Finding inspiration by discovering holes in the market

Hi, WONDERers! Have you missed us? We may not be blogging as much lately, but all of us here at Wonder of Words are still reading as many amazing children’s books as we can. For today’s interview on Finding Inspiration, I spoke to Roxanne Troup, author of the newly released picture book, MY GRANDPA, MY TREE, AND ME. Hi, Roxanne. Congrats again on your picture book release! How did you get the inspiration for your story?

Roxanne: A couple years ago, I discovered a new publisher looking for agricultural books, and since I grew up in an agricultural community, I thought it might be a good fit. I set to brainstorming different stories that might work for that publisher and discovered a hole in the market—pecans. I knew a little bit about pecans. They grew wild and in backyards where I grew up, and we harvested them in buckets. But I wondered how the commercial pecan industry worked. Did everyone collect pecans in buckets? So, I started researching. After running across a YouTube video of a farmer harvesting pecans by tractor (from hundreds of trees at a time), I knew I had my topic. I couldn’t get the image of that farmer shaking his trees out of my head—pecans fell like thundering rain!

Raining pecans! The pure joy on the grandpa’s face makes this such an endearing book

Candice: I grew up with pecan trees in the backyard and have vivid memories of picking up pecans–the pies my mom would make were definitely worth the effort! What is your favorite part of the creative process?  Did you learn anything about your own process while you were working on this book?

Roxanne: That first flush of IDEA is heady and addicting, but then I have to figure out how to make that idea work. And that, is WORK! I don’t know that I discovered anything “new” about my process with this story as it’s not my first (even though it is my debut fiction). But every story—and the way it comes to the page—is different. For this particular story, I had quite a few stop-and-start drafts, meaning I started but never finished them. But each time I started a new draft, I added some important storytelling element or figured out what wasn’t working and tried a new way of fixing it. It wasn’t until my fifth draft that I finally completed the story. (Does that make number five my actual “first draft”?)

Candice: Haha, no way! All that hard work still counts and kudos to you on not giving up! Do you have other creative outlets or hobbies? Do they cross into your writing?

Roxanne: Oooo, that’s a good question. I like lots of creative things: crafting, singing, gardening, interior design. I don’t know that any one of those things crosses over into my writing (though gardening might seem like it with this title), but my favorite part about each is the planning/dreaming stage. And that definitely crosses over. I plan out/dream through many aspects of my stories before I ever sit down to draft—which might explain the whole start-and-stop habit. When I realize something isn’t working according to plan, I stop; and often, don’t start up again until I have puzzled my way through that obstacle.

I love how the illustrations go so well to make this such a sweet, serene story–and the ending is absolutely heartwarming!

Candice: Great answer. Do you have any tips you’d like to share about finding creativity?

Roxanne: I think being quiet is a huge creativity booster.

Our brains don’t like being idle, so when we force our bodies to be quiet, our brains fill in that space with all kinds of things—to do lists, conversation replays, dreams for tomorrow, and eventually (if we don’t short-circuit the process by ending our quiet time to do all those things on our list) creative ideas. 

Candice: Can you tell us about a future book project you’re working on?

Roxanne: It hasn’t been announced yet, but I do have another informational fiction picture book in the publishing pipeline—this one, about space.

You almost forget you’re reading an informational fiction picture book as the story and facts go hand in hand so seamlessly.

Ooh, space! So exciting! We wish you the best in your writing and publishing journey. Thank you for sharing your tips on creativity and your inspiration for this book.

MY GRANDPA, MY TREE, AND ME (Yeehoo Press) released April 11th. You can find it online at bookshop.org which helps support independent bookstores, and at https://www.roxannetroup.com/pecan.html to also check out fun book activities for your little readers. Request a copy at your local library or indie bookstore.

Author, ghostwriter, and speaker, Roxanne Troup writes kids’ books that celebrate wonder and family. With a background in education, she also writes engaging nonfiction for all ages. She grew up along the waterways of Missouri, surrounded by farmland and legends. Her childhood home, built in the late 1800s, was often visited by members of Jessie James’ gang and full of stories about hidden passageways, underground tunnels, and false floors. In that house, Roxanne learned to read and create her own imaginative stories. Today, she lives in the mountains of Colorado but still loves old houses and history. She is the author of over a dozen books for kids, including My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me. When not writing, Roxanne enjoys hiking with her family, cheering at her kid’s sporting events, and reading a good book. She loves to visit schools to water seeds of literacy and teach about writing. (And sometimes remembers to water the plants in her own garden.)

