I recently had the delight of reading Sarah Mackenzie’s latest picture book from Waxwing Books: Because Barbara: Barbara Cooney Paints Her World. 

I have previously enjoyed Sarah’s other picture books (discussed in this post), and this one was also such a treat to read! The text really brings Barbara to life and showcases her incredible career, and the illustrations are so summery and feel-good. I am a big fan of Barbara’s Miss Rumphius and Eleanor, as many others are, and this is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about her in a way that is just as joyous as perusing her own picture books!

Best of all? I asked Sarah if she had some fun facts to share with readers, and here’s what she says:

1. I have been long devoted to the picture books by Barbara Cooney, especially Miss Rumphius and Ox-Cart Man (my two personal favorites). But it wasn’t until I decided to find out more about the woman behind the books that I realized I had to write a book about her. Here was a busy mother of four who created her art in the midst of full, abundant, often chaotic family life. Here was a woman who read with her children, took them on picnics, lay out on the sun-warmed rocks, took on too many projects, traveled the world (always with a snake-bite kit in hand!) and longed to get the beauty she saw in the world onto the page. Here was a woman whose children remember her with such tenderness and awe.

2. Barbara was unusually scrupulous about accurate details in her illustrations. In her picture book biography called Eleanor about Eleanor Roosevelt, she made sure all the details were true to life, down to the exact lace and patterns on Eleanor’s christening gown. In Chanticleer and the Fox, every grass and flower is something that would truly have been growing during Chaucer’s time in England. In an effort to honor Barbrara’s affinity for accurate detail, the illustrator of Because Barbara, Eileen Ryan Ewen, went to Damariscotta, Maine, and sat at a kitchen table with Barbara’s son and daughter-in-law, listening to stories, paging through photo albums, and absorbing as much of Barbara’s true life, that we might get some of that particular beauty into our book.

3. One of my favorite things I found in my research is that Barbara Cooney described a picture book as “a string of beads with the illustrations being the jewels” and the text as “the string that holds them together.”

4. The real Miss Rumphius (yes, there was a real Miss Rumphius!) was a woman named Hilda Hamlin. Barbara was inspired by her, so she made a book about her! And then she embellished it.

5. According to her son, Barnaby, Barbara Cooney always always always drew a mouse by starting at the tip of its tail.

    

   Click here if you’d like to check out Because Barbara!

I recently had the joy of chatting with Sarah Mackenzie of Read-Aloud Revival to discuss all things picture books! We talked about how they are created, Sarah’s own writing process, some of our favorite picture books, and (of course!) Sarah’s lovely new PBs, A Little More Beautiful and While Everyone Is Sleeping, both from Waxwing Books. Check out our conversation below!

If you’d like to see the rest of the conversation, you can access our bonus Q&A video, where Sarah and I talk about some favorite middle grade novels, Christmas books, and Little Women. To watch the video, you can subscribe to my Patreon for a month at $7, and you’ll also unlock immediate access to previous posts, including my new article about L.M. Montgomery’s outlining method, personalized book recommendations, and other exclusive content!

Many thanks to Sarah for participating in this interview!

I recently had the lovely opportunity to interview Millie Florence, the author of one of the very best books I read last year: Honey Butter. It’s a charming middle grade novel that reminds me of L.M. Montgomery and Beverly Cleary and Kate DiCamillo and Jeanne Birdsall all rolled into one, which is very high praise indeed! (If you haven’t yet picked up a copy, you’re missing out!) Millie actually published the book when she was 13 years old, and since then, she has published two more novels: Lydia Green of Mulberry Glen, and her brand-new release, The Balter of Ashton Harper. Read on to hear about her writing process, inspiration, and some favorite books!

I loved reading Honey Butter, and I’m curious to know: what books inspired you while you were writing it?

First of all, thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed Honey Butter!

Several of the books I had in mind when I wrote Honey Butter were the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, and Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.

I wanted to write a story that paid attention to what it feels like to be a child, and those books are some of the best at that.

Which authors have inspired you the most over the years?

I could make this list a mile long, but I’ll try to limit myself.

Johnathan Auxier. He is the author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster, which took him years to collect the inspiration to write. I find his story very motivating on days when my writing feels slow, or I’m not making as much progress as I would like in my career.

Trenton Lee Stewart,  the author of The Mysterious Benedict Society. The Mysterious Benedict Society is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s everything I love in a middle-grade novel, and the sort of book I aspire to write someday.

