PBS Books 2024 National Book Festival Author Talk: Max Greenfield

[Music] >> Max Greenfield: Books are definitely meant to be a performance piece. I'd love-- I've given some of the greatest performances of my life in my son and daughters rooms at night when I'm like, you know, really into a book. And the ones that you can sort of get into and be big with and have fun with. [Music] >> Heather-Marie Montilla: Hi, I'm Heather-Marie Montilla and you are watching PBS Books. Thank you for joining us for the 2024 National Book Festival Author Talk Series. PBS Books, in collaboration with PBS SoCal is pleased to host a conversation with actor and award winning author Max Greenfield, children's author of "Good Night Thoughts", as well as many others. Since 2015, PBS Books has shared with audiences across the country the voices of dynamic, diverse authors. PBS Books is proud to partner with the Library of Congress to promote their 2024 National Book Festival. Let's take a moment to hear from the Librarian of Congress, Doctor Carla Hayden. >> Dr. Carla Hayden: Greetings from Washington to all fellow book lovers. I'm Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, and I want to thank you for your support of author events here on PBS Books. We hope you can join us on Saturday, August 24th at the Washington Convention Center for the 2024 National Book Festival. We'll have an amazing lineup of authors including Doris Kearns Goodwin, James McBride, Sandra Cisneros, Tamron Hall, and many more. And if you can't make it to D.C., you can watch the live stream or videos of the festival online. Hope you have a wonderful summer and happy reading! >> Heather Marie-Montilla: Thank you, Doctor Hayden. The 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival will occur on Saturday, August 24th from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The festival is free and open to everyone focusing on Books Build Us Up. The complete schedule for the 2024 National Book Festival can be found at loc.gov/bookfest. But if you can't be there on August 24th, you can stream it live and curate your own experience. PBS Books and PBS Stations are hosting a series of seven virtual events with seven authors. They will also be available on demand on PBS Books and the National Book Festival website. Today's conversation will be led by PBS SoCal Senior Director Maria Hall-Brown. Welcome. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Thank you, Heather. It is absolutely, spectacularly fabulous to be here. >> Heather Marie-Montilla: So glad to have you and enjoy the conversation. >> Maria Hall-Brown: I am so excited to introduce to you someone who we all know and love from screen and television, but is now a remarkable children's book author. Please welcome Max Greenfield, who is here to talk about his wonderful book "Good Night Thoughts". Hi, Max. >> Max Greenfield: Hi, Maria. Thank you for having me. >> Maria Hall-Brown: You know, if I fan-girl out here on you, you have to at least give me a little bit of forgiveness, okay? >> Max Greenfield: Thank you. Take your time. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Okay. All right. Well, I'm sure very, very used to being introduced as an actor and all the wonderful work you've done on stage and screen. But how does it feel now to be introduced as an author? >> Max Greenfield: Wonderful. I mean, I so love these books. And, they happened in such a organic, surprising way that to now be on our fourth and to see the ones that have already been written, you know, that have been out a few years now to see the impact that they've had specifically in schools, to have people come up to me and know me from the books now is very, very rewarding. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Okay. So the whole conceit was literally a pandemic baby. I mean, you were home with the kids, you were Professor Greenfield, and then you started thinking about what this whole parenting thing is like. And, you know, then an offer came across your desk, table, phone, whatever. And you decided a children's book. Did you ever think that was even part of your career trajectory? >> Max Greenfield: No, no, no, no. I haven't thought anything that I've done as a part of career trajectory, but, yeah, you know, we were doing these videos during the pandemic as a way to sort of just connect with other people. And, both my daughter and I were terrified by the idea of the two of us sitting in a room and trying to move through a curriculum during the pandemic. And it caught some sort of momentum and people really connected to it, and they were reaching out to us and all on Instagram and I had someone from United Talent Agency who was my agency at the time, they reached out and said, hey, we think this could be a book or a podcast. I said, I can't talk for that long. It's too much. I can't do a podcast. I said, maybe it's a book. And I thought, well, I can't write in like a, you know, an adult book. It would take me far too long. I would be stuck on the first chapter for many, many years. And then the idea of writing a children's book, a picture book came about, and I thought maybe I could do that. And I loved reading them so much. And I immediately thought, well, if I were ever going to do one, it would be called I don't want to read this book, and it would be all the reasons why somebody doesn't want to read a book. And by the end of the book, that child has read the book. Because that was my experience not only as a reluctant reader as a child, but also with my own kids. I would sit in their rooms and we would go through, you know, the shelf of books. And I would say, what about this one? What about this one? What about this one? And there would be a reason why she wouldn't want to read each one of them. And by, you know, a half hour and you're like, well, you have to go to sleep now. And we've had an argument for the last 30 minutes. And so I was like, what if you could put that argument into a book in just a different attempt to try and get someone to read? And so that was the pitch and amazingly we were then able to write that book shortly after, and there were so many more thoughts and ideas that we had while we were writing it that didn't make the initial one that we then put into this book is not a present. And then ultimately, I don't want to read this book aloud. