Educational Activities: Headstrong Hallie! by Aimée Bissonette

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Headstrong Hallie! The Story of Hallie Morse Daggett, the First Female “Fire Guard”
Author: Aimée Bissonette
Illustrator: David Hohn
15 March 2021
Sleeping Bear Press
40 pages

Book description from Goodreads: “Hallie Morse Daggett loved spending time outdoors, hiking among the tall trees of the forests in California’s Siskiyou Mountains. She wasn’t afraid of the bears, coyotes, and wildcats. But Hallie was afraid of fire and understood the threat it posed to the forests, wildlife, and people. And more than anything, she wanted to devote her life to protecting her beloved outdoors; she decided she would work for the US Forest Service. But in the 1880s the Forest Service didn’t hire women, thinking they couldn’t handle the physical challenges of the work or the isolation. But the Forest Service didn’t know Hallie or how determined she could be. This picture-​book biography tells the story of Hallie Morse Daggett, the first woman ‘fire guard’ hired by the US Forest Service, whose hard work and dedication led the way for other women to join the Forest Service.”

Enjoy some reviews of Headstrong Hallie!

Educational Activities inspired by Aimée Bissonette’s Headstone Hallie! The Story of Hallie Morse Daggett, the First Female “Fire Guard”:

  • Before Reading–From looking at the front and back cover: 
    • Where and when do you think this story takes place?
    • What does the term “headstrong” mean?
    • What is the woman looking at through her binoculars?
    • What do you think a fire guard does?
  • After Reading–Now that you’ve read the story: 
    • Why wasn’t city life a good fit for Hallie?
    • While Hallie was a brave person, she feared one thing–fire. Why was she so afraid?
    • How did Hallie feel when she asked to help fight fires and was told no again and again?
    • How important is the job of fire guard?
    • What do you think Hallie liked most about being the lookout up at Eddy Gulch? 
      • Is it a job you could see yourself doing?
    • What other story/​book/​film/​TV show does Headstrong Hallie! remind you of?
  • Back Matter–Since Back Matter isn’t always read with the actual story, let’s address it separately. Now that you’ve read the Back Matter: 
    • Do you think Hallie changed her mind about dogs? Why/​why not?
    • What is the most surprising part of Hallie’s life?
    • How does it make you feel to know that we don’t have very many actual facts about Hallie’s life?
  • Writing–Imagine what it was like for Hallie as a lookout at Eddy Gulch. What did Hallie think about? What animals did she see? What did she eat, do, or read? Write about one or more of those moments, and use specific details to make your writing come alive for readers. Then, consider sharing your story with a friend or adult. Feel free to discuss your creative choices.
  • Crafting–Try your hand at one or more of the following crafts. Get an art- or forest-​loving adult to help: 
  • Further Reading–Which of these other picture books about forests have you read? (Click on any book cover for more information on these titles!)

 

Author Interview: Laurie Wallmark

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This month’s author interview is with award-​winning children’s book author, Laurie Wallmark, who writes wonderful picture books and regularly presents at conferences. She also offers webinars on kidlit writing, too, like the one I attended last week from her at The Writing Barn!

Here are five more things you should know about Laurie. She:

  • has two grown daughters (both software engineers!)
  • co-​chairs the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature
  • taught computer science to students incarcerated in maximum security prisons
  • has had four separate careers–software engineer, owner of a mail-​order company selling books about adoption and infertility, computer science professor, children’s book author
  • had a bookstore on the web before Amazon did

Now that we’ve got a much clearer sense of the background basics, let’s get to the actual interview and find out more about Laurie’s secret to PB success.

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

RVC: So, we know each other through Jane Yolen’s Picture Book Boot Camp. How did you get involved with that?

LW: As soon as I saw the announcement that Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple were holding a picture book boot camp, I was immediately interested. After speaking with a friend who had attended before, I knew I had to apply.

RVC: What has Jane’s support and guidance meant to you?

LW: The kidlit author community has always been a warm and supportive community. But to have someone with as much experience in the field as Jane in my corner means the world to me. Whether it’s sharing publishing business information or giving a “you can do it” just when you need it, I know I can count on Jane.