L.M. Montgomery. I grew up with the Anne of Green Gables books, so they had a huge influence on my writing journey. I listened to the free Librivox audiobook on a loop from ages seven to nine.

Abbie Emmons, a homeschool graduate and author YouTuber. I love her videos and how she breaks down the writing process! Watching her videos always inspires me to keep writing!

Can you give us some behind-the-scenes insights into your writing and research process?

The Balter of Ashton Harper is the only story I’ve written so far that required true historical research, which was a very interesting experience! However, I had unintentionally already done a lot of research for it through several essays I wrote on Regency-era culture in my senior year of homeschooled high school. So in many ways, further research came quite easily to me because I had already started.

My writing process has varied over the years and changes a bit depending on what sort of book I’m writing, but it usually looks like this: a rough first draft, a round of beta readers, a second draft, another round of beta readers, a third, fourth, and sometimes fifth draft, until I’m satisfied with the story. Then I begin to pursue either the self-publishing process or begin pitching the book to publishers.

What’s your best advice for writers?

For new and young writers, my main tip would be “quantity over quality”. When you’re just starting out, often you’ll outgrow your current project, skill-wise, before you have time to finish it. Write lots of short stories, poems, free writes, and writing exercises. There’s nothing wrong with attempting that novel you’ve been dreaming of, but I noticed a major improvement in my own writing when I started incorporating more short writing “challenges” into my day-to-day routine, which helped me a lot with those longer projects.

Tell a story in five words, write a page describing your garage using all five senses, or create a poem where every line must begin with the letter C. Just like athletes have warm-up exercises to make their physical muscles stronger, as writers, we should give our creative muscles (our brain) some warm-ups too.

Do you think writers should cultivate a habit of re-reading?

Absolutely!

Beyond re-reading, I believe studying the books you love can be extremely helpful. It’s like taking apart an alarm clock to figure out how it works. The more you read the books you love, the more the individual elements become apparent to, you, and learning how stories you love work is one more step towards writing a book that you love!

I know you’re a proponent of creative exercises for writers. Have you been doing any fun things lately to fuel your creativity?

A habit I’ve developed over the past year is taking a walk first thing in the morning before I do anything else. That absolutely fuels me creatively! The time in nature and allowing my mind to wander is the perfect recipe for coming up with new ideas and refining old ones.

I’ve also been very inspired by writing on my manual typewriter lately. Doing things outside of a digital format is so helpful sometimes. It has fewer distractions and also makes me feel more in tune with my work. There’s not a sheet of glass between me and the words I write. I can touch the paper and smell the ink.

Please tell us about your newest book, The Balter of Ashton Harper! How did you decide to write a magical book set in Regency England?

Originally, I believe, I thought the book would be just fantasy. It started with the three Harper siblings, and I knew from the beginning that dancing would play a large role in the story, and the sort of dancing I had in mind was English country dancing. Over time, the idea evolved from a world inspired by the Regency era to the Regency era world with a sprinkle of magic, and that was when I began to write my first draft.

The heart of the book has always been the Harper siblings. Something I want to see more of in fiction is realistic sibling relationships. Ashton, Zizi, and Drusilla love each other, but like any human relationship, things get complicated. They try and fail, they fight and forgive. Being a family is not easy, but it’s worth it!

I’d also love to hear about your upcoming picture book!

Yes! My picture book, No Snow Yet, is coming out sometime this winter, release date to be announced. It’s illustrated by the marvelous Sarah Baren, who I am so excited to be working with! The manuscript is actually based on a poem I wrote when I was twelve, which is crazy to think about!

No Snow Yet follows a young girl who, while wishing and waiting for snow, discovers that even without it, the winter world is beautiful. It’s a story about finding wonder in the waiting, and a celebration of nature.

This blog is all about vintage middle grade! Do you have a favorite vintage MG title?

One that has always stuck with me is A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, which is about how the power of kindness and imagination can make us better people, and the world around us a better place. The protagonist, Sara Crewe, is one of the most selfless and inspiring characters I’ve ever read, yet utterly realistic and far from perfect.

It’s such a beautiful story!

Are there any particular stories you’d love to see told by current authors? What would be your dream middle grade book to read?

I want to see more MG literary adventure books! Books like The Mysterious Benedict Society that are clever, funny, and action-packed, yet aren’t afraid to use big words and delve deep into timeless topics that force you to sit back and think. It’s a difficult balance, but when it’s done right, those are my absolute favorite books to read! Books that aren’t afraid to take themselves seriously, but that also aren’t afraid to be utterly ridiculous.

