Q: What inspired you to write Homer on the Case?

A: I like the idea of different species communicating. For example, I wonder what the different birds on my bird feeder say to each other. “Quit shoving!” “Move over!” “You take all the peanuts!” When I thought of a homing pigeon learning to read because of the daily newspaper under his feet, and then thought of a parrot learning to speak human …one thing led to another. Imagination took over.

Q: You’ve worked on nearly 150 books for children. What makes Homer on the Case different from your past projects? What makes it similar?

A: I’ve really enjoyed working on my chapter book projects: one can really try to get into the mind and spirit of the characters. I’m lucky because I can also draw the illustrations, which add personality and expression to those characters. Homer on the Case takes place in a city, unlike my usual stories, and although humans play a big part, it’s the animal characters that move the story around.

Q: You’re an author and illustrator. When you come up with ideas for stories, do you usually think of the story in text or drawings first?

A: I’ve been asked that many times, and I think the best reply is “both”! While I’m imagining and outlining a story in my head or on paper, I can’t help but picture the setting and the characters and how they look and act during different parts of the story. I’m a constant doodler. I doodle all the time. I’ll doodle ideas for a story and those doodles can be very helpful for a book dummy.

Q: How did you choose a homing pigeon for the main character?

A: I think pigeons and doves have an expression that some other birds don’t have; they have a more sensitive and thoughtful look. And I liked the idea that homing pigeons are so skillfully able to always return home. Home is often a theme in my stories, and something very important to me.

Q: You really brought the setting of Keeler Park to life. Was Keeler Park inspired by a real place?

A: Well, yes, sort of. Years and years ago I had some time on my hands as I was waiting for an appointment with an editor. It was late summer. I sat on a bench in a small park near the publisher and watched the city go about its business, people and pigeons mostly. There was a scent to the air of sycamores, and a tranquil feel of the park, nestled among tall buildings. When I was writing about Keeler Park in the story, I was imagining myself on that bench that day.

Q: Grandad keeps a photo of Otto’s grandmother inside his gold pocket watch. Do you have a special keepsake that reminds you of a loved one?

A: Several! Many! A wooden stool my grandfather made, my 3rd grade lunchbox (my mom wrote my name on it) that looks like a barn (I grew up on a farm), a string of brass bells my aunt gave me, two little ceramic pigs that sat on the kitchen window sill of the my childhood home….many more! Don’t get me started!

Q: Communication is an important aspect to this story. How did you come up with the idea to incorporate the challenge of the birds in the story trying to communicate with their humans?

A: I wish I spoke a hundred languages. If I could start over, I’d take every language course I could. Right now I’m barely fluent in English! Years ago, I lived in Egypt for a while, and the best part of my experience there was the joy in learning to communicate with people who didn’t speak English, and the only Arabic I knew was “thank you”! I was learning to read and speak and write as an adult. It was a challenge, but with great rewards. I made so many friends that way, learning to communicate. I loved it. I was hoping to get that joy across as Homer and Lulu communicate with their human friends.

Q: If you could choose to be any animal, what would it be?

A: Probably something really useful and cared for, like a police service dog or a therapy animal. I’d like to say something wonderful like a bobcat or a chickadee, but wildlife these days have it rough: they have to contend not only with natural predators and disease, but also with human interference and reduced habitat. I don’t think I’d last long as a chickadee. I’d be in the talons of a sharp-shinned hawk within an hour!

Q: What’s your favorite type of bird, and why?

A: Really?!?! Are you asking for only ONE type of bird?? That’s tough. If I HAD to limit myself, I’d say the American robin, because the song of a male robin singing in early spring has to be one of the best sounds on the planet. And I love hole nesters (woodpeckers, nuthatches, etc.) because I love the idea of nesting in a hole in a tree while the wind gently blows. I’d say “no” to any bird that has to exist in cold water to survive (northern ducks, grebes, gannets etc.) because I hate being cold and wet.

Q: Did any real or fictional detectives inspire Homer?

A: No…Homer is an original, at least in my mind.

Q: Which chapter did you enjoy writing most? Did any of your favorite scenes not make it into the final version of the book?

A: I enjoyed the last chapter the most. I love happy endings! I love the idea of Snaps being out in the sun and lounging in the warm mud. I love the idea of Otto and Charlotte getting credit for something courageous. I like having the characters coming together.

Q: What do you think happens next for Homer and his fellow detectives?

A: Hmmm. I think a dog is involved. Maybe a dog that is just a teensy weensy bit sinister…

Q: What do you hope young readers take away from this story?

A: Collaboration. Adventure. Independence. Caring.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: Currently working on four picture books. Looking forward to a post-Covid world where I can visit schools again…in person!

Q: What was your inspiration for The Girl Who Stole an Elephant?

A: I started writing The Girl Who Stole an Elephant one wintry December, and it was an escape to another world for me. As I wrote, I imagined a world of sunshine, warmth, action and color, and put all of that into the story.

Q: Is the setting of the story based on a real place?

A: Yes, it is. It’s a fictionalized version of Sri Lanka in the past. I’ve used some real places and some made-up and taken some liberties with the geography of things; but the setting is unmistakably Sri Lankan for anyone who knows the country.

Q: Chaya is a very bold, no-nonsense protagonist with a strong personality. How did you come up with Chaya as a character?

A: She came to me fully formed, so was my easiest character to create. I think she was aspirational to me in the sense that she would have been everything I wanted to be as a child. I would have found her really cool to have as a friend.

Q: If you were Chaya, and you had access to the royal palace, what would you steal?

A: Ironically for someone who created Chaya, nothing! She would have thought it a wasted opportunity, but I would just enjoy the sights and sounds without taking anything.

Q: Do any of Chaya’s qualities remind you of yourself when you were her age?

A: Perhaps her readiness to address injustice. I think as children we’re all generally full of incredulity and anger when we learn about injustice. As we grow older we sadly accept that the world is an unfair place and become desensitized to it.

Q: What is your writing process like?

A: I have to do a lot of thinking when I’m not writing. It’s part of my writing process that lots of the work happen inside my head when I’m cooking or walking or driving. When I haven’t had a chance to do that, I get stuck. So, I spend a few hours every day at the desk (generally school hours) and I’m immersed in and mulling over whatever I’m working on at regular intervals during the day as well.

Q: What do you like most about writing for middle grade readers?

A: I think it’s a fantastic age because children are ready for (and relish!) peril and knife-edge tension. I think it’s also a time when readers are made. I think if they’re interested in books at this age and are choosing their own, they will be readers for life.

Q: Which part of this story was your favorite to write? Was there a scene you loved that didn’t make it into the final version of the book?

A:  There were some scenes I loved, like the waterfall one, but I think my favorite to write was the very beginning. I can remember the excitement I felt when I thought, this is it, this might be the one!
In an earlier version Chaya and Nour spent more time in the jungle by themselves without Neel. Chaya falls ill and Nour learns to make a fire and makes Chaya a herbal concoction. It showed Chaya at her most vulnerable and Nour taking control of the situation. This part didn’t make it into the final book in the end.