RVC: How’d you get started in writing children’s books? Since you had a career in software engineering and computer science, I’m guessing the writing bug came later.

LW: The writing bug came significantly later. As a child, the only creative writing I did was a few poems and some songs. About 20 years ago, I had an idea for a middle-​grade novel, so I read many craft books and took writing workshops. That book didn’t sell, so I figured I wasn’t a writer. Five years later, I had another idea for a middle-​grade novel. This one did sell, but the publishing company went out of business. But by this time, I was hooked. Later, I took one more writing break when it felt like I was also so close to getting published, but never quite getting across the finishing line.

Luckily, I couldn’t stay away from writing.

RVC: Why did you choose to earn an MFA in Writing? 

LW: After that second break, I decided I needed to concentrate on improving my craft rather than think about getting published. An MFA would help me to do just that.

RVC: What are some of the specific ways the MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts helped prepare you for success as a picture book writer?

LW: My first semester at VCFA, I took a picture book intensive. Having to write so many different types of picture books in so little time forced me to figure out how to get to the heart of the story and write it.

RVC: Unlike some writers who try their hand at everything, you’re laser focused—you write picture book biographies about women in STEM areas. Why is that your calling?

LW: I write about women in STEM because I love science and math, and I want to make sure that all children realize that anyone can join the field. But, I also have a fiction picture book, Dino Pajama Party, coming out in October from Running Press Kids. What’s funny is that because of my reputation, people ask me if it’s nonfiction.

RVC: Here’s hoping the cover helps clue them in!

Now, your first book was Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (Creston Books 2015). What’s the story of how that came about?

LW: I’ve always loved math, and I wanted to share that love with kids. Since I’m a computer scientist, and Ada is a mathematician and the world’s first computer programmer, she seemed like the perfect subject for a biography.

RVC: Let’s talk about the process of writing your books. How do you get your ideas? Do you start with a subject, a person, or something else?

LW: For my women in STEM books, I keep a running list of people I might want to write about. When the time comes, I review that list and any notes I’ve already made, like the availability of source material.

For my fiction, I also keep a running list, but in this case it might be an idea, a title, a phrase, or a character. Again, periodically I review the list to see if any would make a good picture book.

RVC: How much research do you do before actually writing?

LW: I do almost all my research before I start writing. Invariably I come across discrepancies in the information, and that’s when you need to dig deeper. That’s where archive librarians are really helpful. As a simple example, in my new book, Code Breaker, Spy Hunter, the illustrator wanted to draw a picture of Elizebeth Friedman with her grandchildren. I knew she had had six, but what were their sexes and relative ages? Librarians to the rescue.

RVC: That book’s coming out this month. Congrats on that!  How’d you get hooked on her story?

LW: What’s fascinating to me about Elizebeth is that she wasn’t interested in math or science as a kid. She loved languages and majored in English. Yet she went on to be one of America’s most important cryptologists, helping to capture Nazi spies and rum runners. She also created the CIA’s first cryptology department.

RVC: She sounds positively awesome. I look forward to reading the book.

But part of the challenge with writing picture book biographies is making them interesting. What are some of the strategies you use to make that happen?

LW: I think if the author has a passion for what the subject’s field, it comes through in the writing. In my case, I love science and math, as you may have figured out by now!

RVC: Back matter. How do you know if you should use it? And if so, what and how much?

LW: You need to have, at the very least, a timeline of the person’s life and selected resources. Teachers and librarians appreciate the back matter, so it’s worthwhile for authors to include more. My back matter usually includes a more detailed explanation of the scientific or mathematical principles in the book. But in addition, I’ve included more unusual back matter such as transliterating from the Cyrillic alphabet and the subject’s various nicknames.

RVC: If someone’s already covered the person you want to write about, should authors just move on? I’m thinking about the situation with your book Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life and Jan Wahl’s Hedy & her Amazing Invention.

LW: A better example is Ada Lovelace. After my book came out, three more picture books about her also came out within a year.

I’d say if you know ahead of time, you should consider writing about another person. But if the subject is important to you, go for it. Clearly we need more than one book about any specific person.

RVC: Part of what sells books is giving a great author visit to libraries and schools. What kind of activities does the Friedman story lend itself to when you’re promoting that new book?

