Blog - Caroline Starr Rose

Hurrah for the Klondike! 125 Years Ago…

…word of the Klondike Gold Rush — a discovery made a year before in a remote part of Canada’s Yukon Territory — reached the rest of the world. Thousands of people from every corner of the globe raced to the Klondike, eager get rich quick.

Today my Klondike adventure Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine releases in paperback. Newbery-Award winning author Karen Cushman calls it “a rip-roaring tale and a romping good read.”

Kirkus says “Jasper narrates in the present tense, his homespun voice evoking both emotion and adventure. Villains and allies provide colorful melodrama, but it’s the brothers’ struggle to survive the Yukon wilderness with its harsh beauty and unforgiving cold that will keep readers entranced.”

The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books describes it as a “mash-up of clue-driven mystery, historical fiction, and survival story.”

Barnes and Noble Kids’ Blog says “Jasper’s emotions become the reader’s emotions and we are drawn along with him through hope, despair, desperation, and perseverance, to a climactic end that strikes all the right chords.”

And Sarah Mackenzie of the Read Aloud Revival says “This is Caroline Starr Rose at her best yet. I loved this book. Perfect for ages 8-12 but I enjoyed it every bit as much as a kid would.“

Want to read it with your students or book club? Here’s a discussion and activity guide.
Want a behind-the-scenes glimpse into writing the book? Here’s the Notebook Series post on Jasper.
Want to feel extra academic? Here are two posts exploring Jasper and Huckleberry Finn.
Remember how Forrest Fenn’s treasure hunt partially inspired the book? Have you heard the latest? The treasure was hidden in Yellowstone!

Want to order your own copy? (You know you do!) Click through. Order before July 26 and you’re eligible for some fun giveaways. Learn more here. ** Note: This only applies to readers ordering copies for themselves and not requesting their library purchase a copy (though that is greatly appreciated).**

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It’s almost July, which means it’s almost time for my annual blogging break. This year my virtual break is a time of physical rest, too. My husband Dan has a nine-week sabbatical from his role as a pastor, and the whole family is benefitting. We’ve just returned from the Pacific Northwest. Next up: Alaska (where I’ll be sure to wave to the Johnson boys). You’ll hear from me Tuesday July 26, the day Miraculous releases. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful summer full of rest, adventure, and good reading.

Straight from the Source: Alice Faye Duncan on Writing Historical Fiction and Non-Fiction

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Alice Faye Duncan is a National Board Educator who writes books for children. Memory is her motivation. She writes to help students remember forgotten moments from American History. Her newest titles include Memphis, Martin and the Mountaintop, Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free and Evicted—The Struggle for the Right to Vote, which is a Junior Library Guild selection for 2022. Alice Faye has worked in the Memphis Schools for 29 years. Her September release is Yellow Dog Blues, a blues fable about love, loss, and good times in the Mississippi Delta.

What typically comes first for you: a character? An era? A story idea? How do you proceed from there?

The discovery of an event or a historical person arrives first. Most times this happens while visiting a museum or reading a newspaper, magazine, or book. For example, I met the Memphis photographer, Ernest Withers, in 2006. We were attending the same funeral. Afterwards, he invited me to his Beale Street studio to view his work and discuss my research on the Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968. At the end of my visit, Withers gave me a book of his Civil Rights photographs. Within the pages, I found pictures of Black Tennessee famers in a field with their sad-faced children. These photographs inspired my recent book, Evicted!: The Struggle for the Right to Vote.

How do you conduct your research?

When writing about the past, I do my best to arrange interviews with people involved in the history. Or I search for personal contacts who know the historical figure that is the focus of my research. My recent book, Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free is about the Texas grandmother who walked across the nation to encourage Congress to make Juneteenth a National Holiday. I had the good fortune to call and interview Opal Lee. With insight from this interview, I believe my book captures Opal Lee’s spirit of courage, determination, and joy.

Do you have a specific system for collecting data?