In other words, unafraid to be childlike in every way.

Many thanks to Millie for participating in this interview!

My debut novel, The Star That Always Stays, celebrated an exciting milestone on Tuesday, September 5: the paperback edition released into the world!

It was a thrilling moment for me, and to celebrate even further, I announced on Instagram that I would answer some questions about TSTAS in honor of the paperback. Here are some of those questions and my answers:

What was the initial first spark of inspiration for the story? I first got the idea when I was doing genealogy research about my great-grandmother. The events happening in her life when she was fourteen—starting high school while dealing with her parents’ divorce, her mother’s remarriage, and the beginning of World War I—made me think that this could be a compelling middle grade novel.

Do you see yourself in any of the TSAS characters? If so, in what way? I absolutely see myself in the characters. I was a lot like Norvia as a teenager, but as a child, I was a little bit more like Dicta! I definitely have Norvia’s bookworm tendencies, and I also share Vernon’s interest in classical music.

Did you have a specific playlist/mood board you referred to while drafting this project? I just mentioned classical music, and some of the pieces mentioned in the book were actually ones I listened to while writing (the full list can be found here). During one of the major overhaul drafts of the book, I remember listening to the finale of Dvořák’s String Quartet in F major over and over again. I also listened to some Ojibwe, Acadian, and Celtic music while writing the Beaver Island flashbacks.

How did you grow as an author as you wrote it? What I learned most was that revisions are crucial to shaping any book into what it needs to be. You have to be willing to rewrite and revise your story and make significant changes! Nothing has been more instrumental to my writing than being able to look at a project to see how it could be improved, and finding editors and mentors to help me along the way. Writing (and re-writing!) TSTAS helped me grow so much as an author.

What inspired you to include all the classic books in the story? At the time I was writing TSTAS, I was delving into a lot of vintage girls’ books and absolutely loving them, and this really inspired me to make Norvia into a reader of those same kinds of stories. I feel that a coming-of-age story written in a classic style featuring a character from a Native background is really meaningful. If you’re a fan of Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, like so many people are, then this is a way for you to revisit and enjoy that kind of story all over again, but this time with a character from a different culture. (All the books mentioned in TSTAS can also be found here.)

What was your favorite part of writing TSTAS? My absolutely favorite part was bringing my ancestors to life through this story and exploring what their lives might have been like! And my favorite scene to write was the section where Norvia, Dicta, and Vernon invent a very imaginative game together, and it’s the first time they begin to have fun as siblings. That part was added during the writing of the third draft, and it was the first scene I wrote of the new version!

What is the message you’d like readers to take away from TSAS? My hope is that readers come away feeling joyful, regardless of what’s happening in their lives at the moment. It’s important to me to write stories that are realistic yet inspiring!

I recently had the delightful opportunity to interview Sarah Mackenzie, author of The Read-Aloud Family and host of the popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast. I’ve listened to Sarah’s podcast for several years now, and I love her book recommendations, author interviews, and the wonderful way that she helps homeschooling families connect and discuss great stories! In this Q&A, I asked Sarah about her new picture books in the works, favorite authors, Little Women film adaptations, and more!

First of all, I’ve really enjoyed your book The Read-Aloud Family and, of course, your podcast! What’s the most fun thing about helping families find great books to read?
Thank you so much! I think my favorite part is when I hear from either a parent or a child that one of my book recommendations turned them into a reader, or helped them fall head-over-heels in love with books. As you know, I’m a big believer in helping kids find the books that light them up … and sometimes that takes a little trial and error! But once you’ve found a book to capture your heart and your mind, everything changes. Sometimes the biggest change isn’t in falling in love with books (because maybe they already did love books), but reading aloud has helped their family relationships grow stronger and more delightful. I love being a small part of that process.

I’ve heard that you have a couple of picture books in the works! Can you tell us a bit about them?
Yes! I have a couple picture books coming out each year over the next several years, and I couldn’t possibly be more excited about it.

The first is called Lou Alice and the Girl Who Noticed, about an old woman who makes life a little more beautiful for everyone around her, but whom no one really sees. Well, no one except our little heroine. She not only helps the woman, but also finds something beautiful only she can offer the world. It’s a book about carrying on the important work of those who’ve gone before us, about noticing the invisible women in our lives who make the world more beautiful, and about finding a small way to add beauty, wherever we find ourselves. It’s being illustrated by Breezy Brookshire, and if all goes according to plan, it will be out in the world Summer of 2022.

