Q&A: Meet Our Writer Glen (PART 1)

Introducing Glen! Our esteemed and extremely talented double Emmy Award winning writer! He is one of Sooper Books’ very own creative geniuses who is responsible for bringing the magic to our children's books.

But you may wonder … how does Glen bring these enchanting tales to life?

So, we have gone ahead and asked Glen lots of questions for you – from his inspirations through to his challenges – because we think it is ‘sooper’ important for you, as parents and guardians, to understand Glen’s creative process.

His answers and insights should provide you with an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of Sooper Books – the very stories that light up the imaginations of your little Sooper-Stars!

In the first half of this Q&A, we explore Glen's remarkable career: from his beginnings in a comedy troupe to collaborating with U2's Bono and The Edge – all the way through to becoming Sooper Books’ very own storyteller extraordinaire!

So, without further ado … let's dive in and unveil the magic behind the pages …

Meet Glen – The Architect of Imagination

1. Can you share a summary of your journey into becoming a writer and how it led you to become a writer for Sooper Books?

“I was always a writer from my earliest days in Elementary School – it was my way of finding my way through the world.

In college I wrote and performed for a ‘Comedy Troupe’ and after college I worked at a theatre in Seattle for about five years – writing, directing and performing plays. And I really liked playwriting because there was an immediate response that I could see from the audience.

Then I moved to New York and I was asked by a friend of a friend if I was interested in writing for children's television. I wrote a number of episodes for the show ‘Arthur’ and eventually became the Head Writer for it.

I spent a lot of my time toggling back and forth between playwriting and children's television. I wrote for probably a dozen different children's television shows and was nominated for 11 Emmys. In fact … I won a couple of Emmys.”

“I also ended up working with U2’s Bono and The Edge for the musical ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ – which was directed by Julie Taymor. And I then wrote a memoir based on my experiences on that show … because it was a wild ride!

But a couple years ago a friend of mine had been contacted by Sooper Books, and had begun working with them, and he brought me on board … and straight away it seemed like a really good fit!”

2. What have you found to be the biggest difference between writing for children’s television and writing children’s bedtime stories?

“It's a good question.

Ultimately the task and the challenge are the same – which is making sure that you're creating stories that children can really respond to.

Every sentence should make you want to hear the next sentence. In fact, the craft is the same no matter what medium you're working in … you want characters that are vivid and that the reader can identify with.

So, it's very similar. You really want to find that balance between language that isn't too challenging, but also language that does maybe challenge them a bit. To not pander to them, in other words, but to be able to write stories that respect their intelligence and their curiosity.

Of course, when you're writing for children's television – you can't simply just write dialogue – you're constantly thinking about what would make a dynamic picture. And the same thing goes on now when writing children’s books, because they are beautifully illustrated by our wonderful illustrators. So I often think … ‘What are those pictures going to be?’ ‘What would make a really delightful image for the kids who are reading it?’”

3. What are your main inspirations, and motivations, when it comes to crafting stories for children?

“There are so many little considerations that one has when you're coming up with the story.

When I'm writing, I try to think of an amusing situation or scene – and then try to figure out, ‘Alright, how do I get to that scene?’. And then, ‘How do I get out of that scene?’

But I'm also keeping in mind that there is a huge responsibility when writing stories for children - they're sponges and you're making a model of the world - even if it's an incredibly whimsical one.

But at its heart, there are important questions to keep in mind: How do we live an ethical life? How do we treat other people? How do we treat other things that aren't people? How do we move through this world?

And I always want to make sure that the story is ultimately bringing light to these questions. In fact, I'm really allergic to cynicism and ‘entertainment for entertainment’s sake’ … it isn't good enough. You have to make sure that the values are there and in place – and then find delightful ways to make those come to life.

Humour is also a huge priority for me. It's just so much fun! But also, I think the right sort of humour creates a very healthy perspective for looking at the world. And I think cultivating that in children is, actually, a really wonderful thing to do. Humour that isn't cruel – but humour that celebrates the ridiculousness of the human condition!”

4. Do you have any highlights, or moments, you are proud of from your time with Sooper Books?

“You know it's funny because I start every story dreading writing it because I think: ‘I'll never be able to make this one work’. And so, it's like a little celebration at the end of every story!

But, the first highlight that comes to mind is when Sooper Books sponsored a contest whereby children could send in ‘a one sentence story idea’ alongside a little illustration. And then the winner would have that turned into an exclusive Sooper Books story…

And a young girl won. She said: ‘How about a story about the Unicow? Which is a Unicorn … but it's a cow … with a horn.’ And her one extra detail was that when you press the spot on its hide … it makes a milkshake!

So … I was tasked to turn that into a story and it turned out really well! It was nice to have that little ‘story starter’ and see it turn into a whole story!”