Q: In The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, we’re limited to Chaya’s perspective. If you could tell the story from another person’s point of view, whose would it be? Why?

A: That’s an interesting question! Probably Nour because she was an outsider and might have given a fairly different account of things.

Q: What do you think happens next for Chaya and her friends?

A: I think Chaya gives up stealing forever. Nour joins Chaya’s school and starts lessons at the temple too. Neel comes back to school but keeps up his apprenticeship at the carpenter’s as well.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from Chaya’s story?

A: That there’s always room for others no matter how established you are in your friendships. That friendship and loyalty is everything, and it’s easier to be brave when you want to protect the people that are important to you.

Q: As an Own Voices debut author, why do you think it’s important for young readers to be exposed to diverse books written by people who share those identities?

A: I think young readers deserve to see themselves in books, and they deserve to have access to books about all people they share the world with. There’s a richness and authenticity in stories by people with lived experience of the places or topics they’re writing about.
I think it’s in everyone’s interest to get those books out there.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I am currently writing my third book, which is set in the same world as The Girl Who Stole an Elephant. It will have another animal as well!

We asked Mary Batten about her inspiration and writing process for Life in a Frozen World, a stunning new nonfiction resource perfect for an informative introduction to climate change.

Q: What inspired you to write this story? How did you first get involved with The Cousteau Society and explorer Jacques Cousteau’s campaign to protect Antarctica?

A: I was working as editor of the Society’s membership magazine, Calypso Log, during the late 80s and early 90s when Captain Cousteau led the Society in launching a campaign to protect Antarctica from mineral exploitation. As editor of Calypso Log, it was my responsibility to report on The Cousteau Society’s campaigns and missions. The emphasis of this campaign was to protect this pristine continent for future generations. As part of the campaign we launched a children’s petition to protect Antarctica and obtained signatures on petitions from tens of thousands of children all over the world. To further dramatize that goal, the Society mounted a special expedition. Captain Cousteau took six children—one from each of the other continents—to Antarctica. He asked me to go as a kind of mother figure for the children. I was honored that he asked me and was looking forward to this expedition adventure, but I developed pleurisy a few weeks before departure date and was unable to go. I was devastated not to be able to take part in this expedition—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As the photos and film footage came back to the U.S., I saw what an incredible opportunity I had missed and became fascinated with everything I was seeing and learning about the frozen continent and its importance to the planet. This book is my “virtual journey” to Antarctica.

Q: What about Antarctica interests you the most?

A: Everything about Antarctica interests me, but its profound impact on global sea level, weather, and climate interests me most. Here is a frozen continent at the bottom of the Earth, seemingly so far away, but its impact touches life everywhere.

Q: One of the main themes in this book is climate change and how it’s affecting creatures living in this particular environment. Why do you think this is such an important issue to discuss, especially with younger readers?

A: Climate change is real. More than a hundred years of science supports it, and accelerating rising seas and melting ice packs from the Arctic to Antarctica are already affecting global climate and sea level in coastal areas. In 2019, the World Health Organization predicted that climate change would kill more than 250,000 people each year. Already, people, referred to as “climate refugees,” are having to move as sea-level rise makes their homes unlivable. This issue is especially important to discuss with young readers because they will inherit the conditions left to them by the older generation. Young Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg led mass demonstrations with young people around the world, demanding that their leaders take more aggressive actions to combat climate change. In many cases, the young people are more educated and concerned than some of the so-called “leaders” who deny climate change is happening, claim it’s a hoax, and support the fossil fuel industry rather than alternative energy.

Q: What was your research process like?

A: I watched many films about Antarctica, including the old Cousteau expedition to Antarctica and videos taken by scientists doing current research in Antarctica. I interviewed scientists working in Antarctica and read books and articles reflecting recent research. My favorite part of the research is speaking with and/or emailing scientists because they’re the ones on the ground or, in the case of Antarctica, under the water, gathering information on animals and plants and their behavior. It’s their work that gives us knowledge about Antarctica, and I’m grateful to everyone who generously took the time to speak with me and answer my questions.

Q: How did your experience with writing nature documentaries for television contribute to the development of this book?

A: I think visually. When you write a nature film, you are working with the visual material—the footage. There’s interplay between the film’s narration and the images. The same is true when writing a picture book. Words and images must support each other, not just repeat each other. When writing a film, the first 30 seconds, called the “tease,” are the most important because they will either hook the viewer or they will switch to another channel. The first page, the first paragraph of a picture book functions in the same way as a film’s “tease.” I want to hook the reader so they will persist in reading the book all the way through. So I use some film-writing techniques in crafting a picture book text. And then, just as a film writer works with the film editor when narration and visuals are put together, my wonderful editor, Vicky Holifield, and I work together once the book’s designer flows Thomas’ illustrations into the page layout and we see what adjustments need to be made in order to achieve the best visual presentation of the whole book. Sometimes I have to cut some of the text to avoid a visually crowded page. Each page has to be pleasing to the eye as well as stimulating to the brain. The illustrations are key to whether a person will pick up the book in a bookstore or when browsing online. The illustrator’s images are as important as a film’s footage in selling the book.

Q: How did you react when you first saw Thomas Gonzalez’s illustrations? What do you like most about his art style?

A: WOW! I’m thrilled with Thomas’ illustrations. His larger-than-life style makes for visual impact. The scenic illustrations are spectacularly beautiful, and the illustrations of different species are accurate and bring my words to life. I feel fortunate indeed that Thomas is the illustrator for this book as well as the next one.

Q: What’s one thing you had to omit from the final version of the book that you wish you could have included?

A: We had to leave out a lot of details about how scientists work on the ice to obtain ice cores and what the cores tell about the history of climate on Earth.

Q: What’s the most interesting thing you learned in your research for Life in a Frozen World?

A: There’s no one most interesting thing. The adaptations that some animals have evolved for life in this frigid world are particularly fascinating—such as the ice fish’s natural antifreeze that prevents its blood from freezing solid, the food chain’s dependence on tiny krill, the effect of melting glaciers on penguins in West Antarctica, the “forest” of plants growing underwater. Everything about Antarctica is interesting, and I hope readers will finish this book with excitement. Maybe some of them will want to become scientists who study this remarkable continent.

Q: What was your favorite species to write about in this book?

A: The tiny crustaceans called krill and the ice fish.

Q: What is the most important thing you want readers to take away from this book?

A: That what happens to Antarctica’s ice affects not only the animals that live in Antarctica but also creatures, including humans, in every other place on Earth. Antarctic species need the ice to survive and so do we in order to keep our planet livable.

If Nelle has any hope of tracking down her missing client, first she’ll have to unmask the true faces behind the smuggling ring. Can Nelle and her friends find a way to take the cake? Or will they come to a sticky end…?

We asked Lavie Tidhar about his inspiration and writing process for The Candy Mafia, an action-packed new novel about candy smuggling rings.