Illustrator Kendra Binney was raised in a small mountain town with no shoe stores. Most of her time was spent barefoot treading through the minuscule world of spiders, snakes and all things hiding in the grass. Though her paintings have been exhibited, sold, and published around the world, Kendra herself spends most days in a small studio in Portland, OR. There she paints, daydreams, and paints some more.

Call to Creativity: Look at the market specifically to see what isn’t there or underutilized. Read widely and wildly!

Story Review – The Bridge-Builder

Usually, when it’s my turn to do The Wonder of Words blog post, I do a book review. In this post, I slip sideways into a short-story review and a conversation about voice.

In the latest WordPress newsletter, they introduced the Monthly WordPrompt. This month’s WordPrompt is BRIDGE which brought to mind the short story that’s the topic for this post.

The story I always think about when I hear the word bridge is ‘The Bridge-Builder’ by New Zealand author, Margaret Mahy. ‘The Bridge-Builder’ is a short story originally published in 1988 in The Door in the Air and Other Stories, a YA collection of short stories. It was subsequently published in The Picador Book of Contemporary New Zealand Fiction in 1996, a collection of short stories for adults.

In the story, the narrator’s father is the bridge-builder and, on the surface, it is about the bridges he builds: girder bridges, arched bridges, suspension bridges, bridges of wood, bridges of iron or concrete.

And later, after his wife dies and the children have left home, his stored powers were set free and he began to build the bridges he saw in his dreams. These new bridges are extraordinary: within the lace of the bridge, spiders spun their own lace, and after a night of rain or dew the whole bridge glittered black and silver; two bridges with gardens built into them which soon became so overgrown with roses, wisteria, bougainvillea and other beautiful climbing plants that they looked as if they had been made entirely of flowers; a frail one made of bamboo canes, peacock feathers and violin strings; [one] made of silver thread and mother of pearl [that] was only to be crossed at midnight on a moonlight night; [in] the city he climbed like a spider, stringing blue suspension bridges between skyscrapers and tower blocks.

But there is a lot more going on than just bridge building. As the father’s bridges become stranger, people start to protest: Such people thought bridges were designed specially for cars, mere pieces of road stuck up on legs of iron or concrete, whereas my father thought bridges were the connections that would hold everything together.

The story progresses and the theme of crossing over starts to emerge, the idea that the journey on one side of the bridge is different to the journey on the other, and an allegory is hinted at: It was upsetting for those people who wanted to stick to the road, to know that some people used my father’s hidden bridges. They wanted everyone to cross by exactly the same bridges they used.

Since I know this story is hard to come by, I will give away the ending because it so neatly closes off the theme of crossing over. My father changed before my eyes. He became a bridge as he had known he would … The curious thing was that my father, who had made so many strange and beautiful bridges, was a very ordinary-looking bridge himself.

In this short story, Margaret Mahy has strung together words to create powerful images and she maintains this strong voice throughout as if it is a bridge in itself. Her language is evocative and her descriptions so vivid that the bridges leap off the page and into the reader’s imagination. The reader doesn’t only see the bridges, they hear them and feel them as well.

There is no consistent definition of voice. If I was to put it simply, I would say it is the essence of the writer on the page. Margaret Mahy has achieved this and her voice shines. ‘The Bridge-Builder’ is one of the most beautifully written pieces of work I have ever read. It is hard to locate a copy of the story, but if you can it is so worth reading it.

Image credits
Web in railings photo by Christian Chelu on Unsplash
Bridge into trees photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash
Uneven plank bridge photo by Hidayat Abis
Rock bridge photo by kyler trautner on Unsplash

Book Review – The Existence of Bea Pearl

After bringing you all up to date with what’s been going on in the writing lives of the Wonder of Words team, I’m back with my regular book review section.