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Which is really fun to read aloud. Okay, you keep saying the word 'we'. Are you really talking about working with your daughter? >> Max Greenfield: Well, it's hard for-- I get this question a lot because I tend to always use the word 'we' no matter what, but, you know, I guess, yes, my name is on the book and I will say that... I don't know. I feel like these are such collaborative experiences, you know, such a wonderful experience with the people at Penguin. Jennifer Klonsky, who's published all of the books. At this point, I feel like might as well be credited as a co-author. Everyone at Penguin, you know, having conversations with my daughter and my wife Tess and my other child, Ozzie, our son, who's younger now. Yeah. They just don't feel singular. I always find it odd when people are like my, you know, even if they're talking like my show, I'm like, really? You work on that alone? >> Maria Hall-Brown: Well, that's very noble. >> Max Greenfield: I very much confuse people too, though, because they will go, what do you mean 'we'? >> Maria Hall-Brown: Okay, then I can join that list. But having said that, the voice within the books are very much yours. I mean, I think we can hear you. We can hear, you know, Max Greenfield. We can hear the characters we've loved over the years. We can hear you because I think these books are designed to be enjoyed almost as a performance as well as a book, thus, of course, leading to, I don't want to read this aloud, which then kind of wrapped up the trilogy. Did you know? Did you feel it? Okay, I have this trilogy done now. I don't want to read this book. I don't want-- This book is not a present. And now I don't want to read this book aloud. Did you feel, okay, we've wrapped up the trilogy, let's move on to something else? >> Max Greenfield: Yeah, it's a great question. To go back a little bit, the books are definitely meant to be a performance piece. I've given some of the greatest performances of my life in my son and daughters rooms at night when I'm like, you know, really into a book and the ones that you can sort of get into and be big with and have fun with. The book with no pictures, "The Day the Crayons Quit." I love those books. And you can really like, there's a lot of intention and emotion in those and they're fun. And so I really wanted, all of these books to be that way. And essentially they're just long monologues. And you can really have fun with it. And also what I've noticed is teachers and librarians, educators being able to read those books and share ideas that, you know, are not commonly talked about in the classroom for them to do it and for them to have fun with it, and for the kids to then see that, it opens up a discussion and becomes one of the most rewarding aspects of any of these books. Yeah. But when I got to this book, I don't want to read this book aloud. It definitely did feel like that was, that was the end of this sort of this tone of this-- I think we had sort of said everything we needed to say about reading and the fears that go along with reading. You know, I think I don't want to read this. I don't want to read this book is about not wanting to read and being genuinely afraid to read. And I think, you know, this book is not a present discusses, you know, people who learn in different way, and I don't want to read this book aloud is pretty self-explanatory. It's about the fears of being up in front of people and reading aloud. And what's nice about the books is, you know, I've taken a stab at a couple of different ones. I keep trying to break a math one. [Laughing] I haven't been able to do it. But I'll sit down and I'll write them and I'll go. Is this a book or is it not? And sometimes, you know, I'll start it. I don't want to read this book aloud. Took a minute to sort of crack exactly where we were going to go with it. I'll write the full book, and then if it feels good, then I'll talk to Penguin about it. And if not, I'll go, All right. Well, it's not really one. There wasn't much else that I wanted to explore in that space and had a wonderful conversation with Jennifer Klonsky again over a penguin about what we wanted to do next, and the idea of tackling a more traditional children's book was something we both were really excited by. >> Maria Hall-Brown: And the genesis of this is profound and poignant at the same time. Obviously, "Good Night Thoughts" you know, I don't know if you had nightmares growing up as a child or growing up as a child. That doesn't make sense. If you had nightmares as a child, I know exactly. But the thing that you said about the fear of reading or the fear of reading aloud, you're really tapping into things that children experience, and perhaps we've not necessarily supported them enough. And now you're getting into an anxiety and having these dreams or having these fears and good night thoughts also was inspired by somebody who you love very much and who you lost. >> Max Greenfield: Yeah. Yeah. You know, we were-- I think, gosh, I think we were probably out with-- We were doing some promotional stuff for-- This book is not a present at the time. But I don't want to read this book aloud had already been written, and the conversation about doing a more traditional book came up. And it coincided when a friend of mine, Leslie Jordan, who I'm sure many of you know, who was at the National Book Fair with his book a few years ago. And he had just passed on, and so he