Q: What inspired you to write a story about a group of candy-smuggling kids?

A: It was a bunch of things all coming together, as is usually the case I think. Mostly I suspect it just sounded funny!

Q: You’ve written many books in the past. What was different about this project?

A: I wrote the book after finishing a really demanding one—A Man Lies Dreaming, which is absolutely not a children’s book! And I didn’t really know what I could do next. I really just wanted to do something for fun. And the funny thing is, it actually shares a lot of DNA with A Man Lies Dreaming. Both are parodies of hardboiled fiction, and both have these underlying themes about responsibility, about loss, about navigating through the world as best you can, of trying to make sense of it. It’s funny because of course they couldn’t be any more different, and yet they’re two of my favorites.

Q: How does your writing process change when you’re writing for both younger and older readers?

A: It really doesn’t. I never—right or wrong—think of the audience as such when I’m writing. The book always has to be for me first. I guess with The Candy Mafia, I was trying to write the sort of book I would have liked at that age, and also, ideally, that I’d like at any age.

Q: Did you have to do any research before writing this book? If so, what did it entail?

A: I was determined that when we do finally see inside the chocolate factory it would be a real one, so I ended up watching a lot of videos of chocolate-making machines! Which are strangely soothing to watch—you should try it!

Q: In this book, we’re limited to only Nelle’s perspective. If you could tell the story from another person’s point of view, whose would it be? Why?

A: Well, it’s Nelle’s story, really. I did have in mind a short story about Sweetcakes at some point from her early candy-hijacking days, which I thought would be funny, but no… This is very much Nelle Faulkner’s book.

Q: Did any famous detectives (real or fictional) inspire Nelle’s character?

A: Well, she’s sort of Philip Marlowe, obviously, if Philip Marlowe was a 12 year old girl! Which again, I thought was funny, and a good way to interrogate some of the problems with Raymond Chandler’s fiction, as much as I obviously love it too.

Q: Are there any qualities of Nelle Faulkner that remind you of yourself when you were her age?

A: I wish! No, she is way cooler than me I’m afraid.

Q: Which chapter did you enjoy writing most, and why?

A: I’m not really sure. Maybe the pie-throwing scene. I love slapstick, and it just felt in a way like the heart of the novel to me, that moment when they go back to being kids again, but also that they become friends then. In a way it’s the central scene of the book, more so than finally figuring out the mystery. You know, I don’t think mysteries are ever really that important, though I always try to play fair. But it’s more about the journey.

Q: Were there any scenes that didn’t make it into the final story? If so, which deleted scene is your favorite?

A: Quite a lot went by the wayside in editing. My favorite scene was probably considered a little too… scary? Grown up? I’m not sure! It had Nelle being spooked by a couple of really small kids who really, really wanted some chocolate… sort of like a little zombie horror scene there! I think instead of “braaaaaiiinnnns…” they kind of went “Caaaaandyyyy…”! Ha! I can probably see why my editor wanted it out but I do miss it… Oh and I really liked the librarian in the original draft. She was someone who really liked chocolate even though it was illegal! And she was nice to Nelle.

Q: Did you include any hidden details or clues readers should look out for that hint toward the answer to the mystery?

A: As I mention above, I think you have to play fair in any mystery story, so yes! I’ve been writing quite a few mystery stories recently. It’s really interesting to write— it’s like a formal challenge, where you have to make sure the reader has a chance of figuring it out before the detective. I think the more “hardboiled” stuff, like The Candy Mafia, is a little less mannered than classic Golden Age puzzle-type stories, but still! So it’s always, how do I put it in there but hopefully not make it too obvious? It’s a challenge!

Q: What do you hope young readers take away from Nelle’s experiences in the story?

A: I just really hope it’s fun. It was definitely fun for me to write it, and I hope that comes across.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: Hopefully another middle grade novel soon! And I’m really interested in doing some chapter books. But I’m also incredibly busy with the adult stuff—this year sees publication of my revisionist Arthurian fantasy, By Force Alone, and next year The Escapement comes out—my publishers describe it as “The Gunslinger meets The Phantom Tollbooth”! I actually have books contracted up to 2022. And my first graphic novel, Adler, is out soon. It’s sort of a fun team-up of all the great Victorian heroines. It’s out as a comics mini-series right now. But you know, if I could keep doing children’s books, I would be very, very happy.

We asked Farhana Zia about her inspiration and writing process for this delightful tale of imagination.

Q: What inspired you to write Lali’s Feather? 

A: Lali’s Feather sprang from the belly of my chapter book, Child of Spring. Lali is a younger version of one of the characters in this book. Materially speaking, the children of Child of Spring have very little but they are rich in resourcefulness when it comes to having fun. I am an advocate for children giving their innate curiosity, imagination, and creativity more of a go. To some extent, my own imaginative play as a child is also behind Lali’s Feather.

Q: Do see any of Lali’s playful and imaginative side in yourself? 

A: I think there was a bit of Lali hiding in me. It was a long time ago but I have vague memories of imaginary friends, make belief castles, flying carpets and delicious meals comprised of grass and leaves.

Q: What would YOU do with a feather?

A: Tickling your nose comes to mind first!   I would also sharpen the quill to a fine nib, dip it in an ink pot and try my hand at Arabic calligraphy.

Q: How did you react when you first saw Stephanie Fizer Coleman’s illustrations? 

A: I am grateful to Stephanie for putting her best self in this project. I couldn’t have asked for better illustrations and particularly, for a better Lali. I am thrilled with the vibrant colors that make each page pop and make Lali and her friends so alive. Stephanie’s done a great job with facial expressions. I particularly love how she captured Lali’s sorrow upon losing feather to the wind. I love too the way she dressed Lali in that adorable outfit and the long braid, that suits her to the T!

Q: Is there any significance to the particular birds you feature in this book? 

A: These are all birds of my childhood. I saw them clucking in a courtyard, nesting on trees, or featured in children’s stories or in popular film songs. For instance, there’s a popular Hindi song about a peacock I still hum that begins like this: Peacock danced in the jungle but no one noticed him. I have lovely memories of ducks in ponds and noisy crows on the branches of mango trees.   I googled information about the blue jay and its beautiful blue feathers made me go Oo and Aa.

Q: Why did you choose to include a combination of Indian expressions and English language in Lali’s story? 

A: English narrates my story and Indian expressions give my characters their cultural distinction, as much as what I make them wear, eat, or celebrate.   I tend to use certain utterances over and over again…Hanh for yes, Na for no, Wah and Jai ho, to express appreciation and celebration.  I also resort to Indian expressions when I want to convey surprise, dismay, or joy.  I could use Oh dear, or O no but an Oo ma or Aiyyo goes right to the heart of the matter.  It’s like eating a favorite Indian dish with fingers. A knife and fork work fine but fingers bring out the best flavors!

Q: Why do you think it’s important for children to read books featuring diverse cultures and characters of color written by authors with similar backgrounds? 