This month I have the honour and privilege of reviewing The Existence of Bea Pearl, a YA novel by our very own Candice Marley Conner. In The Existence of Bea Pearl, Bea Pearl is distraught when her parents declare her missing brother dead, when she is certain he is still alive. His mysterious disappearance and the thought that she may have played a part in it plague her. This exciting and intricate story will keep you guessing right until the end.

If you’ve been following us for a while, you may remember that I asked Nanci Turner Steveson to help me review her book Swing Sideways. I asked Candice if she would like to do the same thing and she said, yes! Our conversation is in the video below.

Book Review – Mophead

Selina Tusitala Marsh is an Auckland-based Pasifika poet and scholar of Samoan, Tuvaluan, English, Scottish and French descent. Her first children’s book, Mophead, was published in October this year and won the supreme award in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. It was also the overall winner in the New Zealand Book Design Awards.

Mophead is the story of a girl who feels she needs to tame her unruly hair to fit in with the world. One day, an event at her school helps her recognise her difference, in all its wild messiness, as a beautiful thing and so she takes a stand. By releasing her hair, she makes a declaration: this is who I am and I will not change how I look to serve someone else’s vision of what I should be.

The tag line is, How your difference makes a difference which encourages all of us to embrace our uniqueness, our special brand of difference, and to celebrate everyone else for doing the same thing.

Mophead is not a picture book or a graphic novel or a memoir – it is none of these things yet it is all of these things. It is for children and it is also for adults. Another key aspect about this book is that Marsh insisted she do the illustrations (she isn’t a professional illustrator) and her publisher said yes! In the world of picture books as we know it, there are so many things about this book that “shouldn’t” work, yet together they produce a remarkable whole. It is “boundary-breaking” and goes against just about every publishing rule in the book except for one – it is a captivating story.

Below is the link to Marsh’s acceptance speech at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults (an online event this year). She is remarkable. You are remarkable. Take a page from her book and make a difference with your difference.

Acceptance Speech

Neurodiversity in Children’s Picture Books

Yes, I know Autism Awareness Month is April – not August. But they both begin with the letter ‘A’. And autism is a lifelong condition. It does not go away when spring ends and summer begins. It does not go away when a child grows up and turns 18. Approximately 1 in 59 children has been diagnosed with some form of autism spectrum disorder, according to the CDC.
I am neuro-diverse. I recall the day I stumbled on the website nldline.com while helping a library patron search for books on learning disabilities for math rather than language. My eyes opened wide. There were people with the same issues as me! What joy!
My own neurologically atypical existence was complicated by the fact that I am an immigrant. By the time I was ten, I had lived on three continents, and spoke three languages. That could be why my issues and challenges were not taken seriously and sometimes attributed to cultural difference.
When I was growing up in the 1960s, little was known about neurodiversity. I had difficulty in group conversations, so I tended to stay to myself – and came to believe I was shy. (I’m not). Even as an adult, group conversations still pose a problem. I don’t read body language well so I don’t know when it’s ok to speak – so I either stay quiet or interrupt.
I was told I was immature and would grow up eventually, or that I was lazy and not trying hard enough. Now I know that I have slow processing speed, and that is why everything takes longer.
Yet no matter how hard I tried, I kept failing at certain things. I never learned to ride a bike, or to throw and catch a ball. We tell our kids, “You can do anything if you try.” But this is not true. Not only will I never be a brain surgeon – I’ll never be a ballerina because I have dyspraxia. I’m a klutz.
We’re all different – and that makes for an interesting world. No matter which spectrum we belong to, everyone has strengths, and everyone has challenges. All humans are equal. All have dignity.
I have gathered some recently published books that feature neurologically diverse characters. Most are fiction. The last two are nonfiction biographies About Temple Grandin, a neuro-diverse woman whose contributions to science and inventions resulted in groundbreaking improvements for farms worldwide.

A Friend for Henry

by Jenn Bailey, ill by Mika Song. Chronicle Books 2019. 32 p. ; 535 words.
2020 Schneider Family Honor Book.
In this story about searching for a friend in a new classroom that is too loud and too close, Henry’s analytical, literal personality comes through. A touching story that will appeal to anyone looking for friendship but especially to those with neurological differences.