The second is a bedtime story called Moonflower Song, about a small shrew who follows her curiosity out into the night to find a flower that blooms by the light of the moon. My hope for this one is that it just begs to be read aloud. That’s what I was going for, anyway! It’s being illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, and will be released Fall of 2022. The sample illustration I’ve seen is just gorgeous. I can’t wait.

There are a couple more slated to come out in 2023, including a picture book biography about Barbara Cooney, but I’ll save telling you about those for later.

What are some read-alouds you’ve enjoyed with your children recently?
We recently listened to the entire Zoey and Sassafras collection on audio (written by Asia Citro) and my kids just loved them. I was surprised by how many of the scientific nuggets have stuck with them, as well! We’ve also just loved A Place to Hang the Moon, Kate Albus’s debut novel set during WWII, and Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Etsby Dagg, about a family settling in Palmer, Alaska, during the Great Depression.

What are your favorite historical time periods to read about in MG fiction? What time periods do you feel are underrepresented?
I love reading WWII stories and Great Depression stories. And then some of my favorite historical fiction pieces have been set in times I haven’t learned much about, like Inside Out and Back Again, which is set during the Vietnam War.

I’m not sure which time periods are particularly underrepresented in historical fiction, but I will say that I love reading books set in times and places I know very little about. For example, I recently read When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed (it’s a graphic novel, but I listened to the audio version) and learned so much about the lives of Somali refugees. I love it when a book does that— gives me a window to peek through, and opens my heart up in a surprising new way.

I’ve heard that you like the Little Women series! Little Women is one of my top three favorite novels, and I love both the 1994 and 2019 films for different reasons. Do you have a favorite film adaptation?
Oh, I love them both, but I think I like the newest version, directed by Greta Gerwig, best. My teens and I just re-watched it a few weeks ago, in fact! I was surprised by how many new layers Gerwig was able to uncover in this story. Those of us who love books like Little Women are fanatic re-readers, right? And then a new adaptation like Gerwig’s comes along and shows us that there is even more to be seen and loved than we had realized. While watching this newest movie, I felt like I was visiting my familiar friends, the March sisters, but seeing them for the first time, as well. I loved it.

Who are your very favorite authors?
Oh my, what a question! There are so many ways to answer this. I’ve got favorite authors for reading aloud (E.B White, Maria Parr, Gary Schmidt), favorite picture book authors (Tomie dePaola, Mary Ann Hoberman, Robert McCloskey, Barbara Cooney, Barb Rosenstock, Chris Van Dusen, and at least a dozen more), favorite authors to read on my own (Susan Meissner and Julie Berry), and then there are authors who make me want to write. Those are some of my favorites of all, because a book that makes you want to write is MAGIC. Karina Yan Glaser and Jeanne Birdsall come to mind right away. Classic favorites like L.M. Montgomery, E. Nesbit, and Edward Eager make me want to write. And every time I read the picture book, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, I want to write a new picture book. That book feels perfect to me.

I’m a huge proponent of re-reading books—in fact, I spent most of my childhood reading a handful of favorites, rather than discovering new books. Can you tell us why re-reading is an important factor for children in their reading life?
I couldn’t agree more—re-reading gets a bit of a short shrift, because we tend to prioritize reading new stories over re-reading those we’ve read before. But it’s helpful to remember that when we read a story for the first time, our brains want to know what happens next. We’re reading for plot, so we miss a lot of what’s going on— the nuanced language, the beautiful turns of phrase, those deeper levels in the storytelling. When we re-read, we already know what happens next, so now we get so much more of the language and so much more of the story. I also firmly believe that if we want books to become our children’s companions, we’ve got to give them the time and space to reread those they love best. That’s how a book becomes part of us.

There’s some interesting research that shows that kids retain more knowledge and vocabulary from a book when they’re reading it for the second or third time (not the first!), which is a strong case for re-reading favorites, rather than always reaching for something new.

Are there any particular stories you’d love to see told by current authors? What would be your dream children’s book to read aloud to your family?
I want to see homeschooling families show up in middle grade fiction! I also think the world needs more stories where siblings band together to get their family out of a pickle—where sibling relationships aren’t perfect or saccharine, but they’re healthy and uplifting. Where the family members are all better for banding together and supporting each other, even when it’s hard, as opposed to a main character who needs to ditch the family in order to reach his/her potential, which is happening a lot in modern fiction these days.

