Music to Her Ears: Julie Andrews

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"Let’s get to work," Julie Andrews seemed to be saying from the moment she stepped out of a black SUV until the moment the curtain went up on her program at the 2007 American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Not the attitude one necessarily expects from a movie star who is so famous she cannot appear in public without causing a commotion. Once she had agreed to keynote American Libraries’ 100th anniversary program, Julie Andrews more or less said, "I’m at your service. What would you like me to do?"

What she did, of course, was nearly cause the crowd to break down the doors to get in, and then she brought down the house with a rousing speech preceded by a video recap of her astonishing singing and acting career on stage, in films, and on television. But Andrews mostly came to the conference to talk about books and her 30-plus years as a children’s author and to throw her support behind libraries and the literacy and lifelong learning they represent.

Following the speech, the indefatigable Andrews signed a hundred copies of her books, spoke at a luncheon for children’s librarians, sat for a photo shoot for the cover of American Libraries with a group of rambunctious children (see picture above), read from The Great American Mousical to the same children, and then agreed to be honorary chair of National Library Week 2008 at a press conference at the District of Columbia Public Library, where she called National Library Week “a time to honor the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and the degree to which they transform communities.”

“Libraries have always been places of opportunity, places where everyone—regardless of age, race, or income—can come together, whether for research, entertainment, self-help, or to find that one special book,” she said.

Andrews said she wanted to use her visibility and celebrity “to remind the public about the value of all of our libraries and librarians in each and every community throughout America,” adding, “I am deeply honored to help champion that cause.”

Along with her daughter Andrews and frequent coauthor Emma Walton Hamilton, Andrews read from Mousical to the children assembled on the scruffy library floor for the press conference and the photo shoot. Said Hamilton, “We  are deeply concerned about  the fact that, despite their increased attendance, school libraries were hard hit by funding cuts in the past year. Libraries need the support of the public to influence our decision-makers to provide increased library funding.”

“You represent some of the finest and most dedicated librarians in the country,” said the entertainment icon at the centennial program. “I so applaud the work that you all do, and the difference that you are making in the lives of children. Our youngsters of tomorrow will face more choices and have to make more decisions in their brave new world than you and I have ever known.”

“I’ve been working in the performing arts for over 50 years, which by American Libraries standards puts me at about mid-career!” the star of stage, screen, and television quipped. “And though it may seem a little unusual for an ‘immigrant’ such as myself to speak at an American Library Association event, I have made America my home for the past 45 years, am married to an American, and have five American children and seven American grandchildren, so I have a huge appreciation for this country and the gifts and opportunities it offers people of all nationalities,” said the British-born star.

Andrews said that “in certain circles I am perceived as a ‘celebrity author,’ and I have to admit this really irritates me, as I have been writing children’s books professionally for over 35 years now. Actually, if you think about it, my life in the arts has always been about evoking images—either through song or the spoken word. Writing for me is an extension of that voice.”

Andrews noted that 10 years ago she and Hamilton (pictured at right) began collaborating as authors. To date they have written 16 children’s books together. The mother-daughter duo recently began collaborating on a “classroom partnership program,” the goal of which, said Andrews, is to encourage teachers to “develop activities that encourage the connection of graded-level reading with theatrical, musical, and artistic expression, to provide an opportunity for students to interact directly with us as authors, and to work in partnership with schools and performing arts centers around the country to develop stage adaptations of books from the Julie Andrews Collection.”

“I have been enormously fortunate in my professional career as an actress to receive the kind of media attention that has given me the opportunity to become an advocate for literacy, a privilege that I do not take lightly,” said Andrews.

“In today’s media and electronically driven world, I feel that children run the risk of becoming very isolated. I worry that we are spoon-feeding our young people such a steady diet of manufactured slices of life that all they have to do is receive rather than participate in any way. The joy of reading is that it asks us to engage, to use our imaginations and to play an active role in our environment.

“A library takes the gifts of reading one step further. In this day of standardized and homogenized education, a library offers individual and personalized learning opportunities second to none,” said Andrews. “Perhaps most importantly, libraries offer a powerful antidote to the isolation of the Web, providing connection, support, and community. Rather than wading in a solitary fashion through the morass of potential misinformation available on the net, the student who conducts his or her explorations at a library has safe, professional guidance in their search for good books and accurate information.” Provoking laughter and applause, she alluded to a recent controversy involving The Higher Power of Lucky: “I, for one, would far prefer that my children and grandchildren learn the meaning of the word ‘scrotum’ from a library than from the playground or Web surfing!”

