Anne: Welcome to MG Book Village, Kekla! You’ve written many award-winning books, and tomorrow, May 7, your latest, The Secret Library, comes out from Candlewick. This novel starts strong and keeps getting stronger. I loved it! Would you please give readers a super short summary of what it’s all about? 

Kekla: The Secret Library is a time travel fantasy. Dally’s beloved grandfather leaves her a secret map which leads her to a mysterious library where each “book” on the shelf contains someone’s secret. When you’re inside the Secret Library, time stands still in the real world, but each book is a portal to adventure—a path to a moment in the past when the secret was created or revealed. Through the library, Dally gets to have the adventures she craves, while learning secrets about her family, her friends and herself in the process.

Anne: The twists are surprising! It’s an exciting story. But no spoilers here. My question is: when you began writing, did you know from the get-go that this novel would include time travel? Are you a big fan of time travel stories?

Kekla: Yes, the time travel component was a very early part of the story idea. I heard the phrase “a secret library” in reference to a regular library hidden behind a bookcase in someone’s home. For some reason, my brain heard the emphasis differently that day: not “secret LIBRARY” but “SECRET library”—a library of secrets. What would such a place be? The idea that each book on the shelf holds a secret felt fun, but I knew it wouldn’t be a very interesting novel if the main character just read books all day and never went anywhere, so the idea of time travel solved that problem. Plus, it helped me fulfill the dream of writing a time travel novel, because yes, I love them, and it was a dream come true to find an idea that allowed me to write one. 

Anne: That’s a great insight into your writing process.

Now I’m curious about the characters’ names. Dally is a nickname for Delilah, and along the way we learn the origin of her last name. All the names hold significance. How did you go about choosing them?

Kekla: My character names either come easily from the beginning or else I struggle with them all the way to the end. Dally’s came easily. That’s just what she was called from the first scene I wrote. As she entered the library and met the secret librarian for the first time, she introduced herself as Dally and described her whole name, Delilah Peteharrington, as “a bit of a mouthful.” I do feel a deep sense of meaning for Dally’s name that’s hard to explain, but one thing I particularly liked is that I haven’t heard the name before. I don’t know anyone named Dally in real life and that kept her character free of any preconceived influences. That’s not something I always prioritize for protagonists but it felt right in this case. The secondary characters’ names all have particular purposes, too, like Jack and Eli.  

Anne: Right. And along the way, Dally learns the origins of their names.

I love the bit about libraries being “dangerous” because “powerful things are always considered dangerous.” Your fictional library includes sections with labels such as “Family Secrets” and “Withheld for Someone’s Own Good.” Ha! Tell us about you and libraries. Growing up, what section of the library was your favorite?

Kekla: My mom took us to the library every week, usually twice a week. I loved the young adult section, and every time we visited I took home all the paperback novels I could carry. I most often read contemporary realistic fiction about kids and teens navigating friendships, family, school and other challenging issues in their social lives. I loved series like Babysitters’ Club and Sweet Valley High, as well as Nancy Drew Mysteries. Historical fiction was another favorite genre, and most of my individual favorite books from childhood are historical, like Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.  

Anne: Love it. Those are such classics. Now, back to The Secret Library...

Dally is a biracial kid who knows race is a social construct. The story provides young readers with language to compare/contrast our current understanding of race with some of the ways people used to view race. Growing up as a biracial kid, yourself, what wisdom does Dally impart that you wish you’d known then?  

Kekla: Time travel is complicated when you’re writing Black/biracial characters, because readers expect and hope for time travel to be fun, adventurous and exciting, but going back into the past for Black characters brings many challenges. Traveling to a time of enslavement or segregation is not exactly a walk in the park.

Dally knows that race is a social construct, and also that she enjoys certain privileges because she is wealthy and light-skinned in her real-world timeline. But in the past, she looks like someone who might be enslaved. That creates complications. Dally learns about her family through the library, as she often travels into Family Secrets. Just knowing that race is a social construct gives Dally wisdom that I didn’t know as a kid. It’s been twenty-plus years since I was Dally’s age, but the lessons I learned in school always placed racism in the past, not the present, yet my lived experience contradicted that message. Growing up without really understanding the truth about racism in our past AND present is part of what drives me to write the things I write today. I did my best to grapple with the real issues that would have been present for Black people in the eras Dally visits, while also keeping the book’s tone light and the adventures generally upbeat.

Anne: The Secret Library is a great book for learning about racism in the past AND present.

And you weave lots of wisdom into the story, such as Grandpa telling Dally, “It’s up to you to live your best life, no matter what circumstances the world throws at you.” Or take the line about freedom being the ability “to step out of the roles society [forces on you].” This book has a bunch of lines I want to jot on sticky-notes and post near my desk for inspiration! Do you post inspirational quotes at your desk? Got a favorite quote to share with us?

Kekla: I’m a fan of quotes. I don’t have a particular area right now where I gather inspirational lines, but I used to collect quotes in a journal. One quote I’ve been thinking a lot about lately came from a meme I encountered while researching time travel theories. It said:

“When people think about time travel, they worry that making small changes in the past could drastically affect the present. But they fail to recognize that making small changes in the present could drastically affect the future.”