Many thanks to Sarah for participating in this interview!
Photo of Sarah Mackenzie by Audrey Menck 

Related posts:
On Revisiting Little Women and Parallels to the Penderwicks
My interview with Karina Yan Glaser, author of The Vanderbeekers of 141^st Street

When a friend recommended Amanda Dykes’ new novella to me this spring, I was eager to read it, since it was set in Maine (I have always loved books set in Maine) and took place in the 1920s (one of my *very* favorite eras). And I’m happy to report that I was absolutely enchanted with Up from the Sea—so much that I quickly read Amanda’s adult novel Whose Waves These Are as soon as it released. While the two stories are quite different in some ways, they both contain the same classic style, hope-filled themes, and achingly beautiful prose.

I recently interviewed Amanda to discuss her favorite children’s books, her writing process, and other delightful topics. At the end of our conversation, she also gives a few insights into her next novel, which has me completely excited. 🙂 Enjoy!

Reading your books was such a delightful highlight to my reading life this spring, and all of the vintage elements of the stories were so much fun! What are some of the reasons you write historical fiction?
Thank you, Anna! I’m honored!  You mentioned vintage elements, and I think that hits on a big reason I write historical fiction. I’m a bit of an “old soul” myself—our living room plays host to a player piano from the 1930s, a record player, and an old church pew at the dining table, but no television (it’s in the basement family room). There’s something so life-giving to me about simpler things, whether that’s because I’m an introvert or because of the fast-paced, always-on world we live in, and I think that’s a part of the draw to historical fiction, personally.

On a broader level, I find it a humbling and deep honor to get to take part in the lives of those who came before us, to pay tribute to the way things were, and to draw lessons from those places in story, too.

What are your favorite children’s novels?
Oh, so many! Children’s books are my very favorite of all. There are the timeless classics—anything by Louisa May Alcott. I also love Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney, Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy by Jean Webster (more YA than children’s, but that was before “YA” was a thing!), The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Railway Children by E. Nesbit.

For more recent books, I love Mandy by Julie Edwards, the Mandie series by Lois Gladys Leppard, The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, The Vanderbeekers of 141^st Street by Karina Yan Glaser, The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton, The Green Ember by S.D. Smith…and the list goes on!

I’ve read that you’ve enjoyed Jane of Lantern Hill, which is also one of my very favorites! What are some of the things you love about Jane and L.M. Montgomery’s other books?
Jane was a thoughtful soul. I think I loved her first because I remember looking at the L.M. Montgomery books on the shelf at Borders when a nearby city first got a Borders. (It was a magical place and I still mourn its absence!) There were all the Anne books, all the Emily books, and then…Jane, all by herself, standing there in her mint-green book, clutching her hat on the cover with her dark hair and I was just drawn to it. And then the story of discovering life wild and free on the island, in contrast to her prior city-life, and how she found courage, community, and hope there—it was just an enchanting tale. One I need to reread! I believe that [a] sense of community, and the idea of every soul harboring a story, is what I love about Maud’s other books, too. I got to explore that a little bit in Whose Waves These Are—the unfolding of each character’s history—and I think writers like L.M. Montgomery and Jan Karon have carved out a home for stories such as these, which don’t always follow a linear plot model, but take little detours to get to know the characters deeply.

Can you give us some behind-the-scenes insights into your writing and research process?
Sure! Perhaps the best way to answer that is to give you a glimpse at what I’ve worked on this morning. First, responding to comments on some social media posts relating to my summer release (Whose Waves These Are).

Second, I spent some time brain-dumping some thoughts on the novel I will be writing this winter. It is always on the back burner, simmering away with ideas and slowly forming into a story, but I can’t yet dive into writing it, so I keep a running document called “master idea list” to gather thoughts that would otherwise be lost to the mess of my mind and memory. This idea list, which I keep for each separate novel, can grow to be upwards of 10,000 words by the time the novel is all said and done. This is also a time I am doing little snatches of research for the upcoming novel, including books, articles, documentaries, and random internet searches to see if a given idea will even work with how things happened historically.

And last, the project I’m actively working on is the novel between those two, which I have written and am currently editing. I have a multi-page document of feedback from my editor (who is wonderful!), and am chipping away at some of the bigger story issues right now. I took a break to answer your questions, which gives the story part of my brain (pretty sure that’s the technical term for it) some time to mull over things while I get to chat with you!