A: Such books benefit all children. This is not a mere academic claim… I’ve seen the advantages play out routinely during my book readings. I watch faces light up when the child behind the face has identified with the character…when terminology is familiar to the ear…when traditions and ways of life have actually been lived and experienced. I watch for the look of empowerment that follows knowing the book that was just read was about you. I watch also for the benefits to the mainstream children who are not from the culture. I observe them take away important first lessons in awareness and sensitivity. I know this because they tell me afterwards learning about unfamiliar things helped them feel less fearful or suspicious. During my book reading presentations children have opportunities to get up close and personal with unfamiliar experiences. Among other things, they roll out roti dough, dress up in a sari and wear a hijab.  For that moment, they feel connected. They understand that underneath it all, all children are the same with similar wants and dreams.

While I never intended to write only for this group or that, my books have earned the multicultural badge. This forces me to be mindful that what I write should always ring true. I use my advantage of being less separated from the social and emotional nuances of the experience to tell a story that is authentic and believable.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from reading Lali’s Feather? 

A: It would be lovely if they were inspired by Lali and went on to explore the magic of everyday things in their own world.  I also hope they will love the book enough to want to read it again and again.

Q: How is writing Lali’s Feather and your other picture books different from writing chapter books for older readers? What challenges do you face when writing for different age groups?

A: Writing in these two genres can be equally painstaking and exhilarating.  Sometimes I think writing a picture book is like working on a minimalistic flower arrangement. You have less to work with and you keep things lean and simple. A chapter book is a busier bouquet with lots of colors, trimmings and textures. In both cases, the challenge is to achieve a stunning effect. The story line in my picture books is more linear. I try to make the protagonist relatable—someone who will elicit a strong emotional response from the youngest reader and be followed from beginning to end.  My chapter books have a lot more going on in them.  The themes and messages are aimed for readers more multidimensional in terms of interests and emotions.

Q: How has your career as an elementary school teacher influenced your writing? 

A: I was lucky for the opportunity to observe both the simplicities and the complexities of the child’s world albeit from its rim. I was able to bring some of what I saw and noticed, to my stories—a certain look, wish expressed, an interchange, etc.  One scene in my chapter book, The Garden of my Imaan, is a takeaway from an experience of a Muslim student who got bullied at school. The main character of my picture book Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji bears resemblance to a former student of mine of Indian heritage. There are a couple of unsubmitted manuscripts on file where the school scene features strongly. I hope these will becomes books too. Being with young people for most of the day kept me energized. A great deal of my writing happened when I was active in the profession.

Q: What do you like most about writing for children? 

A: It makes me happy to share with them a bit of who I am, where I come from and what I hold dear. I like inviting the child reader into my fantasies and my imagined experiences.  Writing something that will resonate with a child is a daunting task but it keeps the creative juices flowing and keeps me on my toes for the next fresh idea. The entire writing process is invigorating.  I am always humbled that what begins as an idea in my head takes on shape and form to be eventually held and cherished by a child somewhere.  This is the best part of writing for children.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I have a few works in progress in various stages of completion and that I revisit now and then. I sent a picture book and a chapter manuscript to my agent recently. I have other files in my lap top that I revisit now and then.  All the while I look for a new idea. Perhaps, it will pop up if I don’t try too hard. It generally does, but sadly, not fast enough. I continue to hope for one more manuscript to catch a publisher’s eye. Hope always springs eternal.

We asked author Rebecca Van Slyke about her writing process for Lana Lynn Howls at the Moon and the late-night adventures of an intrepid sheep.

Q: What inspired you to write Lana Lynn Howls at the Moon?

A: You’ve heard of the saying, “a wolf in sheep’s clothing?” I thought it would be funny to have a sheep wearing wolf’s clothing. I had to come up with a reason the sheep would want to dress up as a wolf, since sheep are normally fairly contented animals. And then, what would that sheep do when she was among the wolves?

Q: How did you think up the clever pun in the protagonist’s name?

A: At first her name was just “Lana,” since lana is the Spanish word for “wool.” But then I noticed the word “lanolin” (the name of the waxy oil that comes from sheep’s wool) sounds just like the name “Lana Lynn.” I love a good pun, so I couldn’t resist changing her name.

Q: Lana Lynn is not content to nibble grass in the pasture, sip water from the pond, and nap in the meadow. She wants adventure. Do you have an adventurous side?

A: Absolutely! I love to travel, ride horses, go ziplining and ride ATVs. I overcame a fear of water (I didn’t learn how to swim until I was in high school) to earn my scuba diver’s license in college. In the winter, I love snowmobiling.

Q: Sheep? Or wolf?

A: Definitely wolf! They are such interesting animals, and not at all the bad guys people portray them as in fairy tales. That’s why the wolves in this story aren’t bad. (Yes, bunnies and squirrels and sheep are on their menu, but that’s what carnivores eat.)

Q: Anca Sandu’s illustrations bring your writing to life. How did you feel when you first saw her interpretation?

A: I was SO excited to see the first sketches of Lana Lynn! Anca completely understood my intrepid sheep. I love how expressive she made her. With just a few simple lines, she nailed Lana Lynn’s many emotions. The tiny details she added, like the snails, and the frog reading a book entitled, How to Prince were so much fun. That’s the beauty of picture books: The illustrator brings her/his own ideas to take the story beyond what the author imagined. Reading only the text gives you only half of the story.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from this book?

A: Be intrepid! Try new things; meet new people! But you can also still be content with your day-to-day life.

Q: You are a second grade teacher. When and how did you decide to write children’s books? Does your background influence your writing?

A: I wanted to write children’s books long before I became a teacher. I was about four when I learned that books were made by real people. I wanted to do that, too! So my mom wrote down the stories that I told her and I drew the pictures. In college, I had a children’s literature professor who gave us a choice: take the final exam, or write and illustrate a children’s book. That was an easy decision for me (although I spent way more time writing and illustrating than I would have studying for the final). He liked the book so much that he encouraged me to pursue publication. While that book has not been published, it helped me learn about the path to getting a book published.
Being a second grade teacher helps me because I know the kind of books kids like, and what makes them laugh. I want to write books that help kids love to read, even if reading is difficult at first. I also get ideas for stories from watching my students.

Q: What do you like most about writing for children?

A: There are so many possibilities! Where else can a pigeon want to drive a bus, or a boy visit an island inhabited by monsters, or a sheep run around with wolves?

Q: Where do you like to write?

A: I find that most of my writing happens at the dining room table. It’s in the middle of my home, has lots of space, and I am near my family and my dogs. I usually do my best writing late at night or early in the morning, when everyone else—dogs and family—are asleep.

Q: What is your favorite book from childhood?

A: I loved books when I was growing up! I remember checking out the same book again and again from the library. It was Three to Get Ready by Betty Boegehold. My mom and I laughed and laughed about the three kittens as they were growing up and learning about the world. When I was older, I loved all the horse stories by Marguerite Henry, like Misty of Chincoteague.

