How Pam Muñoz Ryan came to write The Flag We Love
Since Pam Muñoz Ryan wrote The Flag We Love, many educators have asked her, “What prompted you to write this book?” She sometimes thinks they expect her to tell them that she has always been patriotic and a flag waving zealot, but the truth of the matter is that one incident triggered the inspiration for this book and sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely places.
It occurred in Ryan's own neighborhood during a time when the entire country was feeling patriotic. After Desert Storm, it seemed that everyone was flag waving. On Memorial Day weekend Ryan went into a local supermarket to do some shopping. The store was full of flags. They were at every cash register. The displays of canned goods at the end of the aisles were sprouting flags. At first it was almost humorous, but as Ryan arrived at the back of the store, one display bothered her. Cases of beer had been stacked up two-cases high and six-cases long. Draped over the top of this beer display was a casket-size flag. There was something about the blatant disrespect of this display that bothered something deep inside of Ryan. It was also surprising to see other shoppers glancing at the display and then going on their way.
Ryan didn't make a scene in the store, but did ask to speak to the manager. The manager wasn't in but the very young assistant manager talked with Ryan. She kept apologizing and patting Ryan on the arm and saying, “I'm sorry you're offended.”
Frustrated, Ryan finally said, “YOU should be offended! It's your flag, too!” To get rid of Ryan, the assistant manager asked if she would like to write the president of the company. Ryan said she would LOVE to write the president of the company. Fuming, Ryan went home and wrote a letter to the president of the grocery store chain. She was surprised that she never received a response, but three weeks later Ryan was in the same store on July Fourth, and there wasn't one flag in that store.
At home, Ryan's own children wanted to know what the big deal was all about. She was shocked that they didn't KNOW. Determined to explain it to them, Ryan went looking for a picture book on the flag. She was looking for something simple with beautiful illustrations. Ryan wanted a book that evoked a feeling — that was sentimental, apolitical, and not Yankee Doodle Dandy-ish. She knew exactly what she was looking for, and when Ryan couldn't find it, that revelation was enough to start the journey to The Flag We Love.
That's how Pam Muñoz Ryan came to write the manuscript. The simple misuse of the flag in the grocery store jostled something deep in her memories. The incident brought to the surface those feelings of patriotism that Ryan wanted her own children to experience. It reminded Ryan of the feeling she had when she stood at a high school basketball game and could hear a pin drop because the Star Spangled Banner was about to begin. It reminded her of standing at a parade field in Annapolis, Maryland, watching thousands of young midshipmen, Ryan's own college boyfriend included, march onto the field with pageantry and ceremony while tears welled in her eyes. It reminded Ryan of taking her children to her hometown for the Fourth of July and sitting in her college stadium watching the fireworks to patriotic music. In instances like these, you can't help but have your throat feel a little tight and feel a burst of happiness and pride for your country.
Pam Muñoz Ryan was thrilled when the book was accepted for publication but then the matter of the illustrator became imminent. The illustrations would make or break the book. Would the illustrator be able to capture the intent of the manuscript? Ralph Masiello, Jr.was chosen to illustrate The Flag We Love. Here they are together in the photograph on the left. Many times, authors and illustrators never meet or talk during the course of a book. This book was an exception because Pam Muñoz Ryan had valuable research to share with the illustrator and also because Ralph and Pam Muñoz Ryan had already met through Jerry Pallotta and Charlesbridge Publishing. Since they were already friends, this book became an opportunity to collaborate.
Many people have asked the author and illustrator duo how they worked together since Ryan lives in southern California and Masiello lives in Massachusetts. In this day and age with overnight mail and FAX and, of course, the telephone, that isn't a problem. Ryan did travel to the East Coast several times during the making of the book for meetings with Masiello and the publisher.
Initially, Ralph Masiello and Pam Muñoz Ryan agreed on several things. They both wanted the book to be apolitical. They wanted a book that was for the people, not for one cause or another. That was harder than they thought, and several times they had to adjust the focus of an illustration or the text to keep true to that goal. They also wanted the book to evoke a feeling without appearing too sappy or maudlin. These were some of the things they discussed before Masiello ever put a brush to canvas.
From the beginning of this project, Ralph Masiello wanted to paint this book in the same manner that Norman Rockwell painted, that is, by staging each of the scenes using real people. On one of Ryan's trips to the East Coast, they visited the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts. Masiello explained to Ryan how Norman Rockwell found his subjects, dressed them appropriately, used lighting for each scene, and took photographs for references for the paintings. Although Ryan didn't know it at the time, this turned out to be valuable information for her. When Masiello needed extra people in several illustrations, Ryan staged their positions in her living room and backyard and sent him the photographs.
Except for editing, the manuscript was completed when Ralph began sketching, and basically, Ralph painted his own interpretation of the manuscript. Masiello and Ryan had a few preliminary discussions about layout and format, but each painting was Masiello's inspiration. Occasionally, he would call, and the two would brainstorm on an idea for a painting, but ultimately, he decided.
Since the book had required intense research, Pam Muñoz Ryan helped Masiello by providing him with any visual references she had. NASA sent her slides of every flag planting on the moon. She sent them to Masiello. The Byrd Polar Research Center sent Ryan slides of Admiral Byrd at the North and South Poles. She sent them to Masiello. He did period research on his own for many of the paintings. When Ryan could, she provided anything that she had collected that might contribute to his knowledge of the painting. That's how Ryan contributed to the art.
This project became an emotional journey for Masiello. While painting this book, his father died unexpectedly. Since his father was a World War II veteran, Masiello watched a casket-sized flag being folded and presented to his mother at his father's funeral.
Ralph Masiello didn't paint for several months after his father died. At that point they were on a tight timetable with the publisher. What did Ryan do? Nothing. This was a personal time for Ralph Masiello, and when you know your illustrator and you respect him, you just have to wait. When he started painting again, much of the sentimentality he felt for his father was reflected in the book. His father was a nationally-ranked master duck carver. The book is dedicated to his dad, Ralph Masiello, “...a true artist and a great American,” and all the triangular folded flags in the book are the flag from his father's funeral.
Pam Muñoz Ryan never presumed to tell her illustrator what to paint. She's not an artist or a designer. Some writers have that sense about them, but that is not Ryan's strong area. She have been asked many times, “Do you envision the illustrations when you write?” No, not usually. Ryan may envision a character, or a place she is trying to describe, but she doesn't usually see the big picture (or the big illustration) in her mind. Ryan is much more concerned with the words and the rhythm of the sentence. So far, when Ryan sees the illustrator's interpretation, their vision becomes her vision, too. When Ralph finished the book, Ryan told him, “This is everything I never expected!”
Before Pam Muñoz Ryan wrote this book, she didn't think she had many feelings about the flag. After researching and writing this book, and working with Ralph Masiello, Pam Muñoz Ryan is proud to be associated with a patriotic endeavor. Sometimes an idea for a book comes from the most unlikely places. This serendipitous journey helped Ryan discover that inspiration often comes from those places in your heart that may have been covered up with indifference and nonchalance. For Pam Muñoz Ryan, those places were revealed in The Flag We Love.
This article first appeared as "Journey to The Flag We Love," in Journal/Literacy: Classroom Connections, a publication of the Greater Washington Reading Council, Volume XX, 1995-96, pp. 23-24.
Winner of the 1997 Early Childhood News Director's Choice Award
1997 NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book, Social Studies
With patriotic verse and dazzling illustrations, The Flag We Love presents a lyrical journey through the history of America's most enduring symbol. Illustrated by Ralph Masiello and published by Charlesbridge Publishing.
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