I believe my non-fiction and my historical fiction contain emotion and heart because I take time to find people, who can speak on the historical event as a primary source. What has served me best to this end, is the online “White Pages” phone book. Once I was researching and writing a book about Leonytyne Price. I found her brother’s number in the White Pages. He was very kind and allowed me to interview him. Nothing came of that book, but I made contact.

What kinds of sources do you use? The more specifics here, the better!

I use the online White Pages to locate contacts for interviews. I use ancestry.com to track the family history of my subjects. I use newspapers.com to locate article-clippings that interpret my subjects during the time in which they lived. Instead of library resources, I purchase a trove of books to support my research because I mark-up books and dog-ear them beyond recognition.

How long do you typically research before beginning to draft?

Books are like people. They each have their own personality and develop at their own pace. While my books range from 40 to 60 pages, some of them take ten years to write, like EVICTED, and some take ten months to write, like OPAL LEE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE. Unless there is some prescribed deadline for me, the time required for writing a book is set in the stars. The essential thing is to KEEP WRITING. Don’t quit. The world needs your words. Write ON.

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Planning on preordering Jasper (releasing in paperback 6/28) or Miraculous (releasing in hardback 7/26)? Or maybe you’ve already preordered? If so, you’re eligible for some fun giveaways. Click through to learn more.

On Writing

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For a writer, an artist, making a choice gives you something to work with. You make a choice, get the words on the page, see if it feels right. If it doesn’t, you edit it or go back and make a different decision. The hardest thing is getting past the fear of making a choice at all.
— Cheryl B. Klein

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Classroom Connections: Karthik Delivers by Sheela Chari

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age range: 10 – 14 years
genre / topics: historical fiction; immigrant families, Great Recession
Sheela Chari’s website

★ Karthik is a compassionate and deeply funny narrator, and his journey of self-discovery while balancing familial obligation and chasing his dreams endears and inspires.
―Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

★ A memorable, contemporary story about growing up and learning about yourself. Karthik grapples with timeless teen issues–fitting in, bullying, parental pressures–as well as more modern problems that might parallel issues kids are dealing with today.
―Shelf-Awareness, Starred Review

Chari delivers an authentic examination of the complexities of immigrant family life during the Great Recession, taking a realistic but compassionate look at parents vicariously chasing the American dream through their children. . .This is an encouraging endorsement of reciprocal support that celebrates the possibility (and necessity) of allowing our goals to change.
―The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

The author successfully avoids tired tropes about unsupportive immigrant parents by telling a multigenerational story that, most notably, examines how Karthik’s parents grapple with their own dreaming. A refreshingly nuanced novel about what it means to chase your dreams.
―Kirkus Reviews

Chari’s prose has a very conversational tone, which adds to the book’s authenticity and ease of reading. . .A wonderful realistic fiction title about a young Indian boy following his heart.
―School Library Journal

This is a really fun interview to share. Sheela and I met years ago as part of a debut author group. Now I get to host her on my blog — what a treat! Sheela, please tell us about Karthik Delivers.

Karthik Delivers is an upper middle grade novel about about fourteen-year old Karthik Raghavan, who is stuck one summer delivering groceries for his father’s ailing store, when he gets the unexpected chance to star as the lead in a play about a famous musician. The story is set in a suburb of Boston in 2009, during the height of the Financial Crisis.

What inspired you to write this story?

I wanted to write about the joy and uncertainty of being young, creative, or both. Karthik isn’t sure if he wants to be an actor, but by the end of the novel, he opens up his life to this possibility. This is not unlike the same journey I made towards becoming a writer. I also grew up playing classical violin and songs from the musical, West Side Story, so I internalized much of that music written by Leonard Bernstein. I love the story of how Bernstein became a musician, when his Aunt Clara sent his family her piano when he was a young boy and that jump-started his career in music. I like to think that when we get these gifts in life, it’s a message from the universe telling us that it’s okay to dream.