Andrews concluded, “We share a special partnership, working to illuminate young hearts and minds every day. It is an awesome responsibility, but I cannot think of one more rewarding or more worthwhile.”

As National Library Week chair, Julie Andrews authored a piece for American Libraries titled “Seven Special Days,” which began, “Library workers of the world, my hat’s off to you!” She went on to say that “as honorary chair of this year’s celebration, part of my responsibility is to thank you, the library workers of the world, for all that you do throughout the year.

“As a mother and grandmother, one of my greatest pleasures in life has been watching the children learn and grow. It has never been clearer than now, at a time when our young people are bombarded with so many distractions, that reading and literacy, open inquiry and creativity, are essential to that core American value: the pursuit of happiness.

“Now more than ever children need the skills necessary to make good judgments  about the sometimes overwhelming amount of information and entertainment that is available in their lives today. Your profession represents and promotes the kind of independent learning and thinking that equips children to take their places in the world as productive and fulfilled adults.

“The world is full of magical places.  A library has always been one of them for me. A library can be that special place for our children. But along with an inviting and safe environment, young readers need the human touch, the guidance and caring of trained professionals, if they are to enjoy the lifetime of learning and literacy we all wish for.

“Thanks to you, library use is up nationwide, continuing a decade-long trend. American libraries are a vital community resource, filling an educational role that is unique in the world, delivering everything from  homework help to literacy tutoring. 

“I also understand that many libraries, especially in schools, are struggling in the face of funding shortages. I want to do my part to help the public understand what a mistake it is to cut support for libraries and education.

“In today’s electronic media–driven world, children run the risk of becoming very isolated. I worry that we are spoon-feeding our young people such a steady diet of manufactured slices of life that all they have to do is receive, rather than participate in any way. The strength of reading is that it asks us to engage, to use our imaginations, and to play an active role in our environment.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I love the world of filmed entertainment and storytelling, and the Internet is an extraordinary  resource. But those things cannot and should not replace the joy of reading. And a library takes the gift of reading one step further by offering personalized learning opportunities second to none, a powerful antidote to the isolation of the Web. (Andrews is pictured at left reading from 'Mousical' at the MLK Library in Washinton, D.C. in 2007.)

"I am deeply honored to help champion this cause.  I applaud the work you do and the difference you are making in the lives of children, a difference that will sustain them for a lifetime.

The following month, Andrews wrote an op-ed piece that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, in which she said, “Whenever I have been privileged to visit the Los Angeles Central Library, I have been struck by the words inscribed on its façade: ‘Books alone are liberal and free. They give to all who ask. They emancipate all who serve them faithfully.’”

“So I was greatly alarmed to learn that in the face of a very serious city budget shortfall, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have proposed cuts to our 72 city libraries that will reduce their very lifeblood—those liberating books themselves. They propose to shrink next year's book-buying budget by $2 million—at a time when people need and want a wider variety of books, not fewer of them.

"As an adoptive Angeleno who has called this city home for four decades, I've grown to appreciate Los Angeles' great public library system, which serves the largest population in the nation. But its book funds have been cut so low that today our library system ranks near the bottom of the book-buying list among the nation's 25 largest public library systems. I find it astonishing that our library has only 1.6 books for each resident of Los Angeles—a city that is one of the cultural hubs of this country. San Francisco's library system has 7.3 books per capita; New York's has 6.2.

"In my second career as an author and library habitué, I have witnessed firsthand the crucial role our libraries play in providing free access for children and adults alike in the realms of learning and literacy. Public libraries are our great teachers and storytellers, and are a vital adjunct to our schools. In this day of standardized and homogenized education, a library offers individual and personalized learning opportunities second to none.

“Perhaps most important, libraries offer a powerful antidote to the isolation of the Internet, providing connection, support, and community. Rather than wading in a solitary fashion through the morass of potential misinformation available on the Net, the student who conducts his or her explorations at a library has safe, professional guidance in his or her search for good books and accurate information.

"It is my sincere hope that our city leaders will revisit their proposal and restore -- rather than reduce—funding for our library's books. I can assure you that such an outcome would truly be music to my ears and a blessing for the millions who use and rely on our libraries each day.

But Julie Andrews support for libraries didn’t start with the American Library Association. She filled the enormous convention center auditorium to capacity for her keynote speech April 26, 2006, at the Texas Library Association's annual conference in Houston. She talked about her writing as "a lifelong passion" that began when she was a child performer with a tutor who “allowed me to scribble all I wanted.”

