1988 alumnus returns with new ‘Mack Rhino’ children’s book
'The seed for writing' was planted at Binghamton, he says
Paul DuBois Jacobs’ book The Lost Lost-and-Found Case (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, 2022) is the fourth installment of his Mack Rhino, Private Eye series. At Coral Cove Elementary School’s career day, Rhino is excited to be the honorary speaker and attends with assistant Redd Oxpeck. Not long after they arrive, they discover the school’s lost and found is more lost than found. Jacobs is the author of more than 20 books for children.
Binghamton Magazine: How did you get into writing children’s books? Do you have a full-time profession in addition to writing?
Paul DuBois Jacobs: The seed for writing was planted my first year at Binghamton. The late John Gardner had put Binghamton on the map when it came to writing, but after he passed away unexpectedly, I ended up taking a workshop with his fiancée, the wonderful Susan Thornton, then more classes with Gardner’s replacement, Larry Woiwode. It was an on-campus reading by Woiwode that really got me hooked. After that, it was a winding road with stops at grad school, working as a researcher for a nonfiction writer and, eventually, co-authoring several children’s books with musician Pete Seeger. I work for an educational testing company as my full-time profession.
BM: What inspired the Mack Rhino, Private Eye stories?
PDJ: My wife, Jennifer Swender, is my co-author. The manuscript for Mack Rhino had been kicking around for nearly 10 years without finding a home. I guess like most things in life, it’s a matter of timing. We had just finished a chapter-book series titled Animal Inn when our publisher needed submissions for younger readers. Mack Rhino, Private Eye fit the bill! We knew from the start it would be a series. We hope to add more in the future.
BM: What do you hope kids come away with after reading your stories?
PDJ: In our chapter books, Jennifer and I stress friendship, kindness and humor. The Mack Rhino series is also designed to help build confidence for newly independent readers. In our picture books, musicality and playful language are a strong focus. We are fortunate that our first picture book, My Subway Ride, is still in print after 20 years and I think it’s the rhyme and rhythm that keep it fresh and relevant.
BM: What’s next for you?
PDJ: John Gardner said good fiction should sustain “a vivid and continuous dream.” That idea made a big impression on me. And like most writers, I have a number of different dreams that I’m working on — a poetry manuscript, novel, picture book and a few more adventures for Mack Rhino. But I’m old enough now to recognize these projects are all part of the same dream, one that started at Binghamton when I was 18 years old and just sitting down at that first writing workshop led by Susan Thornton.