Could you share with readers what you learned while researching for your book?

For this book, I learned about Bernstein’s early life in the Boston area, including the story of the piano that was received from his Aunt Clara. That would become the subject of the play that Karthik stars in, about young Lenny and his first piano. Like Karthik does in the book, I watched videos of Bernstein playing at the piano with his characteristic flourish, and his hand traveling up in the air after hitting an exuberant note.

I also learned about acting and discovered An Actor’s Tricks, a book by Yoshi Oida, a Japanese actor and stage director. Oida’s book not only gave me insight into the relationship between the actor and the audience, but the idea of using props to show what a character is thinking or feeling. This reminded me of my own writing, and using objects the same way to show relationships between people. For example, the mangos that Karthik delivers to Mrs. Rodrigues, ones of the customers, is not just about the fruit, but the quality of time and attention he pays as he gets to know her.

What are some special challenges associated with paralleling your book with an unfamiliar time or setting?

When I first started writing this story, the year was 2009, the same year the book is set. However, it took me about 12 years to write and sell the work, so the book turned into historical fiction by default! I could have chosen to update the year, however, I decided against it because 2009 turned out to be an important moment in our history. The Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 was a time of great economic uncertainty as families lost jobs, homes, and financial security. As we now experience a different kind of uncertainty during Covid, I thought the Financial Crisis could be another way of understanding what it’s like to figure out what you love to do under crisis. This could be a career in music, acting, or any of the creative arts. But it could also mean becoming a doctor one day or owning a grocery store.

What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?

I think that middle school is a special, transformative time in young peoples’ lives, right before high school, when they are just starting to think about their future and own agency. In immigrant households like the ones Karthik and I grew up in, we have expectations on us to work hard and excel, but we need to balance that with our own aspirations and learning to think for ourselves. This starts with trying new things — acting in a play, joining the robotics club, or learning to knit. It’s so important to engage with the world. (I think that can be true for adults, too!)

The book also deals with the idea of accepting who you are and embracing the many communities that form you. The other part of this story is Karthik’s crush on Juhi. Juhi is Indian-American like him, and he’s liked her ever since kindergarten. Does Juhi like him back? It’s hard to say. She’s conflicted about her feelings, plus she has her sights set on another boy named Jacob, who has been bullying Karthik and making fun of his name. Every time he does, Karthik remains silent. Why doesn’t Karthik stand up to this bully? It could be that a lot of prejudices that Karthik deals with are coming from inside his own community, along the lines of thinking Indian boys are uncool and nerdy. It’s these same stereotypes that Juhi harbors, too.

Through conversations between Karthik and his sister, and with Juhi, I hope to dismantle these stereotypes by naming them and reframing the way my characters think. These conversations are sometimes painful, but also funny, because I think humor is a great way to bridge painful truths. For me, it was important for Karthik to use empathy and jokes to eventually stand up for himself. It was also important to show Juhi learning to appreciate Karthik for who he is.

I hope classrooms can discuss how expectations from both families and peers can be barriers to success, unless we reframe the way we see ourselves as a part of several, intersecting communities.

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Quick Lit: What I’ve Been Reading Lately

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A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

I loved fantasy as a kid, but rarely read it as an adult. It’s usually not something I hear about and think, “Gotta get my hands on that!” There are exceptions, though. I loved Rae Carson’s YA Girl of Fire and Thorns series. You might remember me gushing about this book. So! I thought I’d give A River Enchanted a try. I’m glad I did!

Jack Tamerlaine, of the isle of Cadence, has been summoned home after ten years away. Young girls have gone missing on the island’s eastern side, and the hope is Jack, who has trained as a bard, will be able to learn where they’ve gone if he plays for the spirits of the earth and the water and wind. For hundreds of years, Cadence has been divided: the Tamerlaines on the east, the Breccans on the west, and distrust (and secrets) run deep. There’s more I could say, but I’ll leave it there. It took me a bit to get involved (not for lack of good storytelling or lush language — it’s got both of those. Probably because my fantasy mind is a bit rusty.) True to form, the ending is magnificent. I’m looking forward to the second book!