Q: What do you do when you get a new book idea?

A: I usually brainstorm a list of things that could happen in the story, fun wordplay, characters, or different endings the story could have. Sometimes I have to let the ideas sit around for a bit while I work on other projects. Then I sit down to write a first draft. After that (and more time passes to let things percolate in my brain), I revise. Then I revise again. And again. When I feel like the story is good enough, I share it with people. Then I revise again, based on their feedback. I send it to my agent, who always has good suggestions of how to make the story stronger. So that means more revisions. When she thinks it’s ready, the story goes out to editors, who usually have their own feedback. If an editor likes the story enough to offer to publish it, they will definitely have more ideas for revising it. So by the time a story is published, I may have revised it twenty times or more.

Q: What advice do you have for aspiring children’s book writers?

A: Writing for children is wonderful, but it is also quite difficult. Adults can be patient readers, willing to slog through less-than-perfect writing and long, tedious passages. But kids will put a book down right away if it’s not interesting to them. Getting to the heart of your story immediately and succinctly is crucial, and that takes lots of practice and revision. So write, write, write, and then revise, revise, revise!
Also, join the community of children’s writers and illustrators. I’ve found so much help when I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). There are some wonderful people there who are very willing to give advice to beginners. Take classes, attend conferences, and join a critique group. But it all depends on your willingness to write, write, write, and revise, revise, revise.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: More writing new stories, more revising stories I have written, and a poetry project I am challenging myself to write. I have several stories that are being illustrated now, so look for Monster’s Trucks and Goodnight, Alligator in the next year or so.

We asked author Lori Mortensen about her research and writing process for Away with Words and the inspiring life of Isabella Bird.

Q: What inspired you to write Away with Words? When did you first learn about Isabella Bird?

A: I discovered Isabella when I began searching online for women’s firsts—first woman doctor, first woman astronaut, etc. However, when I discovered Isabella Bird was the first female member of the Royal Geographic Society, I instantly wanted to know more. The more I learned about her, the more I wanted to tell her exciting story.

Q: Out of all the fascinating women in history why did you choose to tell Isabella Bird’s story?

A: I’m drawn to Isabella’s story because according to English society in the 1800s, her life was supposed to unfold much differently. Not only was she born with chronic health issues, but society also expected her to stay home and manage a household. Yet, in spite of the odds against her, she forged a daring new path that took her around the world.

Q: What is your research process like?

A: Research is an exploratory process—much like Isabella’s travels. I begin online and see where it takes me. Inevitably, I find a wealth of information in all sorts of places—museums, historic sites, databases of old newspapers and magazine articles, archived texts, and other books about the subject that I can reserve through my local library or buy.

Q: What about Bird’s life intrigues you the most? Was there anything shocking you learned about Bird while researching her life?

A: What intrigues me the most is her fearlessness in the face of all sorts of obstacles—injuries that included six broken ribs, a fractured ankle, and willing herself across raging rivers, frozen, windswept deserts, and up a lava-spewing volcano.

What’s shocking is how she survived it all with good humor, never once packing it in because something was too hard. Her last adventure was a 500-mile journey on a spirited black stallion across Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. She was 70 years old.

Q: At the beginning of the story we learn that Isabella suffered from mysterious illnesses, which was remedied with fresh air. What information did you find about these illnesses in your research?

A: I wish there was more information about Isabella Bird’s condition. The first Isabella Bird biographer, Anna M. Stoddart (who wrote The Life of Isabella Bird), who knew her and published her book two years after Isabella’s death, wrote, “Her tiny body was fragile, her white face, and on her lips was the constant cry, ‘I am very tired.’” Other biographers describe frequent illnesses, pain, and tiredness. When Isabella was 18 years old, she had a “fibroid tumor” near her spine removed and she suffered from back pain throughout her life. When she returned to England in an attempt to live the proper Victorian life, her depression made her ailments worse.

Q: Is there anything from your research you wish you would have included in Bird’s daring story but didn’t?

A: There were two scenes in earlier versions that I would have liked to include because Isabella’s descriptions were so exciting, but in the end, other scenes worked out better. I wrote:

Longing to see the New World as well, she sailed down to Main and discovered that even misfortune was still adventure and a raging storm at sea did not quell her thirst for discovering what lay beyond. “Wave after wave now struck the ship,” she wrote. “The wind sounded lilke heavy artillery, and the waves, as they struck the ship, like cannonballs. I heard the men outside say ‘She’s going down, she’s water-logged, she can’t hold together!’” Thrown against a beam, Isabella noted she was knocked “insensible for three hours.”

Riding a train through a blazing forest fire in Maine was equally exciting. “On, on we rushed,” she wrote. “We were enveloped in clouds of stifling smoke—crack, crash went the trees…the flames hissed like tongues of fire, and then, leaping like serpents, would rush up to the top of the largest tree.”

Of course, with 10 books about her daring explorations, I could only include a fraction of her adventures in a picture book.

Q: As an author of both fiction and nonfiction, what is the biggest difference in your writing process between the two?

A: For nonfiction, there’s the research. I turn over a multitude of stones to understand the subject. As I go along, I find an intriguing thread that shines a fascinating light on a person or subject that I’m excited to share.

I especially enjoy writing biographies because I love to find out how someone conquered a challenge, pursued their dreams, and made a difference in spite of the odds against them.

Fiction is a different sort of challenge. Fiction comes more from within. I come up with a character, a first line, a voice, then little by little, I find my way in the story. I don’t always know where I’m going, but it’s always exciting to find out where the story takes me.

Q: Throughout the story, you use an extended metaphor of Isabella being like “a wild vine stuck in a too-small pot.” What made you think of that comparison?

A: One day, after writing many versions of her story, that metaphor just sprang to mind. It was a turning point in the manuscript because it became the threat that helped the story together and described her life in a unique but understandable way.

Q: There are many important themes in the book, including travel and freedom. Why do you think travel is often associated with freedom? 

A: When you’re traveling, you’re not confined to a particular place or set of rules. For Isabella, that was everything. She was free to roam and live her life as she pleased beyond society’s limited expectations.

Q: Have you ever felt the need to travel like Bird? If you could visit any place, what would it be?

A: Interestingly, I’m not a big traveler. Although we drove our family back and forth across America in a pop-up trailer for two months one summer, I’m usually quite content with the comforts of home—family, friends, and everything where it’s supposed to be. However, I would love to go to England one day.

Q: If  you were able to speak with Isabella today, what would you want to say to her or ask her?

 A: I would take her hand and welcome her to the 21^st century. Imagine what she would say!

Q: Away with Words is the first-ever picture book biography of Isabella Bird. Why do you think there aren’t more books about her?

A: The stories of many significant women and their accomplishments have been overlooked, There are many more to uncover. I’m delighted to share Isabella’s story.

Q: Why is it important to tell stories like Bird’s?