Mandy, her first book, appeared in 1971.  The Great American Mousical, coauthored with Hamilton and illustrated by former husband Tony Walton, is a delightful introduction for children to the theater—its language, conventions, and personalities.

Andrews said that at this stage in life she wants to channel whatever media attention her movie-star status offers into advocacy for reading, which is "all about children learning to use their imaginations. Words, wisdom, wonder," she said, “there is no greater gift we can give our children.” She talked about how the response of wave after wave of youngsters to her films has made her feel a sense of responsibility to them. Andrews said it was a thrill to have children come up to her and say that one of her books had turned them on to reading.

"Books are an extension of my singing voice," Andrews said, and although that glorious voice was damaged during vocal cord surgery in 1997, she recorded a song four weeks earlier called “The Show Must Go On,” available on the website of The Julie Andrews Collection. "It's always been about the words," she added, quoting Gabriel García Márquez: "Words matter; books count."

Thanks to HarperCollins and the persuasive powers of Texas Library Association Executive Director Patricia Smith, the star of The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins took time after her keynote speech to talk with me and Texas Library Journal Editor Gloria Meraz about her faith in the importance of teaching children the joy of reading.

Asked where her writing inspiration come from, Andrews said, "It comes from anyplace. Truthfully, once the antennae are kind of up I'm always thinking or looking or feeling. The first book, Mandy, happened because we were filming on this wonderful old Georgian estate in Ireland. We actually lived on the property as well as filmed there and were able to discover how people must have lived in the old days. And the cavernous rooms, they were so beautiful—these glorious Georgian windows that looked out over this vast park. And they did, in fact, have a little shell cottage on the grounds, which is the theme of Mandy. When I was thinking of what to write for my [stepdaughter] Jenny—she had been raised more in the city than in the country—I thought, well, she doesn't know very much about country life and so maybe that's what I can do to begin to bond with her. And that idea came. And the idea for The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles: I was looking something else up in Webster's.

"That little mouse in The Great American Mousical honestly is a true story. He was running around in our wardrobe, and it was as if a light bulb came on. I thought, oh my God. Then somebody made a joke about it: he probably came up to see all the big stars up here, and I thought, oh God, of course, they're always down there! What would they know if they were able to think and feel and see? So we had delicious fun writing it.

Andrews first book, Mandy, seems to have tapped into something universal. Girls, especially, are still reading it, and it's never been out of print. I asked her what she thinks that special thing is.  I had my own theory. "I think it's evocative of many other books," Andrews said. It was the first book I ever wrote. I mean it's like The Secret Garden; its universal theme is how much we all yearn to belong. I don't know what your thought was; I'd love to hear it."

I told her I thought that it's about children without adults, and those kinds of books fascinate children.

"Yes. How do they survive," she agreed. "In my youth, I read an Enid Blyton book called The Secret Island, and the children think their parents have been downed in an aircraft and they weren't seemingly coming back, and they're very, very unhappy, and they removed themselves to an island on a river or a lake."

Complimented on The Great American Mousical and its wonderful use of language and such magical language, she said, "Oh thank you. You couldn't have said anything lovelier." And there it was, the lilting British accent, the voice that people love.

Andrews also talked about the glossary in the back of Mousical. The fun was to bring it down to size for children, the Great White Way. I love the idea of coming down from a star and coming down and then down and then down and then down into the basement, and by that time you've reduced everything. Beginnings are always hard.

Asked if Mousical was easier and faster to write because of the familiar topic, Andrews laughed. "Well it was faster than some because, first of all, it was ridiculous fun. I mean the idea of that diva and when she says, 'What's to discuss? I'm the star.' You know, I've seldom heard anybody talk like that. But it was such fun to imagine that she was serious. And I love it when she says, ‘I'd so love you to have seen my performance. It was completely my evening you know.’ It's just what all the ego-driven people might say, and it was terrific fun. We really did tap into people that we might know. I mean, the idea of all these little mice running around with The King and I headdresses on, in 'The March of the Siamese Children,' things like that. You know, imagination can create a silly image. We were having a great time. It was faster than most, I guess, because it's what we knew.

Asked if her varied career in so many different media helped her find that sense of wonder and the magic, Andrews replied, "It comes from those early days with my father and my wonderful tutor. Particularly my dad. We used to go for long walks together. And I think also when I was married to Tony Walton, there were days—because he's such a fine artist—when he'd point something out and the world would shift just that little bit.

