The Life of Barney Saltzberg Have you ever told a child it’s ok to make a mistake? That is what Barney Saltzberg is known for. He teaches children and adults about making mistakes and encouraging them that it is the perfect opportunity to turn your mistake into something beautiful. He is so determined for children to understand the importance about mistakes because that is how he got one of his most famous books started, Beautiful Oops. Barney Saltzberg was born on April 30, 1955 in Los Angeles, California where he is currently residing with his wife and two children, along with three dogs and a pond of fish. As a child he always loved to draw and since his mother was a painter, she would never let him use coloring books or any other drawing books. He had to learn how to create his own characters and drew all over his lunch bag every morning before school. He also would draw pictures and write stories in school when he was younger. He began playing the guitar and writing songs when he was eight years old. Drawing was his passion and being that he was so gifted with the drawing gene it came natural to him. He loves working with children and that is how he got the idea to become a children’s author. Growing up …show more content…
It was one book in particular, Arlo Can’t Catch, no publisher wanted to publish it. It was about a dog who needed glasses to play catch and eventually discovered books. It was his editor who gave him the advice to change the name to Arlo Needs Glasses. She visualized the dog in the story and the children reading the book could try on cardboard glasses and experience a little of what going to an eye doctor is like. His editor spent almost six months trying to convince him into making the book and recreating the story. After it was finally published, he received numerous letters from parents on how excited they were with the book. It helped their child when they find out they need to wear