In October 2021, Robert Munsch spoke publicly for the first time about his dementia diagnosis. Munsch, the 76-year-old author of nearly 100 children?s books, told the CBC he was no longer able to write, drive or ride a bicycle. He had stopped visiting kids at their schools, something he?d done throughout his career, all across North America. What he did still have, he said, were his stories. ?The stories will be the last thing to go,? he told Shelagh Rogers.
Many of those stories were inspired by children Munsch met on his travels and through correspondence with readers. A picture of a little girl in a hot-air balloon drawn by a reader who longed to escape the everyday monotony of her family?s Chinese restaurant was the spark for Where Is Gah-Ning" The protagonist in I?m So Embarrassed! was based on a boy whose mother practically insisted that Munsch come and visit her son?s Grade 7 class. In the following stories, these and other real-life children who were behind Munsch?s stories share their own memories of the author, and describe how his writing?and being in his books?changed their lives. Photo: May Truong
Julie Munsch, 45
David?s Father (1983), Makeup Mess (2001) and Finding Christmas (2012)
Robert and Ann Munsch adopted Julie Munsch when she was 5½ years old. David?s Father is about a girl named Julie who befriends a boy named David and discovers that his adoptive dad?a giant?is not nearly as scary as she expected.
Growing up, I didn?t pay much attention to...