

Q: How did the idea to write a children’s book with your father come about?

I had the idea for the book - which right from the beginning I called George’s Secret Key to the Universe - because I wanted to write a book with my Dad which would explain some of the work he’s done to younger readers. I have a background in creative writing and he, obviously, has led a wonderful career in theoretical physics, so I felt together, we could come up with a great adventure story where the adventures would be based on real science.

Tell me about the collaboration process.

I came up with the concept, the title, created the characters and the set up and designed the plot line. I then consulted with my father who worked with [a former research PhD student] Christophe Galfard, as to the science he wanted to include. I wove the science into the story line and added some background themes of my own such a global warming, the moral value of science and the need for humanity to spread out into space to survive.

Is the character of George based on anyone in particular?

George has elements of my older brother - very sweet, very serious and very clever. My older brother used to go to lectures with my Dad - ones for professional researchers - and sit in the front row. I have this image of him as a boy, looking very earnest and listening very carefully. When George attends Eric’s conference and asks a question, that moment is entirely based on my older brother as a boy.

I found myself smiling at descriptions of the opposing descriptions of gigantic SUVs that George saw on the road versus the lentil cakes and broccoli muffins he ate in a home where there were no computers. Both were so on point even though they can be construed as stereotypes. It seemed to me that these were depictions of people who camp out at different ends of the environmentalism activism scale. Are both of these worlds that you and your father think about often?

I’m glad you liked those parts. These are not our worlds - we are not extremists in any way. I drew them from observations of life around us.

There was a clear environmental message in this book. Do you and your father feel that the time is ripe for it to be heard now, especially among children?

I feel very strongly that is extremely important for everyone to listen to the warnings about the health of our planet. I read a really good phrase the other day from the astronomer Fred Watson who says ‘we call it Planet Earth and we treat it like dirt’. Of course, with children who are tomorrow’s world and who will grow up to make decisions that could affect the survival of the human race, it is doubly important to stress this idea that we need to act with greater care and regard to the amazing planet on which we live. My father has spoken many times on this subject. He likes to point out how inhospitable somewhere like Venus - extreme temperatures, acidic clouds - would be and how we could be heading in that direction.

You obviously grew up in a scientific household. In the book, little George does not. His exposure to the discipline of science in school is also very different - let’s say distant. I’d love to know: What was your relationship with science during your childhood? Was there a significant difference in how you saw it presented at home and in school?

Science was all around me as a child. However, my interests lay in different areas - in theatre, ballet, music, singing and creative writing. Even as a small child, I was creating fantasy worlds. I used to write about them, draw maps of them and fill them with strange creatures, stories and legends. So I was really the family entertainer.

Your father’s theories on Black Holes were so simply laid out for a child. I’m curious - did he explain his theories to you in this way when you were a child?

Yes, he has always enjoyed explaining complicated subjects in simple ways. He used to help us with our homework when we were kids and I always loved the ways he found to illustrate and illuminate complex ideas

I was interested in how you included charts and text features alongside the fictional narrative. Is it your hope that this book might be used in science classrooms?

We included the extra scientific information because this helps the book to be more flexible. It gives readers options - they can read the story without taking in any extra science or they can use the boxes for additional material. I also felt these boxes would be very handy for parents as they would help the parents to answer any further questions their children might have.

What were your favorite children’s books?

I loved the classics of children’s fiction, especially the C S Lewis [Narnia] series. I also very much liked the books of E Nesbit - 5 children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, the The Story of the Amulet. I read voraciously as a child and used to pillage my parents book shelves for old dusty Penguin paperbacks. So I read eclectically and somewhat oddly - Wuthering Heights followed by Enid Blyton.

Me too! I haven’t thought about The Phoenix and the Carpet in years! The illustrations of George reminded me of The Little Prince. There was something contemporary and yet fantasy and fairy tale like about his character.

The illustrations are beautiful. They are the work of Garry Parsons and I was so touched when he sent me his first sketches. They depicted the characters exactly as I saw them in my mind.

You are a journalist who has written for publications including New York magazine, the London Evening Standard, and London’s Daily Mail. How was writing for children different than the other writing/journalism that you do?

Writing for children allowed me to use the part of my imagination that I developed as a child - it allowed me to create my own fantasy worlds, much as I had been doing since a very early age. I really enjoyed it. I liked the clarity but the freedom of writing for children.

I understand that there are two more books in this series. Are you working on them already and when might we expect them to hit the shelves?

I am working hard on the second book and we hope to bring it out in ‘08. Thank you!