How to Babysit a Logan

by Callie Metler-Smith, ill by Cindy Vattathil. Clear Fork Publishing 2019. 32 p; 407 words.
What a great message about how a pet can be a best friend. Such a wonderful bond between the cat and the boy! Shows we all need and can give support. Beautiful illustrations and a great story for all kids! The cat, Thunderbolt, explains how he spends his time making sure Logan is safe and loved. A beautiful bond between a pet and an autistic boy. encourages discussion and understanding about what life is like with autism. informational in such an easy, conversational tone

This Beach Is Loud

by Samantha Cotterill (au/ill), Dial Books, 2019. 32 p.; 318 words.
Even fun things can feel overwhelming. For all children – but especially children on the spectrum – new things and things with sensory overload can be overwhelming. This book does an excellent job of portraying this feeling, and the tension is resolved joyfully at the end. This book also shows the use of calming activities like breathing and counting. As a word nerd rather than a picture person I found some of the circular text that goes off the page very difficult to read.

Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism

by Jen Malia ill by Joanne Lew Vriethoff. Albert Whitman, April 1, 2020. 32 p.; 1,005 words.

The own-voices book portrays sensory issues and Holly’s struggle well. We see the MCs feelings and the support she gets from her family. The slime science experiment relates to STEM concepts. It shows empathy. However, I thought for a picture book at over 1,000 words it was a bit too long. Also, the child-protagonist is constantly prodded by adults and does not solve her own problem.

Noah Chases the Wind

by Michelle Worthington ill by Joseph Cowman. Redleaf Lane (an imprint of Redleaf Press), 2015. 32 pages; 449 words.
Winner of the silver medal in the Moonbeam Children’s Books Award in the Picture Book 4–8-year-old category from Independent Publisher ; Winner of the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award
The first two lines say it all: “Noah knew he was different. He could see things that others couldn’t.” The rest of the story shows the beauty of being different. This is a story for every child who feels different or sees the world through a different lens – not just those on the spectrum or with sensory integration disorder. This whimsical story also highlights Noah’s special interest in weather.

The boy who said nonsense

by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky ill by Nicola Anderson. Albert Whitman & Company, 2016. 32 pages; 862 words.
Celebrates diversity. Because Tate doesn’t communicate like other children, it takes time to recognize is special gift for math. Shows we’re all unique and need to be valued for our gifts in spite of challenges we may have.

Cy Makes a Friend

by Ann Marie Stephens ill by Tracy Subisak. Boyds Mills Press, 2019. 32 p.; 252 words.
A wonderful, fun read! Many children have trouble making friends because they are shy or different. This is a great book for everyone who feels vulnerable and is afraid to reach out to make friends.

Benji, the Bad Day and Me

by Sally J. Pla, Ill by Ken Min. Lee & Low Books, 2018. 32 p.
Everyone has a bad day occasionally. This story reminds me of the classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. But here, the main character Sammy’s brother Benji, who comforts him, is autistic. The book touches on the feelings not just of those who are neuro-diverse, but their siblings. The author notes, “It’s important to note that no two autistic kids are alike, and their needs and behaviors will always be different.”

Uniquely Wired

by Julia Cook, ill by Anita DuFalla. Boys Town Press, 2018, 32 p.
In this first-person narrated story, Zak, a boy who is autistic, shares his quirks, interests and view of life. However, the author fails to address uniqueness – because no two people on the spectrum are alike – and describes some autistic traits as gifts, confusing many readers. The author needs to learn more about the subject before attempting to write about it.

All My Stripes: A Story for Children with Autism

by Shaina Rudolph (Author), Danielle Royer (Author), Jennifer Zivoin (Illustrator). Magination Press, 2015. 40 p. Gold Medal, Mom’s Choice Awards
Zane the Zebra has many stripes! The book brings an important message about accepting our differences.
After a troubling day at school when his autistic qualities – sensory issues, inability to communicate with his classmates, wanting to do a project differently and not understanding figurative language – make him feel different, his Mom explains that only one of his stripes is autism. He has many other excellent stripes, like honesty, curiosity, caring, and navigation. Zane feels better about himself and comes to understand that all the stripes together make him who he is. There are many pages of helpful information in the backmatter.
The problems with the book are that some of the incidents would not really happen. No teacher would leave a kid behind during a fire drill, cowering under the desk until the firemen arrived.