I remember we were lying on the grass once and I was just looking up at the sun and all that kind of thing. He said, "My God, look at the leaves on that tree above us. It's like lace up there.” And I hadn't seen the leaves. I'd seen some of the general picture, but suddenly it all pulled in and I saw what he saw and I thought, my God, you can view the world differently if you will pay attention.

"I want to do a book one day about—although it's been done— a tree. I've long wanted to write it (it's just finding the time) because a tree is actually a miracle that's every 20 yards down the street under children's noses, but I don't think they ever look or say, "Wow, how does it feed itself? What lives in it? How does it draw up? And what's the sap doing? And all of that." So if I could make that into a little story, that's what I'm talking about, a sense of wonder.

I mentioned the beautiful song from Flower Drum Song called "A Hundred Million...." and she finished my sentence, "...Miracles are Happening Every Day."

"Yes, yes. And I do think that's true. If you can take the time to look. It took me a while to learn that, though some children know it instinctively and they do have wonder when they are kids. But the trouble is, as we grow older, we lose it.

Asked what role libraries have played in her life or are playing now, Andrews said, "Well not so much now, but in my youth, living in Walton-on-Thames in England, it was just a little country village, and the library was 'the big place.'  It looked like just an ordinary sort of old-looking schoolhouse, but it was a place where you went and then suddenly you could access something magical. And one couldn't afford all of the books one wanted in those days."

"It's only something that I realized as I began to write and to travel and meet people, because you suddenly see the passion that's out there, and it's lovely. And I do think, where would kids be if it weren't for you and for the good pediatricians, and for the good parents? I passionately believe in sitting a child on your lap and tracing the lines of the book with your finger, and they can read before they know they can, if you bother enough. I did it with my kids, and they're doing it with their kids now."

I wanted her to talk about her legacy, about what she will leave behind, so I mentioned that the Library of Congress maintains the National Film Registry. “They're a great organization, phenomenal," she opined. "They've asked me to donate all my papers there actually, which I'm thrilled about."

I told her that Librarian of Congress James Billington had called for more nominations to the National Film Registry, and one of her films, The Sound of Music, had already been added. Then I asked which of her films she would add next, were she choosing. Andrews that was "probably a foregone conclusion, if it's a National Film Registry for children everywhere" meaning Mary Poppins would undoubtedly be the second choice. But I told her the films are selected because they are culturally, historically, or esthetically significant. They're placed on this film registry as an effort to permanently preserve and make accessible these films to the American people.

"Oh, so it's not just for children. I see. Well, then that's different. Oh my. Well I'd really have to think about that. There are some films that my husband [Blake Edwards] made, of course. Days of Wine and Roses is a very important film about alcoholism.

"But what about your films?" I pressed.

"There was a film—and you're going to think I'm crazy—that he and I made together and it's not what you'd expect me to say. It is called S.O.B. It is truly a slice, a real cut at Hollywood. But it has become a cult film, and I think it's a marvelous piece of work. I really do. I think it's riotously funny and silly and everybody remembers, of course, that I bared my breasts, but it was all done for a reason: that aren't we all silly, and what Hollywood is up to and media hype and all that kind of thing. So that one maybe. And maybe The Americanization of Emily because of the point that it makes about making heroes of our dead, and our anthem, therefore procreating war."

"Not so much antiwar, but antiheroization?"

"Exactly. Glamorizing it being very wrong. And, oh gosh, you could go on and on. Those two will do. Blake made a wonderful cowboy movie called The Wild Rovers, and it's a little-known film of his. But he deliberately tried to do something that I think is rather interesting. He wanted the audience to root for the wrong guys. He wanted to see if the bad guys could be so damned attractive that you wanted them to survive and that the good guys were so unbelievably mean and mean-spirited. They're not good but really have their own hang-ups and their demons. And I think he succeeded. I watched Blake write it. Every voice in it is part of him—the cowboy that says, 'Hey, I want it now. I don't want to wait till I'm 98 years old and still struggling.' It's a very good movie. It was cut to ribbons, but that's another story."

Asked if there were other books that influenced her as a child, Andrews named The Little Grey Men, which she liked so much she republished it in The Julie Andrews Collection. "I know I harp on my father a great deal," she said, "but he bought that for me when I was about 10 years old, and it hit me the way Watership Down might hit you if you were reading that today. It was a beautiful nature study. But, again, I really got the idea of bringing things down to size for children and yet teaching them so much. Through that little book I really became aware of every aspect of nature, and it influenced me a great deal. It's no accident that that book takes in the four seasons and that my best book, Mandy, takes in the four seasons too. It just seemed like a wonderful way to signify the passage of time and all that. And you really do see nature in all its glory. It's a wonderful little book. If you love reading children's books, it's really great. It hadn't been published here for years and years and years. It's still in publication in England and I've had the rights to it for years. I'd love to see it done as an animated film."