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

This middle grade novel opens with this dedication: For any child who needs this story: you are never alone. A heads up: it’s about sexual abuse and is handled in a way that is accessible and manageable for young readers. I finished this book days ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it. What Kimberly Brubaker Bradley has written is real, raw, compassionate, and needed. This isn’t an easy read, but it’s a book that’s hard to put down.

Ten-year-old Della and sixteen-year-old Suki have just entered foster care. For years, they’ve fallen through the cracks after their mother was sent to prison and they were left with her boyfriend who didn’t have custody of them. Foster care is a safe place for them, and it’s where they start to have some normalcy and begin to face the years they spent with their mother’s boyfriend. Suki is fiercely protective of her little sister. When she starts to pull away, Della is confused why her sister isn’t there for her. This is a story of sisterly love, of children having to be adults before they’re ready, of adults who do horrible things and others who are kind and supportive (and ones who have the potential to grow into the kind and supportive adults children need). This is a book I hope every school has available, as unfortunately, statistically speaking, sexual abuse touches lives in every classroom.

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

A few weeks back my neighbor asked if I’d read Ann Patchett’s latest book. I thought she meant The Dutch House (which I loved), but it was this book of essays she was talking about. My neighbor (hi, Theresa, if you’re reading), let me borrow her copy, which was my nighttime reading companion for a few weeks. It really did feel like a companion. I loved this glimpse into Ann Patchett’s life, from her family and friendships to her college days to her decision not to have children to her writing life. The book was written during the pandemic, and the longest essay is about those early COVID days where she hosted a woman she barely knew who was going through a cancer trial only available in her town. They became very close friends as a result of those weeks together. This essay anchors the book, a glimpse of those precious days. I loved this book as a writer. I loved this book as a human being. I will definitely be seeking out more of Ann Patchett’s essays.

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

On the heels of These Precious Days, I started listening to this essay collection by YA author John Green, also written during COVID. Evidently he used to review books for Booklist (who knew!), a publication of the American Library Association primarily read by librarians, teachers, and booksellers when planning their purchases. (You know, those reviews authors hold their breath waiting for in the weeks before publication.)

Want to know my cool John Green claim to fame? His The Fault in Our Stars and my May B. came out on the same day.

The Anthropocene is “the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment,” and this collection of essays is a collection of reviews of the world through the lens of this moment in time — everything from sunsets to the Internet to Diet Dr Pepper to Staphylococcus Aureus (an essay where I found another cool John Green connection — he mentions the melon found in my papou’s produce store in Peoria, IL that all modern strains of penicillin come from.) Ann Patchett’s book is personal and intimate, and John Green’s takes on the whole world. Somehow, though, it’s just as intimate as we glimpse snippets of his personal experiences. I give The Anthropocene Reviewed 4 stars.

What have you been reading?

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Miraculous! Reviews are in!

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Or coming in. It takes a while sometimes.

Kirkus Reviews, which prides itself on being the toughest in the business, had a lot of great things to say. The review is a great synopsis, too, so I thought I’d share it all with you:

The residents of Oakdale, Ohio, don’t take kindly to strangers, and when Dr. Kingsbury and his assistants roll into town in October 1887 peddling Dr. Kingsbury’s Miraculous Tonic, folks are suspicious.

Thirteen-year-old Jack has traveled with the doctor ever since the tonic brought his little sister, Lucy, back from the brink of death. His work not only helps support his family, but repays their debt to the doctor. But when 16-year-old Isaac, his fellow assistant, mysteriously runs away, Jack discovers a darker side to the doctor. While Jack is beginning to suspect the doctor isn’t who he claims to be, the townspeople witness the tonic restoring one man’s hearing and helping another walk without a crutch. Soon after, they are buying up the tonic in the hopes it will bring the rain to their drought-plagued fields. Friendships with Bear, a stray dog, and Cora, the adventurous niece of the mayor, give Jack much-needed support. Hope is offered in the parallel story of Silas Carey, whose life 50 years earlier was not unlike Jack’s in the present day. Atmospheric with decidedly ominous overtones, this historical novel offers just the right mix of good vs. evil. Main characters are presumed White; there is a Black family in town, described using the term colored. The author’s note adds historical context about 19th-century patent medicines as well as commentary on changing language norms around race.