A Manual for Marco: Living, Learning, and Laughing With an Autistic Sibling by Shaila Abdullah, ill by Iman Tejpar. Loving Healing Press, 2015. 36p.
This book is written from the point-of-view of an eight-year-old girl learning how to deal with her autistic brother Marco. Presented in a notebook format, she writes down the things her brother does. The reader sees the importance of acceptance and love.
Backmatter contains a list of of things to remember to make life with an autistic sibling easier. Also included are resources for more information about autism.

How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine by Amy Guglielmo , Jacqueline Tourville , and Giselle Potter et al. Atheneum Books for Young Readers , 2018 ; 48 p.
A wonderful story about overcoming obstacles, especially emotional and sensory ones.
A wonderful story about overcoming obstacles, especially emotional and sensory ones. The story begins with a problem and shows how Temple felt as a child, how she found her own unique and creative solution from experiencing the world around her. The backmatter author’s note shares more about Temple Grandin and her amazing scientific contributions as a pioneer in her field.

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: the Story of Dr. Temple Grandin By Julia Finley Mosca Ill by:Daniel Rieley. The Innovation Press, 2017. 40 p.
Written in rhyme with beautiful illustrations, this account addresses Temple’s challenges and accomplishments. The story shows how being inclusive makes a positive impact on everyone. Backmatter includes a letter from Temple Grandin, interesting details from the author’s interviews, a timeline and a two-page prose biography.

Book Review – The Bridge Home

Welcome back to our book review section. The book I’m reviewing this time is the middle-grade novel The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman. My hope is that this will be an interactive review, so if you have read The Bridge Home, please post your thoughts in the comments. If you know of a middle-grader who has read it, I would also love to hear their comments. Why? Well, I’m a bit on the fence with this one. Not in terms of how it is written; I think it’s fantastic. What I’m trying to determine is whether it would be a suitable gift for my cousin’s very sensitive 11-year-old daughter.

The Bridge Home is set in Chennai, India, and told in the form of a letter from 11-year-old Viji to her sister, Rukku. Initially, the letter details their time together on the streets of Chennai after running away from home to escape their abusive father. Life on the streets is hard but Viji and Rukku form a strong bond with two homeless boys and they work together to make ends meet. During this time Viji learns more about herself and Rukku, the older but more vulnerable sister. After Rukku dies, Viji’s letter becomes a way for her to come to terms with her life without Rukku in it.

During the writing of The Bridge Home, Venkatraman called on her own experiences as a child watching her mother work with less privileged children. As an adult, she visited schools in India where homeless children are offered support and assistance. She also drew on first-hand accounts and her own journal entries, and based the characters in her book on children she knew. Her experiences and research are evident on every page.

The overall topic is depressing and distressing, however, Venkatraman provides moments of levity: puppy antics, the eating of an orange, beadwork, the ocean. Publishers Weekly calls The Bridge Home “a poignant portrait of love, sacrifice, and chosen family in the midst of poverty”. I couldn’t have said it better.

If you have read The Bridge Home, please let me know your thoughts in the comments, particularly around its suitability for a sensitive 11-year-old. I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Life in our surreal reality

Overnight, a pandemic changed the world. Suddenly conversation is about germs, viruses and bacteria. We’re learning new terms, like stay-at-home orders, social distancing and quarantine. We’re disinfecting everything from shopping carts to gas pumps. Everyone is donning masks – not just bank robbers.

Memorial Day is the official start of summer – and no one knows what this summer will bring. Many venues are closed and summer events, like outdoor concerts, have been canceled.

We want to explain this new, surreal reality to our children. As a teenager, I was fascinated by The Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif (1890–1971). Though written in 1926, the author was able to make microbiology exciting. The nonfiction book reads like a novel, with vivid characters and a dramatic plot.

Today, pandemic-themed kids’ books are popping up like dandelions in the yard. Catchy titles, like Sharona Corona, Paula and the Pandemic, Lucy and the Corona Virus, Little Unicorn Stuck at Home, the Day the Lines Changed.