A: Everyone has obstacles in his or her life. It is important to know that boundaries can be broken, and lives can be enlarged and changed in spite of the daunting roadblocks that may stand in our way. In Isabella’s case, she not only broke through the boundaries of English society, she conquered mountains, crossed deserts, and wrote books that opened new worlds to her readers and what showed what a woman can do.

Q: Isabella was born in 1831 and her adventures took place more than one hundred and fifty years ago. How do you feel her story is relevant today?

A: Times change, but people remain the same. We will always need stories that inspire and motivate us to reach higher and farther than we imagined we could.

Q: Do you think there are any women today that are modern-day Isabella Birds? 

A: The world is full of them. Any time a woman takes it upon herself to reimagine her life and steps into that future, she’s following in the steps of Isabella Bird.

Q: What do you want readers to take away from this book?

A: I’d like readers to look at Isabella and imagine all the daring possibilities for their own lives.

Get your copy of  Away with Words: The Daring Story of Isabella Bird at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble! 

Author Deborah Hopkinson and illustrator Don Tate answered our questions about the creation of Carter Reads the Newspaper and the importance of learning from stories like Carter G. Woodson’s.

Q: What interested you in Carter’s story and the role he played in American history?

Hopkinson: In 2007, a book I wrote (Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America) was named a Carter G. Woodson Honor Book by the National Council of the Social Studies. I had heard of Dr. Woodson before then, but I became interested in his life at that time, and began trying to learn more. My first drafts of this picture book date back to 2009, so it’s been a long time in the making.

Q: Don, what made you want to take on this project?

Tate: I love stories that offer an opportunity to highlight the lives of little-known African-American heroes. I was familiar with the name of Carter G. Woodson, but I didn’t know why. When I realized that he was known as the “Father of Black History,” the man who inspired the Black History Month observation, I knew I had to illustrate the story. I was surprised Woodson’s story hadn’t already been told.

Q: Carter Reads the Newspaper is the first-ever trade picture book biography of Carter G. Woodson. Why do you think there aren’t more children’s books about him?

Hopkinson: There have been some books about Dr. Woodson, including a 1991 book, Carter G. Woodson, The Father of Black History, by the team of Patricia and Frederick McKissack, who created so many wonderful books. But perhaps there have been few books because he wrote little about his own life. And it’s not so easy to illustrate picture books about historians and educators. But Don Tate’s luminous artwork brings Carter G. Woodson to life. And I love how the themes of newspapers and reading are woven into the story.

Q: What was your research process like? Was it difficult to find reliable sources from so long ago?

Hopkinson: I often start with an academic source and follow the breadcrumbs from there. I tell students research is much like being a detective.

I found Jacqueline Goggin’s Carter G. Woodson: A Life in Black History (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1993) an excellent launching point. One challenge in writing about Dr. Woodson’s life is that he wrote little that was autobiographical. But he did share some insights into his life, including his time with Oliver Jones, in an essay entitled “My Recollections of Veterans of the Civil War,” published in 1944 in his journal, The Negro History Bulletin, a copy of which I was able to track down.

Q: Are there any interesting parts from Carter’s story you had to leave out of the text?

Hopkinson: There is one wonderful anecdote I came across; it was relayed by the late historian and scholar, Dr. John Hope Franklin. When he was first starting out, he attended the same conference as Dr. Woodson. One day, Dr. Franklin received a telegram about a family emergency. As a courtesy, Dr. Franklin went to tell Dr. Woodson that he needed to leave early. Knowing that the young scholar had few resources, without a second thought Dr. Woodson reached into his pocket and said, and I am paraphrasing, “Do you have the fare?”

Q: What is your illustration process like, Don?

Tate: My illustration process begins with thumbnail sketches―tiny sketches that allow me to plan out the book. I create them without much visual research at first. At that point, I just want to focus on dividing up the text from spread to spread. It’s important to pace the story, from full-page spreads to single vignettes.

As I’m sketching, I wonder what things really might have looked like. Author Deborah Hopkinson begins Woodson’s story in his childhood. His family lived on a Virginia farm, about ten years following the Civil War. My question: what did the farm look like? That’s where hours of research come in. I may not find that exact farmhouse, but I look for other farms from that era in that area.

Q: How did you research for this book?

Tate: Thankfully, the author shared research materials with me that she used to write the story. But then I did my own visual research. I found pictures on the Internet by searching sites like Google and Bing. I contacted librarians at the Chicago Public Library. I found more images on The Library of Congress website. I even looked up some articles published in Woodson’s Journal of Negro History. It’s important to inform my drawings as much as possible.

In an early scene, Hopkinson writes about young Carter attending school. With a picture book, the author doesn’t include details of what that scene might have looked like. That’s where my job as a visual researcher kicks in. What would a classroom way back then have looked like? How would the teacher have dressed? Wore her hair? These are clues to the time period. At first, I drew the teacher as a young woman because, well, most of my teachers have been women. Research revealed to me, however, that Carter’s uncles ran the school he attended, and they were his teachers. I had to redraw that scene.

Q: How do you believe the illustrations further the importance of the story?

Tate: The illustrations do the work that the words cannot. With a picture book, the author must tell the story with few words. The illustrations flesh out the story; they say what the words cannot.

In addition, this is a story about a Black historical figure. It highlights Black History Month. It also introduces many other Black historical figures. The author of the book, however, is White. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. Skin color shouldn’t limit what people are allowed to write about. Deborah Hopkinson is a wonderful, award-winning writer, who I’m proud to have had an opportunity to collaborate with. But with all that Black history inside one book, I think it’s important that a Black person have an opportunity to contribute to its making. Black history has often been told through all-White lenses, contributing to misrepresentations.

As the illustrator, I’m telling my people’s history. So, it’s particularly important for me to get the visuals right, best I can. I think it’s also important for kids of color to know that they can grow up to be writers and illustrators of books, too, because―hey, one of the creators of this book looks like me!

Q: Deborah, in your Author’s Note, you quoted Carter: “The teaching of the whole truth will help us in the direction of a real democracy.” Why did you choose this quote and what does it mean to you?

Hopkinson: I think it’s an amazing quote, and just as relevant today as it was in the 1940s. I first became interested in history in fourth grade. I liked to read about girls and women in the past, and I devoured whatever biographies I could find. But there weren’t many. I also have a clear memory of reading fascinating tidbits about people in the shaded boxes of my history textbook. However, most of the book seemed to be about generals and presidents―just names and dates to memorize.

Today, we have more books to share during Black History Month and Women’s History Month (and beyond), and, hopefully, an ever-expanding number of diverse voices. It’s really exciting to see these new, amazing stories, and of course, much more needs to be done. But I hope these books will help young readers develop a more inclusive history of our country and give them a deeper understanding of the struggles to attain social justice and equality in a democracy.

Q: Don, your “Illustrator’s Note” mentions that you did not have many opportunities to learn about Black history in school. What does it mean to you to know current and future generations of students are given more opportunities to learn about these important moments in Black history?