LW: This one’s easy, because the kids can have fun learning how to code and decode messages. Maybe I can find a Dick Tracy magic decoder ring.

RVC: I’ll take one, if you have those!

One last question for this part of the interview. Cuts happen, and good things sometimes don’t make it into the pages—it’s a fact of publishing. So, what didn’t make it into Code Breaker, Spy Hunter?

LW: Elizebeth worked on so many cases that it was hard to decide which ones to leave out. Even though I had 48 pages, which is a lot for a picture book, I could only include her most famous ones. For example, she was once called in to settle a dispute between two countries by showing a sailing vessel flying a Canadian flag was actually a US ship.

RVC: Alright, Laurie—it’s time for the LIGHTNING ROUND! Zippy questions, zappy answers, please. Are you ready?

LW: Go for it.

RVC: What’s your biggest time waster?

LW: Reading.

RVC: Favorite literary villain?

LW: Professor Moriarty.

RVC: Which of the STEM women you’ve written about would you most like to hang out with?

LW: Elizebeth Friedman. We could talk about both math (cryptology) and literature.

RVC: Five words that describe your writing process.

LW: Slow. Slow. Slow. Slow. Lightning-speed.

RVC: What’s a recent women-​in-​STEM biography that really got your attention?

LW: Teresa Robeson’s Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiun Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom.

RVC: What’s the best book compliment a kid every gave you?

LW: One of my school visit presentations is about women in computing. During a Q&A, one student said, “Ms. Wallmark, you should write a book about you.”

RVC: Thanks so much, Laurie! Best of luck with Code Breaker, Spy Hunter, too!

Picture Book Review: Bear Outside by Jane Yolen

On By Only Picture BooksIn Picture Book Reviews
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Jen Corace
Neal Porter Books
2 March 2021
32 pages

For the first time ever, the review of the story-​side of a picture book isn’t being done by Ryan G. Van Cleave (owner/​operator of Only Picture Books).

Don’t worry, though. We’ve brought in ringers to handle things at the same high level we all expect of OPB picture book reviews.

So, without further ado, here’s this month’s picture book review that features insight from Brooklyn-​based editor Octavia Saenz and Florida-​based freelance artist (& OPB superfriend) Austin McKinley.

—Octavia’s Review of the Writing—

Bears are quiet, solitary things, but sometimes, if you look closely enough, you might find profound wisdom. Like the narrator of Bear Outside, the book itself is a quietly wise thing with a simple exterior that hides a deeper truth about what we owe ourselves.

The story is simple—and, like any good picture book, is half told in the details of the art—as the narrator explains how she wears her bear on the outside, as a form of protection, as a companion, as a talisman of courage. Beyond the narrator’s simple words, we see how the bear is a shield against mocking classmates as well as a a collaborator for the narrator having fun on their own. She says, too, that the bear is hers to take care of, and in the artwork we see her taking care of herself. She engages in brave and kind acts, fighting back bees to eat honey, and giving flowers to a neighbor, all with the help of the bear.

Bear Outside, celebrated author Jane Yolen’s 400th book, is an ode to kids who march to their own bear, and a guide for the imaginative ones in touch with their needs and boundaries.

It’s wonderful.

5 out of 5 pencils

—Austin’s Review of the Illustrations—

The central conceit of Bear Outside—that of a child imagining wearing their inner spirit as a kind of protective and companionable aura—is delightfully rich visual territory which the book’s artist, Jen Corace, explores with palpable joy. The sumptuous textural watercolor world she creates, which ranges from soft pastels to vibrant jewel-​toned hues (the red leaves on that giant, two-​page tree spread are chef’s kiss material!) is punctuated by Bear, the only cartoon element in each illustration described with a calligraphic line. As the book jacket explains, it was this conceptual image Corace created—of a girl surrounded by a bear—that formed the impetus for the book proper.

Corace has so much fun depicting Bear reading a book in a blanket fort (more great textures!) riding a bicycle, and jumping on a trampoline, that one can’t help but grin in appreciation. Her character and stage design have that quality of all the best children’s book illustrations: they are warm, inviting, approachable, and deceptively simple. Almost as if a child had done them, but a child with a master’s hand. It reminds us of the way we felt as children, and it makes it look easy.