Other titles are more straightforward: Sophie’s Questions about the Pandemic; Where did everybody go? What is Social Distancing? What’s a Quarantine? Not forever but for now: A story for children about feelings and the coronavirus.

Books about staying at home or social distancing include A Little SPOT Stays Home and Stuck in the Dog House. Other titles, like Keep away from Germs and The Coronavirus Monster: An Unwanted Visitor from the Germ Planet, discuss controlling germs by handwashing. There’s even a coloring book: Understanding the Coronavirus – COVID-19 Coloring Activity Book for Kids.

Most of these books are self-published in a hurry by well-meaning folks with few credentials in medicine or literature. However, three stand out above the rest.

Coronavirus: A Book for Children, by Elizabeth Jenner and Axel Scheffler, the illustrator of “The Gruffalo,” and the staff of publisher Nosy Crow. This book, for children aged 5 – 12, was created with input from educators, a child psychologist, and experts at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. It is based on scientific facts, and written in a kid-friendly way. It attempts to explain what the virus is, how it is caught, and why so many things – from schools to restaurants, stores and playgrounds – are closed.

 

What Is COVID-19? (Engaging Readers) by Alexis Roumanis, published by Engage Books. These are three volumes of early readers, from Level 1 (32 pages, for children aged 3 – 6) to Level 4 (48 pages, for ages 9 – 11) that aim to explain the covid pandemic to children at different levels.

Anna and the Germ that came to visit by Christianne Klein and Helene Van Sant-Klein, published by Truth Fairy Media. Christianne is an award-winning news anchor; Helene is a licensed clinical counselor, family therapist, and registered nurse with experience in parenting and trauma. The mother-and-daughter team brings their expertise in bibliotherapy, counseling and media to the subject of the pandemic.

This list is only a start, since new books on this subject are emerging daily. I hope you will find some of them helpful.

Emory University held a competition for writers and illustrations of books about COVID-19. The winners can be found here:

http://globalhealth.emory.edu/what/events_programs/COVID-19%20eBook%20Comp.html

Book Review – Swing Sideways

Welcome once more to our book review section. This month I am reviewing Swing Sideways, a middle-grade novel by Nanci Turner Steveson published by HarperCollins in 2016. In Swing Sideways, Annie Stockton and her parents leave the city for a summer in the country where Annie has been promised freedom. It’s a rare gift given her mother controls and over-schedules most of Annie’s life. When Annie meets California who is staying on her grandfather’s farm, freedom goes into over-drive. California takes Annie on wild and secret adventures, at the top of the list the quest to find the ponies California’s mom rode as a child. Once the ponies are found, surely California’s mother and grandfather will reunite. But too many secrets lurk underneath the surface for Annie and California to have a smooth ride. Friendships, parenting and the art of letting go are all examined through Annie’s emotional journey to growing independence.

Because I like to change things up a bit, I asked Nanci Turner Steveson to help me review Swing Sideways. Our conversation is in the video below.

David Harrison: Fifty Years, One Hundred Books

2020 is David Harrison’s 50th year of writing for children. In that time, he has penned more than 100 books, including 21 poetry collections. His books have won numerous awards, have been translated and anthologized. He is Drury University’s poet laureate. David Harrison Elementary School in Missouri is named for him. He has spoken at conferences, workshops, and visited hundreds of schools.

After Dark, David’s 97th book and 20th collection of poetry was released earlier this month. Three more are scheduled for publication later this year, and one for 2021.

His first book – a picture book, The Boy with a Drum – was published October 1, 1969. His second, Little Turtle’s Big Adventure, was read on the air by Captain Kangaroo. His third, “The Book of Giant Stories,” won a Christopher Award.
Many of David’s books combine nature, science, poetry and humor. Both science and poetry require observation and the ability to describe what is observed. As a biologist and a poet, David has developed a lifelong habit of watching wildlife – and writing about it.
After Dark was inspired by sitting on the patio, listening and watching night life by the lake – as well as family camping trips from when he was a child. The 21 poems featured here are chock full of interesting scientific facts.