A deliciously sinister read.

Publishers Weekly had this to say:

A small-town mystery unfolds with creeping dread in Rose’s historical thriller…a chilling adventure that serves as a cautionary tale against insular life. You can read the full review here.

In the next few weeks I should hear from Booklist, School Library Journal, Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books (BCCB), and maybe Hornbook (though seven books in, I still don’t understand how Hornbook reviews. Anyone care to enlighten me?)

Waiting for reviews to roll in can be stressful. Though most everyday readers don’t read them (or even know they exist), trade reviews help determine what books schools, libraries, and booksellers might purchase or carry. While they aren’t the end all be all, they do have a big influence on if readers will ever encounter a book. I’m happy to say so far things are looking good!

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Why We Read

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I don’t like hopeless books. Books that make you think, ‘Ah, life’s not worth living.’ I want to leave them thinking yeah, this endeavor is difficult, but it is worth it, and it is ultimately joyful.
— Madeleine L’Engle

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Writing and Reading Links

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“Having an open mind is an extremely important trait for a writer. No one writes a perfect draft on their own, and you need to be able to stay open to the way your work reads to other people. It’s extremely difficult for a writer to see what really is and isn’t on the page. You inevitably project things onto the page that aren’t there because you know what you mean. But there’s absolutely such a thing as having too open of a mind.”
How to avoid overcorrecting after receiving feedback :: Nathan Bransford

“These mergers and acquisitions are about increasing publishing profits. That’s okay. Just don’t tell me it’s good for me.”
When publishing houses get bigger :: Avi

This is an interesting look at approaching creativity. Makes me think of writer vs. author (private work vs. public work).
Exploit or Explore :: Austin Kleon

Of course it is!
L.M. Montgomery’s classic Anne of Green Gables named most translated Canadian book :: CBC

“There is no blank slate upon which works of true originality are composed, no void out of which total novelty is created. Nothing is original because everything is an influence; everything is original because no influence makes its way into our art untransmuted by our imagination. We bring to everything we make everything we have lived and loved and tessellated into the mosaic of our being. To be an artist in the largest sense is to be fully awake to the totality of life as we encounter it, porous to it and absorbent of it, moved by it and moved to translate those inner quickenings into what we make.”
Nick Cave on Creativity, the Myth of Originality, and How to Find Your Voice :: The Marginalian

“Believing, as I did, that other people are succeeding far more than we are is part of why we feel ashamed when we fail. A common response to that shame is to keep rejections to ourselves. Other people don’t know our score cards, and that encourages them to keep quiet too. It’s a type of coordination problem—no one wants to be the first to reveal their rejections lest they be seen as incapable.”
A Toast to All the Rejects :: The Atlantic

And finally, here’s a great one for graduation season. Risk and wisdom, travel and connection, poetic knowledge (–had no idea; wrote it down –) and the wisdom of Pooh.
10 Things I’d Tell My High School-Graduating Self :: Tsh Oxenreider

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Distinguishing Young Adult from Adult Literature

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I’m working on some adult fiction right now, and based on what I’m learning from my edits, it has more to do with tone than anything else. My issue is that people create this massive chasm between the two, which sometimes feels like a way to diminish the work written for young people. Because of my disdain for that, I’ve tried really hard to push against the dividing line but ultimately, I’m learning there is a difference. I’m just not sure it’s as drastic as we try to make it. With a shift in tone, Salvage the Bones might be a young adult novel. And that would make it different, certainly, but not a lesser work.
— Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author

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“I want to live with an open heart, even if that means it gets broken sometimes.” Natalie Lloyd on her newest book, HUMMINGBIRD.

