Q & A with Amy Zuckerman
Business writer writes children's book
By Stacey Dresner
Amy Zuckerman is an award-winning business writer who specializes in technology and social trends. The U.S. Small Business Administration's 2005 Home-Based Business Champion for Massachusetts/New England and the first recipient of the ANSI President's Award for Journalism, Zuckerman has written several books on technology and business management, including "TECH TRENDING" (Capstone 2001) which was called "a visionary book and practical guide to preparing yourself and your company for the networked world of the not-too-distant future."
But now Zuckerman has switched gears a bit with her new book, "2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids." Co-written with James Daly and illustrated by John Manders, the book is a colorful trek into the future - full of kid- friendly gadgets like talking dog collars and cars that drive themselves.
Zuckerman, who lives in Amherst, Mass. with her daughter Julia Biederman and partner Lew Rudolph, recently talked to the Jewish Ledger about her new book and her vision of the future.
Q: You have written many business books and manuals. So how did this children's book come about?
A: "2030" was an assignment from then Dutton publisher, Stephanie Lurie, and my current, long-term editor Steve Meltzer who is today associate publisher of all Penguin Putnam kids' books.
They liked my book "TECH TRENDING" and wanted to know in the fall of 2001, not long after 9/11, whether I could write a book about the future for kids based on real science and tech, not fantasy sci-fi. The assignment was to take one day in the life of real kids - an average school day - and show them what their real future might look like.
Fearing the technology/science was beyond me, I asked a long-time journalist/editor buddy James Daly to co-author with me. Jim was once the hot shot founding editor of one of the hottest business tech magazine of the 1990s - "Business 2.0." - so I figured he had to know something about technology and the future. It turned out I was quicker to catch on than I thought I would be, but Jim's help was and is invaluable.
Q: Was writing a book for children different from writing one for adults?
A: Yes. In many ways it's far tougher because kids are so astute and because they are so impressionable. You have to write simply without being condescending, so getting the tone right took me a long time.
In the case of this book, which is based on extremely complex and sophisticated technological and scientific concepts, along with social trends, boiling all of this information and data down to simple terms means you actually have to know the concepts behind the information you are presenting, not get away with the journalist's trick of quoting experts.
I learned to do the research, absorb that new knowledge and then talk to experts in these fields to make sure I had the information right before translating it into the day-in-a-life story line.
Q: What are some of the examples of things in your book that you think kids may be using daily in the year 2030?
A: Well, we never know what will actually be developed and on the market in a few years, let alone 21, but it's clear that the world of wireless transmission that we are witnessing today all over the place will be ubiquitous. Just about every device and tool we use - from a watch to a refrigerator - will be able to send out wireless transmissions. We will be able to communicate everything from our body temperature to a doctor's office wirelessly to the temperature of the milk in the refrigerator.
Ironically, the depiction of the main character, whom I've named Jackson "Skateboard Dude," falling asleep at the end of the book, has generated the most controversy when I tell kids that this will be an electronic, or "e" book. A bookstore owner in my Valley actually told me I was out of line for talking to school kids about the fact that the "e" book will evolve from today's products like Kindles, but actually look and smell like a bound book.
Scream as they might, book store owners must get used to the fact that the news today is full of debates about Kindles and electronic books. I think by 2030 we will be reading from electronic devices whether we want to or not, but it's my hope they look, feel and smell like the books I love.
Q: How did you come up with these items and how likely is it that they really may exist in 2030?
A: I mapped out a day in an average kid's life and then started to explore what would fit into the obvious segments - getting up, getting dressed, breakfast, type of housing, school buildings, classrooms through bedtime.
As my co-author Jim Daly and I scoped through all types of technology/science and societal trends and forecasts we did a cut and paste, of sorts, to apply those developments to that segment of the day in question.
So, Jackson "Skateboard Dude" checks out his friend on his data orb because I found this device on the Web that encompasses a hologram into a crystal ball. The manufacturer was Ambient Devices in Cambridge and the owner, then David Rose, said there was no doubt in his mind that by 2030 this sort of gadget would be able to receive 24/7, streaming-Web-3D (hologram), real-time feed from anywhere in the world. That's how our data orb was born.
Will we ever see a data orb like this outside of 2030 or "The Wizard of Oz?" I sure hope so. I like checking out the weather wherever I am heading.
Q: Is there any Jewish connection to this book?
A: Yes, I believe there is. The book depicts a peaceful, happy, diverse and environmentally-friendly world. It's a world where people are concerned caretakers of their environment.
Without getting into Biblical arguments, I believe there are many passages of the Torah that show humans as caretakers - not destroyers - of our world, starting right in Genesis. I do not believe that God granted us dominion over the lands, the seas and all living creatures to destroy them.
I have collected a number of psalms and prayers that speak to the environment and the need to preserve the world. Some day I would love to team with a rabbi or Judaic scholar to put together a program that explores these themes.