I don’t know where that quote originates, but it really spoke to me, because I write a lot about social justice and activism. One of the messages I speak to students about is the idea that we don’t have to be the biggest leaders or heroes in the world to do good and create change. We can do small things to stand up for what is right and still be part of transforming our communities. 

Anne: Nice. One of the story’s themes is that “true wealth comes from knowing who you are.” Dally went in search of her family’s roots in order to find herself, and what she found surprised her. What about you? Did you ever research your own family and discover something surprising?

Kekla: I’m sure everyone has interesting family secrets to uncover, even me, but I don’t have any surprising stories so far. I knew this growing up, but here’s a fun fact: one of my great aunts was a Women’s Air Service Pilot in WWII. I also remember feeling really proud to learn that I had family members who fought against colonialism in West Africa in the 1950s and 60s. 

Anne: Women pilots and anti-colonialism in the ’50s and ’60s. These sound like great topics for future books for young readers!

Before we end, let’s share your social media links. Where can readers go to learn more about you and your books?

Kekla: I primarily use Instagram for book updates, but you can also follow me on X, TikTok, and Bluesky. On Facebook I’m KeklaMagoon-YA Author. And, of course, my website is keklamagoon.com.

Anne: Thank you so much, Kekla, for spending time with us today at MG Book Village, and for writing such a rich and exciting story. It’s been an honor to chat with you!

Kekla: Great to be here!

Kekla Magoon writes novels and nonfiction books for children and teens, often on themes of identity, community, empowerment and social justice. Acclaimed titles include The Season of Styx Malone, The Rock and the River, How It Went Down, and Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People. Kekla received the 2021 Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. She is also a recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, a Michael L. Printz Honor, four Coretta Scott King Honors, two Walter Award Honors, and an NAACP Image Award, in addition to being a finalist for the National Book Award, Kekla holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she is also faculty emerita. Visit her online at keklamagoon.com.

Anne (A.B.) Westrick (she/her) is the author of the older-MG novel Brotherhood. You can learn more about Anne at the MG Book Village “About” page and her website, ABWestrick.com.

Kathie: Hi Sylvia, and thank you for taking some time to chat with me today. Before we get started, thank you SO much for writing this book. As the mom of a kid with a milk allergy, I’ve been waiting for a book like this one that addresses the feelings and experiences that a child with food allergies can face, and you’ve done such a great job capturing them.

Can you please give us a brief synopsis?

Thank you, Kathie. Coping with food allergies is difficult, especially with milk, because, whoa, ice cream is a whole food group for kids. But I believe that what feels like a terrible restriction when children are young, can ultimately make them more conscious and disciplined about eating and ultimately other things too. 

The synopsis: After an allergic reaction to pizza in kindergarten, Ella gets homeschooled till grade 5 when she returns to class with an anxiety over public speaking but also, happily, a best friend, Zenia. Together they decide to tackle the CN Tower Climb for World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Zenia’s in it for the cute boys already signed up. But Ella turns the climb into a metaphor for conquering her fear. She’s going to climb to the top and present her poem on food allergies over the city of Toronto. After that, how hard can it be to present to the class? She trains to climb and she trains to present and when a trace of wrong food spoils her plan, she’s ultimately strong enough to recover and conquer.

You can catch a more succinct précis here in this booktrailer, starring one of my grandchildren (I have nine who all live close by and a son who is a one-man video production company: epilogueproductions.com)

Kathie: Why was it important to you to write about a main character with food allergies?

Sylvia:

My daughter wanted me to write something that normalized kids like my own two grandchildren who need to navigate multiple food allergies. I watched my grandson go from a confident toddler to someone who froze over every bite of food and couldn’t be apart from his mom, his protector. The anxiety spilled over into other things. A talented athlete, he couldn’t attend team sports. My outgoing younger granddaughter seemed to cope better. But recently she suffered a reaction after sneaking peanut butter cookie crumbs at my house, long story. The depression and guilt she (and I) felt, overwhelmed us. I wanted desperately to help kids with this problem and like many writers, I believe the answer to every problem can come from a book.

Sylvia:

Kathie: Adolescence can be challenging for many kids with allergies, not only because they don’t want to stand out from their peers but because they’re also learning to deal with them independently. Why do you think we haven’t seen them addressed more in middle-grade books?

Sylvia:

In the past allergic people were often characterized as sickly and weak in a non-dramatic way.

Hayfever’s not that exciting. Today people may find coping/catering around the rising number of food allergies to be a bother—they also confuse them with diet trends—so perhaps the topic seems un-entertaining. Or even frightening, I know one editor thought an allergic reaction was too scary for kids to read about. But what happens when they have to live through one? This is not an imaginary dragon. With pandemic school shutdowns I had the luxury of reading the story to two of my non-allergic grandchildren who enjoyed Blue to the Sky as a medical drama. They found the milk testing chapter fascinating and they liked the poetry.

Sylvia:

Kathie: How would you describe Ella in five adjectives, and what’s one thing you most admire about her?