You can read the ‘Unicow’ story here

“It was amazing to know that there was one specific person out there who was even more invested in this story than me. But it was also a good reminder that when I'm writing these stories - and they then get sent off into the digital ether - that 

real children are reading and being affected by them!”

FUN FACT: Glen has written 54 stories and has also edited 44 of Morgan’s stories! Go Glen

The ‘Credible’ Creative Process – Unlocking Excellence

5. Walk us through the behind-the-scenes of your creative process – from ideation all the way through to completion of a ‘Sooper’ story?

“Well, we’ve got five or six different series going at once at this point! So first of all, I'll get the assignment coming in that we need another story for a particular series.

Andddddd… I go over to the refrigerator and stare at it for about 30 minutes, then I walk the dog, then I do all the vacuuming in the house and probably 3 hours later I get myself to my desk … andddddd then I do all my taxes!

You see … if my brain knows that I'm working on the story, it will say, ‘No we are not doing that … that is too daunting.’ So, I have to trick my brain every time! I'll have my laptop out, while I'm cooking dinner, and every now and then I'll go over and type something in.

And actually, after a while I might have a little something…

I always hope that my subconscious is working on it somewhere. Sometimes I'll go to sleep and say to my subconscious: ‘Will you work on it?’ And I always wake up expecting to have the whole story fully formed in my head … but it doesn’t always work out that easily!”

6. What specific influences and themes inspire your writing?

“I, of course, look to the masters of children’s writing – Roald Dahl, Astrid Lingren and so on.

I have three kids, and although the youngest is now 15, I can still very vividly recall all of those years sitting up and reading stories with my children.

I would take notes on what made ‘an excellent story’ by studying the ones that my kids wanted to return to again and again! I tried to remember how particular moments would make them absolutely riveted, surprised or tickled. And I would question: ‘What was it about that story that did it?’

All of these memories come back to me as I'm writing and are an inspiration.”

7. How do you ensure that every story possesses that certain essence that makes the story instantly identifiable as a Sooper story? What makes a story a Sooper Books story?

“I think when we're coming up with a new series … that's where a lot of the work is done. We often think about what we would have liked to have seen as parents that we weren't getting enough of!

And what's interesting too … is that there is such a wide variety of stories on Sooper Books … but there is a certain spirit that ties them all together. There is an originality, a certain ebullience and bounce to it all.

There is a certain delight in the storytelling of it all that I think is infectious!”

8. So, what do you believe to be the difference between a good story and an excellent story?

“There are a lot of pitfalls when it comes to writing for children. And what I've noticed is you will either get a reliance on whimsy just for whimsy’s sake (and that gets tired really fast), or on the other side of the spectrum you will get stories that are very slow and domestic.

But really meeting the children, where they are at their age and stage, is what is important!

You want to be able to keep in mind characters that they will like and will be rooting for – because that is really what's going to take them from one page to the next … it is what’s going to make them want to find out how it's all going to turn out!”

From early writing escapades to winning Emmys and collaborating with icons – Glen’s transition into crafting children’s bedtime tales is a mesmerising tale itself.

So … make sure you come back for PART 2 of this Q&A– where we will unveil more secrets from Glen's creative treasure trove, take a peek behind the curtain and delve into some of Glen’s most rewarding and challenging moments, as well as learning more about his favourite Sooper Books creations!

Glen Berger’s plays include Underneath the Lintel (Over 450 performances Off-Broadway, several Best Play awards, over 500 productions in U.S. and abroad, in 8 languages), O Lovely Glowworm (2005 Portland Drammy Award Winner), Great Men of Science, Nos. 21 & 22 (Ovation Award and L.A. Weekly Award for Best Play), The Wooden Breeks, Darwinii, and musicals [book and lyrics] On Words and Onwards (Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan Foundation Fellowship), A Night in the Old Marketplace (Loewe Award), both with composer Frank London of the Klezmatics, and August Rush (with composer Mark Mancina).  He has received commissions from a number of regional theaters including the Alley Theater, Berkeley Rep, and the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis.

He was the co-bookwriter for Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark on Broadway (directed by Julie Taymor with music by Bono and Edge of U2), which ran for three years.  His memoir Song Of Spider-Man—the harrowing tale of Turn Off the Dark’s creation—was published by Simon & Schuster and cited in numerous “Top Ten Books” lists for 2013.

His television credits include two Emmy Awards (twelve Emmy nominations) and more than 300 episodes for over a dozen children’s series, including Big and Small (BBC), Curious George (Universal), Time Warp Trio (NBC), Octonauts (BBC), Muppet Babies (Disney), Peabody-award-winning Molly of Denali (PBS), and head-writer positions on Arthur (PBS), and Fetch with Ruff Ruffman (PBS).

He was the co-writer for the 2021 movie Curious George: Cape Ahoy (Universal). And is now Head Writer for Sooper Books!

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