What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
Oh, it’s so hard to choose one! One that stands out in my mind, though, is Jolina Petersheim’s How the Light Gets In. She braved some trailblazing waters with her plot in that one, all while delving deep into heart matters in a beautiful way. So worth a read!!

I am so excited for your next novel to come out in 2020! Is there anything you can tell us about it? 
Thank you for your excitement! This dual timeline novel has been in the works for about four years, either percolating or making the rounds to publishing houses in search of a home in its proposal form. It was first born after a different novel (as yet unpublished) struck a chord with an editor, but it was in a genre they were not acquiring. She asked if I might have any other ideas, and after a brainstorm with my wonderful agent Wendy Lawton, we settled on developing this one. It has lived in hibernation in my heart for a few years while Whose Waves These Are was written and published, and it has been sheer joy (though also a bit of a wrestling match with the plot!) to pull it out and finally write it.

I can’t say too much about it yet, since it’s still in the editing stages and things can still change, but I will tell you that it has to do with ships, and stars, and five main characters who have stolen my heart. Their names are Lucy, Dash (the contemporary timeline main characters), Frederick, Elias, and Juliette (the historical timeline characters).

A few people have asked if this novel is related to Whose Waves These Are, and I’m happy to say that though it is a standalone, with a different cast of characters and a different setting (England! Be still, my heart!), I did sneak one side character in to this book who played a role in Waves as well. I hope readers will find his presence (yep! It’s a “he!” Let the guessing begin!) a fun surprise.

Many thanks to Amanda for participating in this interview!
Photo of Amanda Dykes by Michael Pettrey

Related posts:
My reading list from May, in which I chat a little more about Whose Waves These Are, L.M. Montgomery, Jane of Lantern Hill, and Jean Webster!

My interview with Karina Yan Glaser, author of The Vanderbeekers of 141^st Street

Check out some of Amanda’s books (her 2015 short story Tin Can Serenade is also a lovely read!)

I grew up reading stories about families full of entertaining siblings, and it was a delight to discover Karina Yan Glaser’s new middle grade novels! The Vanderbeekers books have quickly become some of my favorites; their timeless storylines and sweet, humorous characters remind me so much of the children’s classics I’ve always loved! I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Karina, and I’m pleased to share her thoughtful answers!

What inspired you to write a book with such a lovely, old-fashioned feel?

I was a huge reader growing up, and some of my favorite books were All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor, The Moffats by Eleanor Estes, and The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright. Revisiting those childhood favorites as an adult inspired me to write a story with an old-fashioned feel but in a contemporary time.

What are some of the most exciting things that have happened to you since the first Vanderbeekers came out?

So many things! I have loved watching young readers discover the Vanderbeeker books. It was very cool to see the book reviewed in The New York Times and to be chosen as a New York Times Notable Children’s Book. Amy Poehler and her production company optioned the film rights, which was amazing. And the second Vanderbeekers book, The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden, hit the New York Times bestseller list!

I heard that your first book started as a NaNoWriMo project. What advice do you have for writers who want to try NaNoWriMo?

My advice is to keep writing even when you think your writing is terrible. The purpose of NaNoWriMo is to write a first draft (which will be terrible). You can fix everything when you’re revising!

As a child, what were your favorite books?

I loved New York City stories like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

Who are your favorite middle grade authors?

I have so many! Jacqueline Woodson, Celia C. Perez, Sarah Mlynowski, Sydney Taylor, Mildred D. Taylor, Susan Tan, Debbi Michiko Florence, Jake Burt, Hena Khan, Victoria Jamieson, Cece Bell, plus so many more!

Who is your favorite character in the Vanderbeekers books?

I can’t choose – I love them all!

My favorite author is L.M. Montgomery. Have you read any of her books?

I love her books! The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden has a quote from Anne of Green Gables in the front.

I love all of the mentions of the music that Isa plays on her violin—I’m an enormous fan of classical music. What is your favorite classical piece? 

I enjoy all sorts of classical music. I think my favorite collection is Rachel Barton Pine’s American Virtuosa: A Tribute to Maud Powell album.

I’m so excited for the third Vanderbeekers book! Are you hoping to write any more in the series? Or do you have other middle grade projects in mind?

I have another standalone book currently contracted with my publisher, so I’ll be working on that next.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you for having me on your blog!

Many thanks to Karina for participating in this interview! I can’t wait to read her next book. 🙂