Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 3, 1990 TAG: 9005030651
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: MARGIE FISHER RICHMOND BUREAU
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
This time it's a children's book, being written by 31-year-old Marla Glenn Richardson of Richmond.
Richardson, a former newspaperwoman and information officer for the state Council of Higher Education, said she was in a public library on Jan. 12 - the day before Wilder's historic inauguration as the nation's first black elected governor - when a boy, probably no more than 6 or 7, asked the librarian if there was anything he could read about Wilder.
At that time there were two books on the shelfs. One, "When Hell Froze Over," was written by Roanoke Times & World-News reporter Dwayne Yancey about Wilder's 1985 campaign for lieutenant governor. The other, "Hold Fast to Dreams," was a biography written by Washington Post reporter Don Baker.
Since then, a third book, "Claiming the Dream," has been written by Margaret Edds, a reporter with the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star. Edds' book, about Wilder's 1989 gubernatorial campaign, is scheduled for publication June. 30.
But Richardson said it was clear to her and to the librarian that there was nothing available that was suitable for young Wilder fans.
"Suddenly, it was like a lightning bolt hit me," and she said she knew that there ought to be a book, written especially for children, that would portray Wilder as a role model for success. "I didn't look for the idea; the idea found me."
Richardson said she's never written a children's book, but she quit her job to begin working on the project, which has involved interviews with Wilder's family members and research into what he was like as a youth.
"He was always a little politician," she's concluded. "He was born with charisma."
She feels the story of how he grew up in an era of racial discrimination and overcame considerable odds at every stage of his career is an inspirational one that many children will benefit from if the Wilder story can be related to them in terms they can understand.
Many people would have given up, settled for less than what could be, but not Wilder, Richardson said. "I'm just so impressed by his perseverance. The tenacity just amazes me . . . And he's so marketable."
Richardson is in contact with a couple of publishers of books for children. One of them seems particularly interested since it has a series of books that feature such celebrities as television superstar Bill Cosby.
She also said she doesn't have an illustrator. At one point, she said, she wondered if she might be able to coax Wilder, who used to paint in his spare time, to illustrate the book for her. But with the frantic schedule he keeps as governor it's clear "he doesn't have time . . .," Richardson said.
Asked about her political inclinations, Richardson said "I'm liberal as hell" although "normally I despise politicians."
But she said she rooted hard for Wilder's election last year, in part because she was struck by his concerns for family values and the close relations he has with his own children. "That's why I like him."
Since Richardson started her book, her own interest in family matters has increased. She is expecting her first child in November.
It's kind of a race, she conceded, whether the book or the baby will be out first.
by CNB