Little touches–like the girl and Bear riding on the front of the shopping cart, clambering into a tree fort, flailing in water wings, or going to sleep with a night light–are all rendered in flattened perspectives. Overlapping watercolor elements and simplified backgrounds bring the childhood of our mind’s eye into a soft, sensitive focus.

A stroll through the artist’s website reveals there are many things about the imagery for this book that are motifs throughout her work. The little girl with the black bob haircut, the semi-​translucent textures, and the fanciful combinations of people and animals all make regular appearances. Corace’s work here is moodier than her children’s illustration, more akin to what might appear on an indie record’s album art.

What makes Bear Outside unique is not just the more whimsical palette–it’s how charmingly relatable the scenes are, and the humor that arises when the core personality of the narrator and the alter ego of Bear seem to vie for dominance. It makes you want to have such a bear in your life, and the beauty of the book’s message is that you can!

It’s a powerful, inspiring piece of children’s literature, simple to understand, but taking a complex topic like healthy self-​confidence, and making it impossible to forget.

5 out of 5 crayons

Octavia Saenz is an editor and cartoonist based in Brooklyn, NY who creates visual narratives about queer, Puerto Rican diaspora. Octavia grew up in Puerto Rico and has a BFA in Creative Writing and Illustration from Ringling College of Art and Design, as well as a Lambda Fellowship.

Find her on Twitter and Instagram: @shrimpwonder.

Austin McKinley makes comic books, cartoons, movies, video games, screenplays, novels and novellas through his company, Flying Car. He shot and appeared in the award-​winning feature documentary The New 8‑Bit Heroes alongside director Joe Granato. His comic illustrations have also been published by Image Shadowline, Devil’s Due/​1st Comics, Alias/​Blue Water Press, Avatar, Boom!, Blue King Studios, and FC9. He wrote and illustrated Squareasota, a weekly cartoon in the Sarasota Herald-​Tribune for seven years.
Most recently, he illustrated Tales of Mr. Rhee vol. 5: Rockstar Paranoia, a graphic novel for Source Point Press slated for spring 2021.

Agent Interview: Stephen Barr (Writers House)

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This month, we welcome Stephen Barr to the OPB friends and family club. He’s an agent at Writers House, which is one of the largest literary agencies in the industry.

Fun fact: it’s an actual house—see for yourself!

Back to Stephen…he graduated from UCLA with a degree in English, then flew to NYC with the goal of riding the carousel in Central Park…and maybe becoming an editor. If you bribe him with a Frappuccino, he’ll confess he didn’t even know literary agents existed, but after coming up short in his hunt for one of a slew of editorial assistant jobs, he chased internships, and those were all at literary agencies. So, he landed an agent’s assistant gig at Writers house, and the rest is literary history.

But that’s not enough Stephenness. We need more! So, here are seven fun Stephen-​centric bio-facts.

  1. He had a New York Times article written about him in 2011 where he confessed to being “freakishly, dangerously ambitious.”
  2. His clients include David Macaulay (Caldecott Medalist and MacArthur Fellow), Emily Hughes, and Christopher Silas Neal
  3. He loves silly and/​or sweet and/​or heartbreaking picture books
  4. His Twitter bio awesomely claims “customer at Pancake House”
  5. He’s 110% pro-lightsaber
  6. He wrote and recorded a song to score a book trailer for the very first book he found in the slush pile
  7. He met his future wife in the spiral staircase at Writers House, five years before their first date

For those of you who want to check out Stephen social-​media-​wise, here are some URLs. Everyone else? Let’s get to that interview!

RVC: You joined Writers House in 2008. What’s the story of how you got there? Where did you develop the itch for agenting?

SB: Had I known that literary agents existed, I suspect I would’ve been pretty laser focused on becoming one! But editors are more visible cultural figures, I’d argue, in a way that literary agents are not, so the former was all I knew while growing up as a bookworm.

After graduating from college in Southern California, moving to New York with crossed fingers and whiffing a handful of interviews for editorial assistant positions, I started interning at Writers House and saw how much room for variety and self-​starting there is in agenting.