was obviously top of mind and... And the two, I don't know, his passing and, and this idea of writing a traditional children's book because I think, you know, in knowing him very well and obviously knowing the two of us in our relationship, I think, you know, we very much were children. And we had these discussions a lot about fear. And one way that one anecdote that he had shared with me that we both found a lot of meaning in sort of shaped the foundation of what "Good Night Thoughts" ended up being ultimately. It was not a night time. It was not a bedtime book. We were more discussing fears, just that we would wake up with but most kids don't read books when they first wake up in the morning. Maybe they should. [Laughing] So we switched it to a nighttime story. But, I mean, basically the anecdote, you know, that we would share with one another is, he would name-- He had someone in his life that said, I want you to write down all the things that you're afraid of. And so Leslie would write down all the things. And he was so funny about it, he'd be like, I don't know, I write down all these things, sharks and being attacked by bees and the dentist and, you know, a man and he would write all these things and then he would let him write it for a few days, and then he would come back to him and he'd say, have you written your list yet? And Leslie would say, yes, I wrote it. And he goes, okay, well, I'd like for you to now read it to me. And so he read all of these things and he's sweating and losing it, you know, he's all uncomfortable and all these things that make him scared. And, and his friend would look at him afterwards and, and go, okay, well name all of the things that are on-- Name the things that are on that list that are in front of you right now. And Leslie, Well, none of them are in front of me. And he goes, okay, well, well, then why are you carrying this fear around with you, then? And Leslie be like, oh, shoot. [Laughing] And it was an interesting and, you know, obviously Leslie tells it in a way where you have immediate relief because he was so wonderful and he was the best storyteller, and he was so funny. But that really shaped the idea of this book, you know, these things that we're all afraid of. >> Maria Hall-Brown: You've answered the dentist question because that was one of the things that's like, what's up with Max and the dentist? It came from Leslie. We can say that. >> Max Greenfield: No, the dentist actually is mine. I just threw it in there and in a bit because it's always top of mind for me. Yeah. No. The dentist. Maybe the next book will just be about the dentist. [Laughing] But yeah, that's really what... That's what shapes this book. I'm sorry. What's that? >> Maria Hall-Brown: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you, but at least it would be concrete fear of the dentist, because that's that's kind of what you do, is you're really good at. >> Max Greenfield: Right. I mean, what I love about this book is it's really not about conquering any fears. It's more about accepting the fears for what they are and knowing that they exist, but also being able to build a different relationship with them in the moments where they're not in front of you. And so bedtime was the perfect place to set this, because when you're laying in bed and you know your parent is reading you a book and you're trying to fall asleep, most of those things, if not all of those things are, don't actually exist in that moment. And so how do we sort of allow ourselves to accept that and be okay with it and put ourselves at ease? >> Maria Hall-Brown: So you mentioned that Leslie would love the book, but he would have wished that he was on the cover. I'm wondering, is he the teddy bear? >> Max Greenfield: Maybe. By the way, I have to say, you know, it's so funny. You write these books, specifically this book. Having done the first three books, you know, which are all just are so much about words. I really wanted to in this book, tee up an illustrator to create a beautiful world. And so everything that's in the book not only are very real fears and are very specific, but we're designed in a way and articulated in a way for an illustrator to really play and have fun and make create beautiful images. And my God, did we get lucky with James Serafino? Holy moly. I mean, I like to take credit for this book and I will. But really, it is so much of his creation and the images in this. You know, when you make a children's book, they send you images throughout and Penguin is making notes and giving, you know, James and the, the illustrator direction throughout. And you just kind of sit there and go, oh my God, this is... But as soon as we got the first images in, I was so blown away and realized, oh my God, this book is going to be incredible. And I really believe that it is. And what he did with the words on the page in this thing is truly remarkable. >> Maria Hall-Brown: It is. It is breathtakingly beautiful. I've seen the preview copy. So congratulations. So this whole world of being, a children's author, how has the experience been for you? Because you are now at festivals and you're at the Library of Congress Book Festival. I mean, that's heady stuff. You're featured author with some pretty rarefied air. Doris Kearns Goodwin, James Patterson, you know. >> Max Greenfield: Well, now I'm nervous. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Well, you should be excited. How is this been? What's the relationship been like for you stepping out of the world of you performing, and then you being the creator and seeing how that work is impacting an audience of a very different kind? >> Max Greenfield: Yeah. I mean, it's-- I don't know that-- it's been a lot of things. You know, I'm so used to stepping into somebody else's words, someone else's story, someone else's material and putting my own experience into it. But it's it's always been in service of, you know, honoring somebody else's story. And these have been very, very personal and my own story and they've also been very specific in terms of what we had hoped they would connect with or who we hoped that they would connect with. And ultimately, you know, the first three have found their way into schools and libraries. I'm so excited to be speaking and going down to ALA this year to see all the librarians. But, you know, to you, social media is wonderful in the sense that you will get sent pictures from teachers and from whomever just showing you the impact. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Even the little people. >> Max Greenfield: Yeah. And the use of these books. And then when you go to the fairs and you're, and you know, the people who-- it's interesting, you know, when the first book came out, you go to a fair and all the people who lined up for a book or want a book or want a book signed by you, you know, a bunch of them know you from TV and are kind of there for that. And you go, okay, well. >> Maria Hall-Brown: They all look like me at that stage. >> Max Greenfield: But, you know, as the books have been out there for a while and we've done these for a few years now, so many of the people are there because of the books. And they love the books and to see the impact that they've had in the classroom and on students and on students with learning differences. It's been so wonderful and exciting and rewarding. And now this book, which I think is-- This book is a lot simpler. I mean, we can talk about it forever, but the idea of this book is really, really simple and I think that's kind of the beauty of it and hopefully the connection point that I'll have with. Hopefully a lot of people. And so I'm really excited to see how "Good Night Thoughts", having seen how the other books have connected with people and teachers and educators to see how "Good Night Thoughts" connects with an audience is going to be really, really exciting. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Have you had a comment from a little guy? I mean, not a teacher or a librarian, but just a little person that you've actually had an interaction with that like took you aback in a good way that you were like, oh, okay. >> Max Greenfield: Yeah. A lot of, you know, the best experience is being in a classroom, which I've had, you know, the opportunity to be in and watching seven, eight, nine year old pick up one of the books and read them. You know, sometimes you get a child who's like, right on the precipice of really breaking through as a reader, and they'll read the book and it is just, there is nothing better. And you can see like they get the intonations, they get the rhythm of the book, they get the jokes in the book, and so they get excited about taking that voice and making it their own, which it's set up to do. And so to watch these kids move through that in the exact space that they're supposed to be at when they find this, when they find these books is the greatest and you could see like-- And there's specifically words in that, you know, in the first one and all of them that are supposed to be difficult and supposed to be tongue twisters and supposed to be big for a young child, and to see them, like, be okay with knowing that this is not necessarily a word I'm supposed to know, and I'm going to just go at it as hard as I can. It's so rewarding. And then to watch, you know, kids read the aloud book up and in front of people is about as good as it gets. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Well, it's a pretty wonderful thing that you've done. The question is, and we're going to have to wrap up, which is making me sad. But the question is, are you continuing? Are you going to continue with this? I mean, your children are getting older. And you're writing for a particular age. Are you hooked? You're not. >> Max Greenfield: I'm not. Unfortunately, I'm not. I mean, I guess physically I'm getting older, but mentally, I don't know. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Yeah, but you're gonna keep doing it? >> Max Greenfield: Yeah. I would love to, you know. Yes, I think so. If the stories keep coming-- You know, I know what the books look like now, and I know what they need, and I think and, you know, should you find the stories and the right moments that match up and it feels like a book, then definitely. If there's a story to tell, I'd love to keep doing it. >> Maria Hall-Brown: Well, sadly, we've run out of time. Next time we'll talk about your potential guitar career, but great to hear that you're going to continue writing. Thank you for all of your talent, both on screen as well as with these remarkable books. We are very lucky that you are in our world, and thank you for being a part of PBS Books and sharing all of this with our members and the behind the scenes of "Good Night Thoughts". Let's bring back our wonderful friend Heather. >> Heather Marie-Montilla: Well, Maria, thank you so much for leading this fabulous, fun conversation. And, Max, thank you so much for your insights into your book. Max's new book, "Good Night Thoughts" comes out on September 3rd, so please go to your local library, your independent bookstore, or wherever you get books to get that new book. I'd also like to thank everyone out there for joining us. Make sure you like and subscribe so that you never miss any of the 2024 National Book Festival Author Talks. To hear more from Max Greenfield and from the full schedule of feature 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival Author Talks, you can go to the PBS Books website at PBSbooks.org. And don't forget, you can be part of the festival virtually or in person on Saturday, August 24th from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. You can visit loc.gov/bookfest for all the details. Until next time, I'm Heather-Marie Montilla, and happy reading! [Music]