"I suppose partially because of the success of the early movies and things like that, I began to realize, that children do look up to you in some way, and there is a responsibility for how you behave with them. I know that it's important to make them feel very valuable, not to talk down to them. And I try not to when we write."

Gloria Meraz said to Andrews, "It's so wonderful the way you talk about your efforts to promote literacy because it's an important message for librarians to hear. So often they feel like the unsung heroes. When someone of your stature is talking about how important literacy is and what they do, it elevates them.

"Try to imagine how daunting it is to be on a panel with someone like David [McCullough], all these wonderful authors at the National Book Festival," said Andrews. "And they're asking you to get up and read from your work. I was on a panel with people who were reading excerpts from their books, and [McCullough] was doing it and several other people were, and I was last. And I read a little, tiny bit from Little Bo, one of my early, early books, and I go, what am I doing up here? But it's all valuable, I suppose, a different take on things. They were very tactful with me."

Asked for her views on technology and social changes that children are facing, she said, "I see it with my grandchildren—some of my grandchildren, not all of them. The only hope is that you can engage them enough. All it takes is one book. I mean literally one book will do it. And our one daughter reads all the time and then reads again and again. I mean she loves books, I mean really adores them. The other one has a real problem reading, and I keep looking for that one thing, because she just walks away from it and I cannot make it happen for her. She really does have a perception problem, I think. As I say, it takes one book. And I see my little grandson, who is 8, is a whiz at all these computer games, but that's it. And he's a genius at it, and I'm told that they can be very stimulating to children; they can inspire all kinds of things. Not that I knock them, but all he does is zap people and cream people and kill people, you know, and he's having a fine old time and in his head I don't know where he's at. But I keep looking for the one moment that I can say, here, how about that one, you know? That's all it takes, and I guess you just wait and watch and hope that you can be there at the moment that they can get turned on. It's a thrill to hear children go up to me and say Mandy was my first book or Whangdoodle was my first book and it made me want to read more. Because that's how I discovered it, you know."

Asked, "What's still on your life list?" Andrews said, "Oh, a hundred more books. I hope I live long enough to do them. I have to say that this has surprised me as much as it might surprise anybody else. It's something that's ongoing and I'm discovering as I go. I guess I always thought that as I got older maybe I'd have the time to write something but it never occurred to me that it would be such a joy to work with my daughter or that she'd be the one who's the whiz at it. Of course she's very tapped into the media side of it. But she's far smarter than I am, she writes better than I do. But it's such a joy. It's something that I'm just learning as I go and I'm having a wonderful time doing it because, now that I'm not singing, it is an extension of the voice, and when she pointed that out to me I thought, wow, yeah it can be."

Asked if she really enjoys the process of writing, Andrews said, "The actual process is tough, it's like learning a role where you never think you're going to be able to conquer it when you start and it just takes enough focus and narrowing and getting enthusiastic and not losing it and so on. But the other thing I do love is that I'm never lonely when I'm writing, because you live with the characters that are so alive in your mind, and you really see them and know them and get to be friends with them. So in a way I do hate the process of writing. It's never good enough, but you aim for something and you hope it comes somewhat close. But it is a pleasure once you have written it."

We all often wonder how being a performer changed your life, but how did writing change your performing, if it did?

"That's a good question. The immediate answer off the top of my head is that I don't think it did. I think if something changed my life it would be the idea that scenes and characters are rather important, and my husband stresses that all the time. He says you can have the flimsiest story but if your characters are strong enough you've got something going for you."

Julie Andrew's daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, contributes articles about parenting to atyourlibrary.org.  

The Right Book at the Right Time - Emma Walton Hamilton

Story Stretching: Using Enrichment Activities to Extend the Joy of Reading

Parents may also want to read her book, Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment.

 Photo credit: Photo by Mattox Photography for the American Library Association

LEONARD KNIFFEL is publisher of the @ your library website at the American Library Association. He was on the editorial staff of American Libraries from 1988 to January 2011, the last 14 years as editor in chief. This article is adapted from his book Reading with the Stars: A Celebration of Books and Libraries, copublished in April by ALA Editions and Skyhorse Publishing.