His last book, And the Bullfrogs Sing (Holiday House, 2019), is a free verse poem about the life cycle of frogs, accentuated by the chorus Rumm, Rumm, Rumm” and other bullfrog noises.David’s love of nature began when he was a youngster, camping with his parents (who also instilled in him a love of reading) and playing in his backyard. He studied biology in college and has two science degrees. Before he began to write, he worked as a pharmacologist and parasitologist. But it was a creative writing class he took while a science major at Drury in the 1960s, and a professor who encouraged him to write, that launched his writing career.
David’s ideas for poems and stories “appear everywhere in everyday life.” For example, one afternoon when David found insects under his welcome mat, he wrote this:

Bugs moved under
my welcome mat.
If bugs can’t read,
explain that.
I’ve always said
that bugs are pests,
but bugs who read
are welcome guests.
(From BUGS: POEMS ABOUT CREEPING THINGS, Front Street, Incorporated, 2007.)

About poetry, David says:
“Poetry ranges from doggerel to sublime. At its worst, it should be shot on sight. At its best, it protects our language and reminds both writer and reader that every word has meaning and only the right one will do for the purpose at hand.”
When writing poetry collections, David tries to find the cadence and sound that fits the subject. He looks for ways to make each poem stand alone, but still fit the collection. He avoids common, over-used meter and rhyme schemes like a-b-c-b. He says, “I want my menu to feature a variety of offerings so readers don’t grow weary of the same-old-same-old.” He may combine various poetic forms with free verse poems in the same collection. Often, a poem will show him what form to use – “it just sort of develops, and I roll with it,” he says.

His advice to aspiring authors is “Dare to be different.” He explains: “By that I mean know the market but don’t worship it. If you read a book you like, enjoy it and move on. No point following someone else’s idea. Listen to your own voice, your own experiences, your own beliefs and feelings and passions.”

Author Review – Maggie Stiefvater

Welcome to the review section of Wonder Words. So far in this section, I have reviewed a book of folktales, a middle-grade novel, two non-fiction picture books and an illustrated book for children on Aboriginal culture. You can find the links to these reviews at the bottom of this post. This time I’m switching back to fiction, exploring YA and reviewing an author rather than a book.

Image from https://maggiestiefvater.com/a-bullet-point-decade/

A few months ago one of my blog partners, Candice, recommended Maggie Stiefvater. I have learned that Candice’s recommendations are always worth reading, so I searched out Maggie Stiefvater and, by my count, discovered she is the author or co-author of twenty books, all published since 2008! That is a phenomenal output. With that number to choose from it was pretty hard to narrow it down to the two I would base this review on. I knew I didn’t want to read a full series because that wouldn’t show me her versatility, so I picked the first book in the Raven Cycle series, The Raven Boys published in 2012. Then I looked for something that sounded completely different and chose The Scorpio Races, a standalone novel published in 2011 containing flesh-eating water-horses.

Here are snippets from the back cover blurb for each book:

“Even if Blue hadn’t been told her true love would die if she kissed him, she would stay away from boys. Especially the ones from the local private school. Known as Raven Boys, they only mean trouble.”

“It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.”

Such different premises from the same author, and her other books are equally varied.

This is a short description for shiver, the first book in The Shiver Trilogy: “Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf – her wolf – watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn’t know why.”

This for Lament: “Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She’s about to find out she’s also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries.”

And this for All the Crooked Saints: “Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado, is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.”

If pulling crazy ideas into coherent stories isn’t enough, Maggie Stiefvater also develops interesting and engaging characters and writes beautifully. Her stories are compelling, mysterious, lyrical and quirky. If you can place a dead-boy-living in a story and have the reveal seem so natural and expected, then you are a master storyteller. If you can cause a reader to fall in love with a vicious, man-eating water-horse then you are a master in mood and character development. Maggie Stiefvater is this and much more. I stand by Candice’s recommendation 100% – Maggie Stiefvater’s books are worth reading!

Links to previous book reviews by Katharine on Wonder Words:
Once Long Ago (a book of folktales)
The Mapmakers Race (middle-grade fiction)
The Diamond and the Boy (picture book nonfiction)
The Important Thing about Margaret Wise Brown (picture book nonfiction)
Playground (children’s illustrated nonfiction)