His official biography says he grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but Robert Munsch likes to say that he never grew up – he’s still as much of a kid as ever!
That could be the secret that makes him one of the most popular children’s writers in the world. Somehow, he has never lost the power of imagination we all had as children.
Using his imagination is what kept Robert going through his tough years in school. He was a very bad pupil and never really learned the basic skills of math and spelling. But he could reach into his mind and come out with wonderfully inventive, silly ideas that he turned into poems and stories.
Robert first set out to become a priest, and also studied history and anthropology at university. But along the way, something special happened – Robert got introduced to children, and the children got introduced to his stories.
Working at a daycare centre to put himself through school, Robert discovered his amazing story-telling skills and the joy of thinking like a kid again. Incredibly, he did this for ten years, making up one wonderful story after another, day after day, without ever thinking of writing them down!
It was only when he and his wife moved to Guelph, Ontario and a librarian overheard Robert’s stories that he was convinced to send some to a publisher. Just one was accepted, but that got him going as a writer.
At first, his books sold slowly and gained just a little popularity every year. Then, in 1986, he published ‘Love You Forever’. It became the best-selling children’s book in Canada and the U.S. Robert Munsch was suddenly a household word!
All these years later, Robert still puts out about two books a year and they all sell like crazy. But what he loves to do is drop in on kindergarten and daycare classes that have written to him. He will just show up, unannounced, and spend a few hours telling stories. Often, he will even arrange to stay with a student’s family and share a whole day with them!
Everywhere he goes and everyone he meets gives Robert more story ideas and more joy. He’s never stopped being a kid and kids never stop loving him.