Cue the itch!

RVC: Please share your literary-​world résumé gimmick. 

SB: Alas, there were quite a few, some more embarrassing than others, but I landed an interview at Bantam Books by rubber-​banding my resume around a Batman action figure, which I’d spent a few hours adapting from “Submarine Adventure Batman” into “Editorial Assistant Bantam,” who looked stupendously nerdy (and for some reason had a trident).

RVC: Sounds totally reasonable to me, but then again I still try hard to convince people that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

Now, since we’re being honest, one of the reasons you’ve been on my radar is your uncommonly high SPF—Smarty-Pants Factor. My evidence? There’s a lot to choose from, such as your one and only post on MS Wishlist which says “send me your epistolary novel and our correspondence can be a plot point in your larger epistolary novel. #manuscriptofmydreams.” How vital is it that clients—current or future—share your same level of hah-hahness?

SB: As long as they can successfully ignore the majority of my dad jokes, we should be fine : )

RVC: What’s your secret vice when it comes to a picture book manuscript?

SB: Double-​meanings!

RVC: What are the top three reasons you reject a picture book submission? 

SB: 1) no surprises 2) no heart, 3), no double-meanings!

RVC: Since you’ve brought it up twice…please offer up an example of double meanings in a picture book so I’m sure we’re on the same page.

SB: Well, I feel like there are a whole bunch of different ways to peel that banana, but Sydney Smith’s Small in the City does an inhumanly amazing job of getting twice the impact out of single lines.

RVC: Fantastic–thanks! Now, how do you describe your agenting style?

SB: Joyful, creative, collaborative, never settling, always dreaming.

RVC: At one point, you admitted in an interview that you love being an agent “cartoonishly much.” Why?

SB: Let me count the ways, etc. But certainly because it’s given me a golden opportunity to help good people make their dreams come true (and when those dreams come true, the world has more art in it!)

RVC: What’s a favorite author success story?

SB: It’s impossible to pick just one, so here are ninety! Or okay, I’ll at least start with Bethany Barton, who’s practically a walking picture book herself (in terms of her energy, her expressiveness, her casual profundity, etc.) but needed a nudge to carve out time from the rest of her busy artistic life to devote to picture books. Her first two books (This Monster Needs a Haircut and This Monster Cannot Wait!) were supremely delightful but never quite took off…so we were talking about who knows what one afternoon when she mentioned these terrifying spiders that had taken up residence in her studio and how, even though she desperately wanted to squash them, she was “trying to love spiders.”

Bethany’s heart is Guinness-​world-​record-​sized, so it was an utterly Bethany thing to say, but we also immediately realized it was the title of her next book…so what felt like seventeen seconds later, she resurfaced with a perfect dummy for I’m Trying to Love Spiders, which launched a series of briskly-​selling books about facing your fears with curiosity that’s now moving on to its fifth installment, I’m Trying to Love Garbage.

RVC: One last question for this part of the interview. (Spoiler—it’s a toughie.) What type of long-​term effect do you see COVID-​19 having on the kidlit industry?

SB: I was speaking about this to a fellow at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. (a front for Dave Eggers’ 826 NYC literacy non-​profit) and the combination of 1) school districts hustling to provide their students with sufficient technology to support remote learning and 2) authors and publishers adapting so many of their events to online spaces means that more schools serving low-​income students will be able to bring those students in front of more authors, without budget issues or technology issues standing in the way!

RVC: Alright, Stephen…you are now entering…THE LAND OF THE SIX-​QUESTION SPEED ROUND! ARE YOU READY?

SB: Absolutely not, but let us proceed.

RVC: Your six questions start…NOW! Best place in NYC for an astonishingly good cupcake? 

SB: If my son eats more than one cupcake from Ladybird Bakery in Park Slope, he’s capable of generating an apocalypse.

RVC: West Wing, Mad Men, or Twin Peaks?

SB: Twin Peaks, unless it’s past midnight, in which case it would be too scary, in which case I’ll just color in my Twin Peaks coloring book.

RVC: You’re hosting a picture-​book pizza party picnic and can bring four picture book friends. Who gets the invites?