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Welcome Natalie Lloyd, a New York Times bestselling author and one of the kindest people working in children’s literature. Natalie, I’m so excited to talk to you about your newest book. Could you please tell us about Hummingbird?

Hey, Caroline! Thanks so much for inviting me to be here. I love the stories you send out into the world, so I’m a little squealy about a chance to talk about Hummingbird here! (Er … write about Hummingbird. You know what I mean.)

Hummingbird is my new novel for middle grade readers and will be published by Scholastic in August of 2022. Olive Miracle Martin, age 11, is desperate to go to the local middle school and find her future BFF, but her parents are hesitant. (Olive was born with a brittle bone disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, so they’ve always been a little anxious about her attending a big public school.) When Olive finally convinces her family to let her attend, she assumes it will be the most magical experience of her life … but it’s not. (Not at first, at least.) Her first day is mostly rotten until she hears a local legend about a creature in the woods who grants wishes to those brave enough to seek it. Olive sets out to make the deepest wish of her heart come true, unprepared for the wild new magic she’s about to set free in her town –- and in herself.

You and Olive share the same genetic disorder, osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. We’ve exchanged a few emails about vulnerability and courage in writing, and what you’ve created in Olive’s character is brave and true. How did you do this? How did you dig so deep?

Initially, I didn’t dig very deep. When I first pictured Olive with OI, I even hedged a little bit. The hesitation seemed so weird at first. I’ve had brittle bones my whole life and always will (there’s no cure for the disease). There are other disabled characters in my stories. But I’d never written about my disability as a source of conflict before, and I didn’t know if I wanted to do that. To really write authentically about disability, I knew it was important to write the whole kaleidoscope of feelings I have surrounding my experience. So, at first, Olive had OI and she was also fully adjusted to her world, having big adventures and best friends and crushes and big feelings. And I tried to make OI more of an afterthought. I loved her voice. I loved her journey … but something felt off about the writing in those early days. It’s like I was missing the heartbeat of her story.

I had many long talks with my editor, Mallory Kass, who is brilliant and kind and has this magical knack for helping me turn my heart inside out when I write. She kept nudging me to push further on Olive’s experience, but I hesitated again and again. And then in 2019, I broke my leg. I slipped in dog drool and broke my femur, which is typically the strongest bone in a person’s body. But femurs were the bones I broke most often as a kid. It was a painful, frustrating time. And so many of the insecurities I had as a disabled kid, I realized, had not magically changed because I was a disabled adult. There are days disability is not that big a deal for me now –- I have a life that I love, that I’m grateful I get to live. But disability is still challenging –- for me it comes with chronic pain, inaccessible spaces, and daily challenges that can be frustrating. I told my husband, Justin, all of that. I said, “I just feel fragile all over.” And he said, “Your bones are fragile. You aren’t.” Between Justin and Mallory, I found my way to the better story –- the right story –- that included the full experience I had. That’s what Olive has, too: bones like lace. Heart like a lion. She still has a big adventure, big feelings, friendship and magic in her world. And she has a disability that’s sometimes very frustrating for her.

How did the idea of the hummingbird come to you?

I feel very lucky to have grown up Appalachian – the mix of faith and folklore in this region creates fertile ground for wild, wonderful stories. I think Appalachian people also have a deep connection to nature and seasons. Woods have always been a source of incredible peace and wonder for me – I think I’ve had a scene in the woods in every book I’ve written so far. I’d been reading folklore about various monsters and creatures and the idea of a hummingbird came to me. I’ve always loved watching them zoom and flutter. My grandmother loved them; my grandfather was afraid of them because he claims they zoomed too close to his face. (And he was onto something! Hummingbirds can remember faces!) I started reading about those birds in particular and they’re fascinating. They’re one of a billion miracles of nature. I loved the idea that a creature so fragile could fly. And that a creature so small could carry so much magic on its wings.