Tate: It’s good that current generations are exposed to more Black history than when I was a kid. But more work is needed. Often, the same handful of historical figures show up time and again in books. My son learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks in school. But what about other important figures? Another book I wrote is called Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton. It’s the true story of an enslaved man who taught himself to read and later wrote poetry protesting his enslavement. While Horton’s story wasn’t in my son’s classroom history books, he can now be discovered in school libraries. Thank you, librarians!

Q: Can you tell us a little more about the figure heads on the front and back endpapers?

Tate: I’m always looking for opportunities to share even more information with my readers. Carter Reads the Newspaper speaks to the origins of Black History Month. Black history taught in schools begins with slavery. I wanted my readers to know that Black history stretches back to the beginning of time.

The challenge was finding pre-slavery figures to feature―and quickly, because I was working against an approaching deadline! African societies preserved histories through art, written and oral forms. There were rich kingdoms with powerful kings and queens. Societies with their own languages, cultures, politics, religions. But European countries colonized Africa, robbing its people of their natural resources, land, and heritage. A lot of their histories were lost forever. It doesn’t mean those histories don’t exist—they do! You just have to dig.

I opened the endpapers with figures like Taharqua, an Egyptian pharaoh, last ruler of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. I also featured Queen Amina of Zaria, who was a fierce warrior queen, the first woman to become the Sarauniya (queen) in a male-dominated society. I closed the endpapers with two of my favorite living historical figures: Michelle and Barack Obama.

My hope is that readers will be inspired by these historical figures and do more research on their own.

Q: What about Carter’s story stuck with you the most?

Tate: The scene where young Carter reads the newspaper to a group of coal miners was a powerful moment. Most of these men, I imagine, were illiterate. They learned about life outside the mines through Carter. The message of literacy, and how reading can change lives, is a common theme in both Carter Reads the Newspaper and Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton. The theme of educating oneself also spoke to me.

Q: Why do you believe it is important for young readers of all backgrounds to learn about Carter’s story?

Hopkinson: Carter G. Woodson addressed this himself, I think.

In an article in the Negro History Bulletin entitled “How to Make Negro History Week Count,” Carter wrote about the importance of school and public libraries and he foreshadowed today’s calls for more books by and about people of color: “Ask repeatedly for such books. Show that there is a demand for them.”

He added, “Why should any children be given the opportunity to learn only the half truth…?” He argued that half-truths only perpetuated bias.

Q: At one point in the story, you mention that Carter’s father believed in being an informed citizen which is why he encouraged Carter to read to him. Do you think it is important for young readers today to be informed citizens?

Hopkinson: Yes, absolutely. When I wrote drafts of this book some years ago, I couldn’t imagine the extent to which journalists would be under attack as they are now. But the skills Dr. Woodson learned as a reader and a historian are those historical-thinking principles I try to emphasize when I visit schools: sourcing, contextualizing, corroboration, and close reading. These are the skills that citizens of the 21^st century need in order to grapple with serious and complex issues, most especially climate change.

Q: How is Carter’s story relevant in today’s society?

Hopkinson: Carter was surrounded by curious, determined, and hard-working role models. I think it’s clear that he lived by those values of hard work and perseverance, and that all of us benefit today because of it. I hope Carter’s story highlights the value of life-long learning by reading, studying, and taking the time to become informed about issues.

Q: What else do you hope young readers take away from this book?

Hopkinson: I hope the story of Dr. Woodson’s life makes them curious about their own families, and encourages them to ask people they know about their own lives. I also hope readers come away with a sense that the past is peopled by extraordinary individuals we might not necessarily know about. I love how Don Tate’s endpapers featuring figures in Black history help to illustrate that.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the art within the story, and from the book as a whole?

Tate: Simple: Knowing your history is knowing yourself.

Find Carter Reads the Newspaper on Amazon or at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble! For more resources, check out the teacher’s guide and download the poster or endpapers!

We asked author Jim Helmore about his own experiences and what inspired this gentle and reassuring story of making friends.

Q: What inspired you write The Snow Lion?

A: I was explaining the idea of camouflage to my three-year-old daughter when she suggested that if a polar bear stood against our white kitchen wall, we wouldn’t see it. The initial idea came from this conversation, and unlike other stories I’ve written, it really didn’t change a lot from the very first draft (apart from the polar bear becoming a white lion).

Q: What made you decide to make Caro’s imaginary friend a lion?

A: The original story idea featured a polar bear, but my editor had seen some lion illustrations that she loved by the illustrator Richard Jones. It was her suggestion to change the character to a white lion, which worked perfectly, being that much rarer and strange. The animal had to be large and worldly wise, to contrast with Caro.

Q: The illustrations play a big part in the book, but so do your descriptions of the white walls and their eventual infusion with color. How did you feel when you first saw Richard Jones’s interpretation? 

A: Richard’s illustrations are incredibly beautiful and slightly ethereal, which suit the story perfectly. I did have an idea of what the lion might look like, from the original drawing that our editor suggested, but the rest were completely new to me. When I first saw them, they completely blew me away! I love his use of color and texture; it gives the book an almost dreamlike feel.

Q: How did you get into writing?

A: I’ve always loved writing. As a small child I liked to make up stories and create my own books. I’ve still got some of them, rusty staples and all. My favorite was about Santa defeating a bunch of evil elves. I drew my own illustrations back then, but I don’t think Richard has anything to worry about!

Q: What is your writing process like?

A: It differs with each book. The Snow Lion was comparatively easy to write as the idea arrived almost fully formed. Other stories take many, many re-writes and by the end I’m really not sure about them, but sometimes when I look back, months or even years later, these prove to be the stories I’m most happy with. I don’t have a specific writing routine, I just write when I can, when it’s quiet.

Q: What does home mean to you? 

A: Safety, warmth, comfort. Somewhere still. When I visit places full of books, it feels like home because I lived in a house full of books as a child. I also grew up by the sea and this reminds me of home too. Living in London, I miss the sea and compensate by filing our house with as many books as possible!

Q: Were you shy as a child? If so, how did the experience inform your story? 

A: I was quite shy as a child, especially in new situations or with new people and I think my daughter feels the same. So this story is for her and anyone who might find it harder to make new friendships.

Q: Have you ever found friendship in an unexpected place?

A: Friendships can grow up almost anywhere. As a child you are expected to make friends with other children your own age, but perhaps the most unexpected friendships happen between people of different ages. I’ve learnt and laughed a lot with people twice as old as me. And as an adult, I think that children make amazing friends. They are a constant source of joy and surprise, with their boundless energy and inventiveness. I’d love to be able to live “in the moment” as much as they do.

Q: Did you have an imaginary friend?

A: I didn’t have an imaginary friend, but I did enjoy giving all my animal toys personalities of their own. They were a loyal, happy bunch!

Q: How would you encourage children to break out of their shells and explore beyond what feels safe? 

A: Carefully. I don’t believe you should force people to do something they feel uncomfortable with. Perhaps it’s more about making a child feel as confident in themselves as possible, so that they then feel able to explore outside their comfort zones. I hope that by reading The Snow Lion and seeing Caro grow in confidence as she makes new friends, this might help too.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from The Snow Lion?

