Carl R. Sams II Interview

The Beginning

It was 1982 when the first chickadee landed in my hand to take a seed. That year was also the first time I shook an apple from a tree for a whitetail doe. Since then, my wife, Jeannie, and I have grown to know over twenty deer that trust us enough to walk with them in the woods. We have taken over 60,000 pictures of this family of whitetail deer, so Jeannie and I decided to create a deer book. After spending two months editing slides, we had narrowed our images down to 2,000 deer slides -- but we needed only 140 images. It was at this point that I smart-mouthed my wife. "Jeannie, you know we have to finish our book sometime this year, not just choose the pictures." Then Jeannie saw two images: 1) the deer eyeing the snowman's carrot nose (cover photo for Stranger in the Woods) and 2) the image of the chickadee on the snowman's carrot nose. She said, "It's a shame we can't use more of those winter deer pictures. We should do a children's book!" I looked at her as if she was crazy. She no sooner expressed her idea than it started to snow outside. Jeannie went upstairs to her favorite chair by the fireplace and began to sketch her idea for the book. We then built a snowman, and Stranger in the Woodswas born.

Starting Out

We decided to dedicate our book, "For those who protect wild places and to the snowman that lives in every child's heart." In November of 1999, we hand-carried our book to bookstores in Northern Michigan. A portion of every book sold would go to the Nature Conservancy. In one week Stranger in the Woodsshot to the top of the best sellers list in Northwestern Lower Michigan. It stayed there for 16 weeks, besting Harry Potter and John Grisham's The Brethren on the hardcover fiction list. At the same time, in Southern Michigan, we were using our book to raise money for the Rainbow Connection, an organization that makes wishes come true for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Wanting to Do More

We wanted to do a fundraiser for children, because we had a special young friend, Sandy J., whose wish was to see the Anasazi Indian ruins in the Southwest. His wish came true; it was a special time for him and his family. After Sandy succumbed to his illness, we wanted to do something in his memory. To get the local press on board, we fronted the books to the Kiwanis of Rochester, MI and independent bookstores. Then the local Barnes & Noble and Borders of Rochester called and asked if they could they carry our book. I told them no, because we were using it for a fundraiser for children. What was I saying! I called back and said they could carry the book if they would match funds for the Rainbow Connection between then and Christmas. I didn't expect them to call back, but they did. The Michigan independent bookstores, Borders statewide, and Barnes and Noble region-wide agreed to match us dollar for dollar! In four weeks, we raised over $8,000 for the Rainbow Connection.

The Word Gets Out

We began to target independent bookstores across America. When we placed our book in a good location in a store, it immediately became the best-selling item for them. We had limited funds, so we focused on attending the independent booksellers conventions across the North country, and advertised in their holiday catalogs. We sent out three teams, and did it pay off! By late October we were on the Book Sense Best Sellers list, climbing to #4 by Christmas. This was pretty significant, because it put us ahead of two of the four Harry Potter books nationwide with the independents. In November/December of 2000, we were selected as a Book Sense 76 Best Pick.

Making Wishes Come True

In February, teacher Mary Dank used Stranger in the Woodsas the basis for a Snowman Festival in memory of a 2-year-old Make-A-Wish Child from Florida. Rogelio's wish was to see snow and build a snowman. The little boy visited Mary's school in Iron Mountain, Michigan, the previous winter. He got to play and build snowmen with the school children for six days. Rogelio died this past summer.

For the Snowman Festival, all the classes collected "coins for cancer" for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Mary's friend Angie Dubois had 70 student volunteers read our book to elementary school and preschool classes before Jeannie and I arrived. There were snowman activities the whole month of February. We agreed to use proceeds from the sale of our book to help fund the children's library in the cancer center at the local hospital. Events included a children's snowman candlelight walk in the park, author appearances at school, a video production, and a book signing to the whole community on their family night.

Thanks!

Jeannie and I would like to thank the booksellers who have helped us in protecting our planet and making dreams come true for children, through the sales of Stranger in the Woods… We are proud to be one of the finalists for the 2001 Book Sense Book of the Year Award.

Stranger in the Woods

A Novmber/December 2000 Book Sense 76 pick

"Beautiful wildlife photography is the highlight of this book, a recipient of a Benjamin Franklin Award. Set in the Michigan woods, the animals discover a mysterious visitor after a winter storm."
-- Nancy Hale, Annie's Book Stop, Branchville, NJ

Carl Sams grew up on an island near the mouth of the Au Sable River in northern Michigan and spent much of his time playing sports, hunting and fishing. He majored in outdoor recreation and speech at Central Michigan University. He worked as a camp director in Michigan’s Youth Conservation Corps and then moved into the real estate market with his father before following his heart . . . photographing wildlife.

Jean Stoick was raised on a farm in Michigan’s thumb near Vassar. She taught art to middle school children before opting to leave the classroom to photograph all four seasons with her husband. Jean encouraged Carl to invest in his first camera system and taught him how to see with a trained artist’s eye; waiting for the subtle change of light, paying attention to colors and focusing on the composition. Carl in turn, taught her the mechanics of photography.

Stranger in the Woods received the 2001 International Readers Association Award for "Young Readers Fiction and the 2000 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for "Best Children's Picture Book." Since publication, Stranger in the Woods has raised over $50,000 for charities.

Further Reading:

Book Sense Book of the Year Awards
Jane Yolen
Myla Goldberg
Make-A-Wish Foundation