SB: Wait, is this real humans in the picture book world, or picture book characters? Either way, Elephant & Piggie and George & Martha.

RVC: What’s the One That Got Away?

SB: Cindy Derby, bless her beautifully odd heart.

RVC: Last non-​Writers House picture book that you just loved.

SB: The humongous deluxe edition of Big Picture Press’s MAPS by Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielińscy, which is perfect for just leaving open in your living room every day while a little bit of the world slips into your life.

RVC: If you had an agenting motto, it’d be…

SB: in Latin, and I wouldn’t understand it.

RVC: Thanks oodles, Stephen! This was quite the experience!

Educational Activities: Anonymouse by Vikki VanSickle

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Anonymouse
Author: Vikki VanSickle
Illustrator: Anna Pirolli
9 February 2021
Tundra Books
40 pages

I’ve always liked street art, and the work of Banksy seems to serve as an inspiration for this fine, fun tale.

Book description from Goodreads: “Animal-​friendly street art is popping up all over the city, but who is creating these masterpieces? There is no explanation, only a name: Anonymouse. For fans of Sidewalk Flowers and Art & Max.

Art for the birds.
Art for the ants.
Art for the dogs, cats, and raccoons.
Art to make them laugh, make them think, make them feel at home.
But who is creating it?
Only Anonymouse knows for sure …

This clever tale mixes street art, animals, and gorgeous illustrations to create a meditation on how art can uplift any creature’s spirit — human or animal — when it speaks directly to them. Every page of Anna Pirolli’s stunning artwork is its own masterpiece with its bold pops of colour and sly humor, elevating Vikki VanSickle’s subtle but evocative text.”

Need some reviews of Anonymouse?

Educational Activities inspired by Anonymouse:

  • Before Reading–From looking at the front and back cover: 
    • Where and when do you think this story takes place?
    • What do you think this story will be about?
    • What’s strange about the A in the title? 
    • Why do you think the artist chose the bright pink berry color to use on the cover?
    • What kind of animals do you see on the front and back cover? 
      • Are there any that surprise you?
  • After Reading–Now that you’ve read the book: 
    • Which of Anonymouse’s pieces of art did you like the most?
    • Why do you think Anonymouse kept his identity a secret?
    • How did you feel when Anonymouse seemed to vanish from the story? (“There hadn’t been anything new from Anonymouse in a long time.”)
    • Is Anonymouse gone for good? 
      • If not, why not?
    • In what ways were the animals affected by the artwork of Anonymouse?
    • What other story/​book/​film/​tv show does Anonymouse remind you of?
  • Writing–There are a number of mysteries at the heart of this story. 
    • Who IS Anonymouse?
    • Why does Anonymouse choose to remain anonymous?
    • Where does Anonymouse go when he’s not creating public art?
    • Why does he give away his art versus sell it or display it in a gallery or museum?
    • Take any one of these as inspiration, then write a brief story that explains the answer. Handle it in any way you that you choose–silly, serious, scary, weird. When you’re done, consider sharing it with a friend or adult. (Artists of all types–including Anonymouse–love to share their work with others.)
  • Art–Clearly this is a book about creating visual art. Use crayons, colored pencils, or makers to create your own artistic response to it. If an adult agrees and will supervise, perhaps let your canvas be a wall, a sidewalk, or anything like Anonymouse used in the story! Otherwise, paper or poster board is still a terrific option. Consider sharing your artwork with a friend or adult, and explain your creative choices.
  • Crafting–Try your hand at one or more of the following crafts. Get an art- or mouse-​loving adult to help: 
    • Big Paper Mouse–This one’s got a video to show you every step.
    • Easy Paper Mouse Craft–This one makes a lovely mouse–no doubt about it!
    • Even Easier Paper Mouse Craft–Perfect for Valentine’s Day or just because. All you need are paper, scissors, and glue.
    • Styrofoam Mouse Craft–Just ignore when they slip and start calling it a “handprint chicken craft.” The rest is all good and it really does make a super-​cool mouse!
    • Toilet Paper Roll Mouse–This requires printing a template, but other than that, it’s quite doable and cute.
  • Further Reading–Which of these other picture books about amazing mice have you read? (Click on any book cover for more information about these titles!)