A: First and foremost, I’d like people to take some hope from this book. We’ve all experienced loneliness and uncertainty at some point in our lives and The Snow Lion is really all about hope and the reassurance that things will get better.

To see illustrator Richard Jones’s sketches of The Snow Lion, go to his website. Find The Snow Lion on Amazon or at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble!

Q: When did your passion for nature start? Did you spend a lot of time exploring the outdoors as a child?

A: Yes. My parents owned 10 acres of land on one side of the street, and there was a national forest on the other side. We had a meadow and a stream and all the woods a child could ever want. My brother and I spent most of our childhood playing outdoors. It’s probably no surprise that I became a science writer, and he became a wetlands specialist and environmental consultant.

Q: You’ve written more than 190 nonfiction books about science for children. How do you continue coming up with fresh, original ideas?

A: Ideas are everywhere. Every time I see or hear or read something new, I ask questions, and new book ideas emerge. The trick is figuring out which ones have the most potential and then keeping track of them.

I have an idea board in my office. When it’s time to start a new book, I look at all the scraps of paper with ideas scrawled on them and pick the one that excites me the most.

Q: What inspired Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers?

A: I’ve been fascinated by animal superlatives for as long as I can remember. After all, who doesn’t admire the world’s biggest, fastest, strongest creatures? But in early 2013, I began thinking about anti-superlatives—the smallest, slowest, weakest animals. Maybe I could write a book about them.

One morning, I woke up with the beginning of the book in my head and ran to my notebook. Later, as I typed the text into a computer file, I realized that this wasn’t going to be just an anti-superlative book. It was going to be an anti-bullying book too. And to write it, I’d have to revisit some painful parts of my childhood. This was going to be a book only I could write, but it would come at a price, and that scared me. So I shut the file.

Six months later, I convinced myself to just add some research notes to the file. I wasn’t writing. I was just assembling information. Eventually, I could see that all the pieces were falling into place, and I finally felt brave enough to write the ending. I was committed.

After finishing the middle of the book, I shared “Smallest, Slowest, Weakest” with my writing group. They pointed out plenty of problems, but author-illustrator Steve Anderson saw my vision clearly and gave me an incredible gift—the title Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers.

In December 2014, I did a week of school visits in Summit, NJ. Each day after school, I dug into the manuscript. All that time with no distractions really paid off. By the time I went home, the manuscript was ready for submission.

Q: Do you have a favorite animal underdog?

A: I was a clumsy, uncoordinated, unathletic kid, so the western fence lizard is kind of my hero. See how its “weakness” helps it catch prey? Let’s face it. Eating is pretty important if you want to stay alive, and this lizard has come up with a completely unique way to get the job done.

Q: How did you approach research for this book?

A: It’s not hard to identify animals that are small or slow or lazy (sleep a lot), but it’s much trickier to pinpoint animals that are shy or clumsy or odd looking. To find all the examples I needed, I did a TON of general reading about animal behavior with the underdog lens in mind. Over time, the perfect candidates slowly merged.

Q: What does your writing process look like?

A: It’s different for every book. Since I knew the hook of this book (anti-superlatives/animal underdogs) very early in the process, and the beginning and voice came to me in a flash, the biggest challenges were flow, rhythm, and pacing, which are all interrelated.

First, I needed to answer a few key questions:

• How many animals should I include in the book?
• Which underdog traits warranted multiple animal examples and which needed only one?
• In what order should the animals/traits be presented? What was the underlying logic of the flow?

Initially, I made decisions based on these questions on my own. But with the expert guidance of my editor, Vicky Holifield, and I thought about them more deeply as we refined the manuscript.

Since we wanted to keep the fabulous title Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers, we decided that the first half of the book would focus on ways animals use their perceived weaknesses to avoid enemies. The second half would highlight animals that use their underdog traits to get food and/or survive in their habitat. I created a chart to help me stay on track. Once this big-picture revision was done, I focused on close revision—looking at every single word in an effort to be as precise as possible while maintaining the playful voice.

My favorite piece of art is the back cover. I don’t think there has ever been a picture book with an animal group portrait that showed the fronts of the animal’s bodies on the front cover and the backs of their bodies on the back cover. It’s ingenious. I also love that the naked mole rats are collecting the lines in the bar code, as if they’re sticks to eat. That’s hilarious!

Q: This book has a subtle but important message of understanding and celebrating differences. Was this message something that drove your creative process from the start, or did the message develop over time while writing the book?

A: It was there from the start. In a recent article, children’s book author Laura Purdie Salas says: “…there’s a common, crushing misconception that fiction is creative writing drawn from the depths of a writer’s soul, while nonfiction is simply a recitation of facts that any basic robot could spit out. The reality is very different. I think my personality, my beliefs, and my experiences are deeply embedded in the books I end up writing.”

I couldn’t agree more! Even though the information in Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers is presented in a fun way, the book’s central nugget, its creative core is serious. I was severely bullied as a child, and this book is my way of offering hope to children who might be facing something similar right now.

Everyday across America, children get picked on for being small or slow or shy or overweight or clumsy, but sometimes these perceived flaws turn out to be a core part of what makes them successful adults. Using examples from the animal world, I encourage children to flip their thinking, and to be kind to one another.

Q: You are a big supporter of children reading various forms of nonfiction writing. Why is it important for young readers to be exposed to a wide variety of nonfiction?

A: Most people who choose to be children’s librarians and literacy educators value and connect strongly with stories and storytelling. And it’s natural for them to assume that all young readers feel the same way. But a growing body of research shows that about 42 percent of elementary students prefer expository nonfiction over fiction and narrative nonfiction. An additional 33 percent enjoy narrative and expository texts equally. If we want students to thrive as readers, we need to give them access to the kinds of books they’re most likely to fall in love with. That’s why every classroom and school library should include a rich, diverse selection of narrative and expository books.

Q: In an article for School Library Journal, you map out five different categories of nonfiction. Which category would Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers fall into?

It’s expository literature. The book highlights a narrowly-focused STEM concept (how body features and behaviors help an animal survive) and has an expository writing style. It’s a list book with a compare and contrast text structure; a lively, lighthearted voice that frequently incorporates direct address; and rich language, such as vivid verbs, playful nouns, alliteration, metaphors, internal rhyme, and onomatopoeia.

Q: What are some ways educators can use your book in the classroom?

A: I’ve created a meaty Teacher’s Guide as well as a Readers Theater to accompany Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers. The Teacher’s Guide includes an animal survival activity that supports the Next Generation Science Standards and language arts activities that focus on text features, point of view in nonfiction writing, and how authors and illustrators interact to create nonfiction art that is beautiful and accurate.

Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers will be at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble September 1! Check out the book trailer,  Teacher’s Guide, Readers Theater, and Meet the Animal Underdogs: Vital Stats and Map resources.