But I'll Be Back Again By: Cynthia Rylant

Rylant, C. (1989). But I'll Be Back Again: An Album. Orchard Books.

As you can see from a previous blog, I had the streak of luck finding Cynthia Rylant's But I'll Be Back Again: An Album at a used book sale at a local public library. They were discarding it (gasp!) and I acquired this out of print book for ten cents! I read it that evening, and I gained additional understanding of this author that has been featured in our children's literature class, and she has also been featured and studied in my second grade classes for each of my nine years of teaching. As an appreciator of Rylant's crafting, I find myself learning more about her style and nuances about her as a person every year, whether it is something I see, or a student interprets about a book at read aloud or independently during a reading workshop conference. I really delved into Rylant's crafting after reading in 1999 Katie Wood Ray's professional resource entitled Wondrous Words. Ray is a BIG fan of Rylant, and she showed me things about the creative ways that she writes that I had not quite noticed before, and that fire was lit in me to think of author's craft with all literature in a fresh way ever since.

In this memoir published in 1989, Rylant writes of different memories of growing up as a child and young teen in Beaver, West Virginia. She includes real photographs from growing up and as an adult, which are in black and white, since there is no color in the interior layout of the entire book. A copy of a letter Rylant received from her father is included. In most of the one page letter, he refers to himself in third person, which I see as a type of detachment. The significance of that letter to her is clear, since as an adult, she still has it. Although not officially in chapters, Rylant has particular stories of a memories as a theme within a section, and these sections are transitioned to new topics with selections of lyrics from Beatles songs. These snippets of songs serve as a preview as well to what lies ahead in the upcoming memories. Besides The Beatles clearly being a favorite of hers growing up, she idolized Bobby Kennedy. Rylant was thrilled when he visited West Virginia, and includes a photo taken of him, and later on in life, she was devastated when she found out that he had been killed. This happened at a transitional age of thirteen, typical of a time when children feel that they are becoming teens, eager to grow up, and internally scared to let go of yesterday at the same time. Within the same year, she lost her father just as he was about to come back into her life after living in out of state. Those events must have made Rylant grow up some, in a way she didn't want to, but had to. I found a passage of hers in relation to this poignant:

"Children can forgive their parents almost anything. It is one of those mysteries of life that no matter how badly a parent treats a child, somewhere in that child is a desperate need to forgive, a desperate need to be loved."

With that selected subject and quote, it is clear that this book is not completely full of happy, lovely memories of a perfect childhood. The opening line of the book reads: "If you are a child who is never told the truth, you begin to make up your own." There are some sad, heartbreaking things that the reader listens to in the text as Rylant writes, and I find myself thinking that this book is not written for a child who is a fan of her picture books. I really find myself feeling like it is written for adults, and could be used with young adults, but not necessarily to study her crafting. This book is more about understanding the roots of the author, her inspirations and challenges, and for the reader to see these influences in books that they have read that are authored by her.

I loved being able to make an text-to-self connection of discovering that Rylant was a majorette. I was a majorette as well (seven first places in VA!) and I still love twirling with my Baton Twirling Club at school. On page 41, I found Rylant's comment about flirting with words with a funny boy named Robert intriguing, because I have used sarcasm more than my fair share in life:

"I think Robert liked me so much because I could match every smart remark he threw my way with an even smarter one. It was my only ammunition with this overpowering boy, and the constant tension between us honed my desperate sarcasm."

Rylant discusses flirting and her first days of being infatuated and curious about boys. She also discusses her struggles to grasp a personal understanding and connection with God, which shows up in several of her books, including Waiting to Waltz. She also discusses how she feels she became a writer:

"They say that to be a writer, you must first have an unhappy childhood. I don't know if unhappiness is necessary, but I think maybe some children who have suffered a loss too great for words grow up into writers who are always trying to find those words, trying to find a meaning for the way they have lived."

Writing has clearly helped Rylant deal with unresolved issues from the past, explore pleasant memories, romanticise her favorite times as a child, and create happy experiences for younger children through her picture books.

As a related text, there is a series of "Meet the Author" books (published by Richard C. Owen, Inc.), and one of the selections is indeed written Cynthia Rylant entitled Best Wishes. It IS written with younger children in mind, and is readable to a class to provoke connections and discussions. The book includes color photos on each spread of Rylant and her current home at the time in Kent, Ohio, as well as photos of the humble homes of her Grandmama and mother. You can see she's a real person, quiet and sometimes perhaps a loner when entrenched in thoughts of creativity. To see photos of her standing at a famous scenic spot in West Virginia where I past by during Spring Break was neat as well. A recommended quick read for teachers and to share with your students as well.