Boys Versus Girls series

Question:

What inspired you to write about the life of children in the Boys vs. Girls series? Also, how did you find the inspiration to write the children’s perspectives?

Phyllis replied:

I was asked by an editor to start a new series for her publishing company, and I said I would have to think about it, that I would have to have a universal theme.  Then one day I was preparing to speak to a large group of grade school students, and they were coming in so noisily that one teacher yelled, “If you don’t quiet down, I’m going to seat you boy-girl-boy. And instantly, the whole room was silent.  Their noise hadn’t bothered me at all but I thought this was quite funny.  So I had an “aha!” moment.  My universal theme would be the boy/girl friction at this age, and that it would be fun to have a whole household of boys trying to drive out a whole houseful of girls.  And though they wouldn’t admit it, they are all having a marvelous time.  It’s not hard for me to write from a child’s perspective.  I was a child once, and I have a good memory of how I felt then.