Mary Amato is funny. I've discovered this in the last few weeks as I've participated in an "Adults Writing For Children" class she's teaching at the Writers' Center in Bethesda, Maryland called "What's So Funny?" She's trying to impart to the eclectic group that we form how to introduce levity, clarity, wordplay, and some humor into our writing. She claims she's not funny but the peals of laughter coming out of our classroom would make any passer-by wonder why those people are having so much fun. When one hears her big voice and her spontaneous laugh, when one listens to her examples of wordplay and fun in her own writing, one knows: This woman gets it. She knows that in life, as in writing, you have to "lighten up." The titles of her books are proof enough - The Riot Brothers, Take the Mummy and Run, Please Write in This Book. Thanks, Mary, for making us laugh and for making us funnier!
