Michigan Author, Ruth McNally Barshaw Brings New Meaning to Summer Reading Fun in Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen Will Travel

MetroParent Magazine, Detroit, Michigan, August 2007

By Patti Richards

When new Michigan author Ruth McNally Barshaw was ten years old she never dreamed a family camping trip to Grayling, Michigan would become her first book for children, Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen Will Travel, Bloomsbury, May 2007.

Ellie McDougal doesn’t want to go anywhere with her crazy relatives, much less camping for a whole week. But when her father and mother go to a funeral, she has no choice. Armed with her journal, Ellie sets off with her little brother, Aunt, Uncle and three annoying cousins for a week at Higgins Lake. Through doodles and , Ellie pours out her feelings about staying in a cabin instead of a tent (not real camping to her), sharing a bunk bed with her cousin who wets on her during the night and trying to keep her journal away from her monster boy cousin. As the week passes, Ellie’s drawings change as her feelings about her relatives change and camping with dorky cousins becomes a real adventure.

Ruth McNally Barshaw’s writing journey began when she was a teenager growing up in Harper Woods. Her mother gave her a journal to use while on their family camping trip, but it wasn’t until around age 15 she discovered journals aren’t just for words, and she started drawing in them.

“Most diaries in those days had lines with spaces in between for writing down your thoughts. Today journals have blank pages with lots of room for drawing, writing or jotting down whatever you want,” said Mrs. McNally Barshaw.

“Ellie was originally a personal essay about the camping trip I had taken with my family years ago. I had already decided I wanted to be a picture book writer and illustrator. I never thought anyone would be interested in my cartoony drawings, since I had not been able to sell my comic strips,” she commented. Through the encouragement of other writer’s, friends and family, Mrs. McNally Barshaw began working on a mid-grade graphic novel about a young girl on a camping trip.

In 2005, after attending a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference in New York, Mrs. McNally Barshaw journaled the entire conference with her drawings and posted them on her web page. People took notice of her art and the idea for the book. Soon she received a call from an agent expressing interest in seeing the project. She completed the book in about 5 weeks and submitted it to the agent, who sent it to Bloomsbury Publishing Company. They liked the story and the concept and soon Ellie Mc Doodle was born.

Part comic book, fiction and non-fiction Ellie McDoodle is a character that will have kids cheering. Michigan parents will want this one on their kid’s summer reading list as a great way to encourage reading, writing, drawing and discovering some terrific things about the state where they live.

When asked what advice she would give to parents who want to inspire creativity in their children, she said, “One of the best things you can do to inspire kids is to give them a journal. A journal is more than just a diary, and if you can encourage kids to use it in a lot of different ways, it can help their creativity.”

Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen Will Travel is available at local bookstores or on the internet. For more information about Ruth McNally Barshaw and her work, visit www.ruthexpress.com.