In his Big Idea for Happy Town, author Greg van Eekhout delves into what it takes to tell young readers the truth — even in a story which has, you know, zombies. There’s a lot to consider, so let’s get into it.
GREG VAN EEKHOUT:
“Please wait and remain happy, help is on the way. Please wait and remain happy, help is on the way. Please wait …”
Ever feel like help is not, in fact, on the way?
On a recent trip to Disneyland, my wife and I followed a long day at the Happiest Place on Earth trying to buy midnight snacks at CVS. I used to know how to buy things, but I guess I’ve lost the knack, because all the self-check-out machine did was drone, “Please wait, help is on the way.” And, wow, that machine lied.
The idea for Happy Town grew from this little episode. What if you dropped three kids in a place suffering technological breakdown, and help was never coming? And what if their town was built beneath a dome in the remote desert, cut off from the rest of the world? What if it was owned by an Amazon-like corporation and run by a ridiculous but dangerous billionaire? What if every adult — every parent and teacher and first responder — was employed by the company, and the company turned them all into meat-craving zombies? And then the town ran out of meat.
This is a story about friends learning to survive by banding together. It’s about kids realizing their world doesn’t function the way it ought to. It’s about kids discovering who has power over them and struggling to do something about it…
Happy Town: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Mysterious Galaxy
Source: The Big Idea: Greg van Eekhout
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