There was this writer and, well, there was this mouse, you see...

The true story:

"How did you write these stories?" "Why did you name him Wordsworth?"
These are two most asked questions by readers.

Wordsworth the Poet has a long history:

In the 70's, the Hawaii Culture and the Arts held a contest for children's stories with a Hawaiian setting. I lifted some poems from my previously published four books of poetry, added a few new poems and wrote a story around them. My story won second prize and the mayor sent me a $100 check. I attended a reception to be recognized. "Not a good enough story," I said, and filed the story away.

A year later, a local publisher planned to publish Wordsworth. He had designated a known artist to do the illustrations. The publisher and I sat down at a restaurant to discuss the book. I was feeling such exhilaration. I had four books of poetry with my name on each but this would be my first children's book. At the luncheon, the publisher called the waitress, "Hey you, come here!" His disrespect and rudeness toward the waitress were discomforting. "The only difference between that waitress and me are our jobs," I thought. "Do I want such a man to publish Wordsworth?" The next day I took my story back and filed it away once again.

About 30 years later, George Engebretson of Watermark Publishing and I sat down to discuss my manuscript, Teacher, You Look Like a Horse. I sneakily took Wordsworth out and read it to him. The rest is history. George was everything the first publisher was not and Wordsworth said, "At last."

Actually I didn't say "At last." I said, "What?" You see, those poems she mentioned above? She got them from these little pieces of paper I had left in the trash can. Yes, I wrote those poems. I still wonder what she did with that $100 check. About Scott Goto who illustrated me, guess who spent hours holding his hand telling him, "Go easy with that brush, you're making me too fat." Just thought I'd tell the story closer to the truth. I mean, I was there from beginning to end.

Why did you name the mouse Wordsworth?

Wordsworth was initially named Iole. Iole means Rat in Hawaiian. George, the publisher and I changed his name to make him pronunciation and culture friendly outside of Hawaii. We decided to name him after a poet or some known work of literature. George even considered Hamlet the Pig. I took Wordsworth to a Kindergarten teacher and asked, "Can your five year olds say Wordsworth the Poet?" She said, " Of course," and Wordsworth was born. Emily was initially called Lehua, a flower from the Ohi'a tree in Hawaii. Have you guessed how all the other characters were named? From Wordsworth: I get mouse chills thinking I could have become a rat or a pig. Our world can stand only one Templeton and one Charlotte. So, thank you George, for your idea of renaming me but couldn't you have named me George or something more common because I'm not a fancy mouse, just a regular sort of mouse. I know, I know, Frances thinks she's un-common, to put it politely. She won't let me write in Pidgin. Eh, I bet I can do some good stuff using da-kine and all dat stuff. Wat you tink, George? btw, people still call me Wadsworth by mistake. I'll bet you're always called George. One good thing about Frances' last name, she's always called Cattlegawa or Kukugawa. I get a kick when that happens. Wordsworth and I will answer any questions you send us. Right, Wordsworth? Wordsworth? Where are you? I hope you're writing about how to write a poem so I can post it here. No Pidgin!!!