 

Author Interview: Beth Ferry

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews

When I saw that Beth Ferry’s website had this quote from Albus Dumbledore (“Words are, in my not-​so-​humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic”), I knew she’d be a terrific choice for the February 2021 Author Interview at OPB.

Plus, she was already on my radar thanks to my trip to Book Expo America in May 2019.

Hmm…I wonder why…

In case you don’t see the fun here, the banner (above) for Beth’s book (below) was about fifty feet long. Maybe bigger.

Before we get to Beth directly, let’s do a little more backgrounding.

Beth:

  • loves every shade of purple
  • has mad love for bulldogs
  • lives within a stone’s throw of a New Jersey beach
  • only grows pumpkins in her garden
  • can never have enough lemon cookies and hot tea
  • adores Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables

And she’s the author of more than a dozen picture books including these fine titles (which I heartily endorse).

Okay, now that we’ve gotten a good sense of who Beth is and what she’s about, let’s dive into the interview.

Website: www.bethferry.com

Twitter: @bethferry1

Instagram: @bethferry1

RVC: What role did SCBWI (Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators) play in your writing journey?

BF: SCBWI was the first real resource that helped me understand how publishing works. It answered the many questions I had and showed me how much I really needed to learn. SCBWI taught me to treat my writing as a profession. Once I approached writing that way, it helped focus me.

RVC: What were some crucial mentor texts in those early years of writing?

BF: The first book that comes to mind is Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. That book made me realize the simplicity, the complexity, the brilliance, and the sublime silliness inherent in the best picture books. It was the book I remember having on my desk when I wrote Stick and Stone.

RVC: What’s the story behind Stick and Stone, your first picture book sale?

BF: I brought Stick and Stone to NJ SCBWI’s June 2011 conference. I had a one-​on-​one with an editor from Penguin who gave me some really positive feedback. He encouraged me to get an agent.

RVC: Is that how you ended up with super-​agent Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties?

BF: Like I said, I was told: “Get an agent.”

Three little words.

One BIG task.

RVC: Totally agree!

BF: I submitted Stick and Stone to Pippin in the fall of 2011 and Elena pulled it from the slush pile and sold it in December. How’s that for crazy?

RVC: I often tell my students that hard work + timing + luck is the winning combo. Clearly it was for you, too!

But back to that first book. The hardest part of writing Stick and Stone was __________.

BF: …keeping to the word count I set for myself. I gave myself the goal of writing a story in under 200 words. I began writing Stick and Stone in prose, but couldn’t keep to the word count, so I decided to try it in rhyme. Once I switched over to rhyme, it just worked.

RVC: What surprised you most about Tom Lichtenheld’s illustrations?

BF: How perfect they were. Tom sent 3 different versions of the book for us to consider. I’m sure that every author you interview will tell you that the feeling of seeing the art for your very first book for the very first time is magical, indescribable, euphoric. And it is. Tom’s illustrations brought the story to life in the most perfect way. What surprised me even more is what a great guy he is. I’m extremely lucky to get to work with someone as talented and wise as he is.

RVC: Picture books are a whole bunch of collaborations of one type or another, but perhaps the most important is the author + agent combo. Why are you and Elena such a great fit?

BF: Elena understands that I’m prolific and supports me fully, no matter how many manuscripts I send her. She often pushes me to write things I may not have considered writing, such as graphic novels and chapter books. I know she believes in me and that helps me through the ups and downs of publishing.

RVC: What’s Elena’s superpower?

BF: Persistence! She never gives up on a story that we both love, or that I feel very strongly about. If it gets rejected a number of times, we might take a break from submission, but I know she’ll never give up on it, which really translates to knowing she’ll never give up on me.

If that’s not a superpower, I don’t know what is.

RVC: When did you realize that you could do this for a living? And how did you know?

BF: That’s a great question with not a great answer. I write because I love it, because I can’t not write. I would do it even if I couldn’t make a living at it. There’s no magic moment where you believe you’ve made it or done it. There’s always just the next book. The next great idea.

RVC: You just had a new book come out in January—Marsha Is Magnetic. When I first read it, I was struck by the pace of the book. When you turn in a manuscript like this, are you marking the page breaks yourself? How conscious are you of crafting effective page turns?