I love the idea that all of us are fragile in some way. Can you expand a bit on this idea and how you made it real to young readers?

Throughout the book, Olive meets lots of eccentric people in her town. (I should say that my world wasn’t as small as hers early on. I spent lots of time with my family and felt the most comfortable there, but also went to a small school and I was part of a church.) Olive is experiencing all this for the first time, that connection with people in her community at different ages and life spaces. Through that, she realizes we all have a “fragile” place: something in our lives that makes us feel very vulnerable in a painful way. For some people it’s a dream they hope for that hasn’t come true yet, or it’s the grief of loss, or it’s regret … there are so many things that make us feel fragile. I think kids become aware of this feeling early on — one thing I love about writing for them is that they have such empathetic, kind hearts and a real sensitivity toward each other and the bigger world. I think they’re always trying to make spaces where anybody with a fragile heart feels safe.

I was really struck by the scene where Olive, who is trying out for a school play, doesn’t want to feel “selfish” for wanting a ramp to the stage. Wow. Thank you for helping me see how often I take everyday able-bodied privileges for granted. I was also struck by Olive’s assessment that “A body should be the least interesting thing about a person.” At an age where young readers are becoming aware of their bodies — what they can and can’t do, how they look and “fit in” when compared to others — what do you hope they take from your book?

First, I hope kids know accessibility is never selfish. Not ever. I felt like Olive when I was younger, like I was making it hard on someone else if I needed a ramp. But the truth is that every person needs some form of accessibility. Maybe you can climb stairs, but what if a building didn’t have stairs at all? It might be hard for you (or impossible for you) to get inside. Any opportunity we take as a culture to make places more accessible, in more and more creative ways, is good for every kind of body.

As far as young readers, I hope they have fun in the book and feel like they’re part of this world. And if they connect to Olive, I hope it reminds them that they get to take up space –- deserve to take up space –- in this world in exactly the body they have. Their story matters, and so does their experience as they move through their wild and magical lives.

Much of Hummingbird is about friendship — the longing for it, the importance of it. Can you talk a bit about this and specifically the friendships Olive forms with Grace and Hatch?

I love writing friendships. I have always been lucky to have a few close friends. I’m not outgoing and have never been popular. But I think one true friend (no matter your age) can make the world feel technicolor. Olive and Grace have some fun stuff in common: they’re both artsy, love to read, and love their families. In Grace, Olive sees a confidence she loves and wants for herself. In Olive, Grace finds a friend who listens and connects and cares. Olive’s relationship with Hatch is different and changes at a slower pace. He’s her stepbrother, and initially, they have a hard time connecting. I don’t want to spoil their relationship for the reader, but through Hatch, Olive realizes not every friendship has to be instant to become special. (She also realizes snap-judgements are dangerous and silly.)

In some ways, our 2022 books, Hummingbird and Miraculous, share some striking similarities: They are both tied up in hope and faith and things our characters long to change. Why did you choose to explore these ideas for a middle grade audience?

Welp, one, I can’t wait to read Miraculous! I would love to see your answer to this question, too!

I just read the most beautiful quote by author k.a. holt – she says we’re all just kids in grown-up skin. I think that’s a lovely way to describe why middle grade feels so important to read, no matter your age. In my experience, young readers aren’t so clouded by skepticism yet. They’re open to the wonder in the world. They’re experiencing hard things, and wonderful things, and huge feelings – still figuring how it all comes together and who they are. For me, middle school is also when I first started feeling my body was “wrong” because it didn’t look like other bodies. I always thought my happiness would be complete if I could just look “normal” — but then, and now, I keep realizing normal is so subjective. My true sources of joy are loving my people and my pets and living with compassion and creativity. I want to live with an open heart, even if that means it gets broken sometimes. Young readers remind me to do that, and it’s an honor to write for them.

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