BF: I never paginate any of my manuscripts and actually don’t consciously consider page turns. I know how important they are, yet I focus more on making sure the story is satisfying. That’s my favorite word to describe a successful picture book – satisfying!

RVC: It seems as if you like rhyme even though you write plenty of books that don’t use it. In those non-​rhyming books (like Marsha Is Magnetic) how much do you tinker with the text to get the sound and rhythm satisfying?

BF: I love writing in rhyme and I always try to have some type of rhyme in all my books, whether it’s internal rhyme or just a rhyming couplet thrown in there somewhere. But you’re totally right that there’s a rhythm and pace to all picture books and I work really hard to make sure that my books have this. I spend most of my time tweaking my stories until I love how they sound when I read them aloud.

RVC: And…you’ve got a new book coming out in just over a month. It’s a bedtime story entitled The Nice Dream Truck. Care to give us a little teaser?

BF: Oh, how I love everything about this book. Playing with the words ice cream was the spark for the story and anything that has to do with ice cream and words is pretty excellent in my book. And this book explores the idea that nice dreams can be served up just like ice cream. It’s a bedtime story that encourages children to choose what they want to dream about right before going to sleep. I’ll have a triple scoop of bulldog puppies, please!

RVC: Me, too! Sounds sleepily scrumptious.

How do you handle making a bedtime book engaging while not revving a kid up so much that they (ironically) can’t get to sleep?

BF: I think the moments right before we fall asleep are when our minds are open to anything. We revisit parts of our day or we think of things we’re looking forward to. The idea that children can and should dream about goals or hopes or even fantastical romps with narwhals seems like such a satisfying way to head into dreamland.

RVC: In what ways did illustrator Brigette Barrager expand your original vision for The Nice Dream Truck?

BF: Brigette’s color palette is so dreamy and perfect. It totally captured the nighttime feel I had imagined, but her use of popsicles and ice cream scoops and cones for all the dream scenarios was such a wonderful surprise. Every page is full of ice cream! It makes so much sense, but it still surprised me!

RVC: You seem like you’ve got a very full plate in terms of your writing—witness five picture books coming out in 2021, and four in 2022! Congrats on all that success. How do you balance new work and under-​contract projects? Between your writing and non-​writing life?

BF: Time is such a strange thing. They say, if you want something done, ask a busy person. Which used to be me. But my three little “busys” have grown up, so now there’s not much difference between my writing life and my non-​writing life.

RVC: One last question for this part of the interview. Clearly, you’re a Harry Potter fan. If you had JK’s blessing to do a Potter-​themed picture book, what would you do?

BF: What a fun question! I think I’d have to do an unexpected friendship story, possibly between Hedwig and another owl. I’ve always wanted to do an owl book!

RVC: As JK might say, “Aparecium Interview Part 2!” which means, of course, that it’s now time for the SPEED ROUND. Zippy questions and zappy answers. Ready? 

BF: Hit me!

RVC: Best place in Jersey for slice of pizza?

BF: Carmen’s Pizzeria in Neptune, a.k.a. Pete and Elda’s.

RVC: What’s your biggest time waster?

BF: Watching Top Chef. I don’t even like to cook.

RVC: Which of your picture book characters thinks they’re most like you?

BF: Swashby!

RVC: Which of your picture book characters is ACTUALLY most like you?

BF: The whale from A Small Blue Whale.

RVC: What are some recent picture books that really got your attention?

BF: I just read The Infamous Ratsos by Kara LaReau and loved it so much (although technically, it’s a chapter book.) I also thoroughly enjoyed the sweetness of Truman by Jean Reidy. I Really Want the Cake by Simon Philip made me laugh. And Tom Lichtenheld’s Louis, which he wrote, but did not illustrate, completely charmed me.

RVC: Best compliment a child ever gave your books?

BF: The very first time I read Stick and Stone to a group of 4‑year olds, they clapped. I was so surprised and delighted. I will never forget that day.

RVC: Thanks so much, Beth! Best of luck with your new titles this year!

BF: Thank you, Ryan, for these wonderful questions. I really enjoyed this.