Sylvia:

Creative, anxious, brave, loving, strong. I enjoy her quirkiness, how she plays classical music in her head as a sound track to her emotions, how she explodes into rhyming poetry and how she assumes the world, her mother especially, will come to see things her way. 

Kathie: What was one of your favourite scenes to write and why?

Sylvia:

My favourite scene to write was the CN Tower climb. For one, it’s the dark moment of the story that Ella has so built up in her mind to be her pinnacle triumph.

Also like Ella, two of my other grandchildren and I had trained on the Chedoke Stairs. The characters Ella meets along the CN Tower climb are bits of people I’ve met while training or read about having made the climb. As a lazy exerciser, I loved poking fun at the over-achieving fitness buffs who work out excessively for the climb. At the Burlington Go Train stairs, I watched my friend try to help a blind guy who was attempting to go down an up escalator with a coffee in one hand and his white cane in the other. He became so angry with her! I needed to capture him in a story. I felt winded and tired along with Ella, and I worked to make the reader as confused as Ella as to whether she was getting a cold or having a reaction because it can be that confusing.

Kathie:  Is there something interesting you learned while writing this book that you can share with us?

Sylvia:

In volunteering with Hamilton Youth Poets for research, I saw first hand how poetry changed the young writers’ lives. I watched how kids conquered stage fright and became more confident through participation in Slam competitions. Spoken word poetry especially is an accessible form of writing for everyone, no segues needed, not so much attention to tenses and grammar, and also wildly fun even if the rhythm and rhyme aren’t quite right. The ultimate lesson I learned is that it is your passion(s) that help you cope.

Kathie: Can you tell us a bit about your writing process – do you have a plan or outline ahead of time, or do you let the story unfold as you write?

Sylvia:

In the past when I’ve had contracts and oh, so much pressure for deadlines, I bluffed chapter outlines mostly for the publisher. Once you’ve outlined, however, psychologically you feel you’ve written the book, and yet you haven’t. Now I aim for a three point plan, beginning, climax and end and then it’s all allowing my character to grow in between those points as the tensions rise. I’m blessed with many writing friends and we workshop our stories together, chapter by chapter. We also act as beta readers for each other when we have a whole book. So many rewrites later the story goes to an agent.

Kathie: Do you have any other upcoming writing projects you can share with us?

Sylvia:

I’m writing a three-book series about alien octopus who have chosen Earth as the perfect planet to relocate to—they’ve used up their own home. They body jump into urban animals and in almost a dumb-bunny style make realizations about humans and how they treat the world. What I’m aiming for is high humour and hope for how, going forward, we will conserve and save our planet. I think too many kids are depressed and paralyzed by the ticking countdown of climate change. They need to know we can fix this and we will fix it. The aliens ultimately recognize this in the human species.

Kathie: Where can we go to learn more about you and your writing?

Sylvia:

 My website URL is sylviamcnicoll.com and I have a youtube channel @SylviaMcNicoll but really the best way to learn about my writing is by reading my work which is available at most libraries and your favourite bookstores.

Kathie: Thanks again for answering my questions and for writing this book. I wish you a successful release, and I sincerely hope it finds its way into the hands of many young readers, especially those young readers with food allergies who may never have seen themselves in a story before.

Sylvia McNicoll is the author of dozens of middle grade and young adult novels, such as Crush, Candy,
Corpse, Body Swap, and The Great Mistake Mystery series. She has won numerous awards for her books
including Forest of Reading’s Silver Birch Award, a MYRCA award, Creative Burlington’s inaugural Arts
Recognition Award, and six Hamilton Arts Awards. She currently lives in Burlington, Ontario. For more
about McNicoll, visit sylviamcnicoll.com.

Anne: Hello, Mr. Schu! For years you’ve tirelessly supported libraries and all things reading-related, and now it’s great to see your own MG debut on the shelf. Louder than Hunger just came out from Candlewick. Would you please tell readers a bit about the story?

John Schu: Thank you to MG Book Village for supporting libraries and librarians!

Thank you for supporting readers!

Louder Than Hunger tells Jake’s story.

Jake volunteers at Tinley Terrace, a nursing home near his house.

He loves books.

He loves musicals and movies.

He avoids people his own age.

He avoids mirrors and food.

There’s a very loud voice inside his head that tells him he’s unworthy of taking up space. That he’s unworthy of a happy life.

Eventually, Jake’s hospitalized at Whispering Pines for anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and depression.

Jake’s story is based on my experiences and emotions while living in multiple residential treatment facilities as a teen.

Anne: It’s a heart-wrenching story. I like the way your summary mirrors the pages of the book—more white space than text. Sometimes the shape of the words themselves gave me the sensation of falling, kind of like the downward spiral Jake was in. It’s an effective way to tell Jake’s story! What made you decide to write Louder than Hunger as a verse novel?

John Schu: The shape of the words gave you the sensation of falling—wow! That makes my heart happy. That was my intention.

I always knew Louder Than Hunger needed to be told in verse. The white space in the margins comforted me. It helped me dig deeper. It helped me feel more comfortable with the level of vulnerability it took to tell this very personal story. I hope it helps readers more easily digest Jake’s story, too.

Anne: Yes, I think it will. You open with the dedication, “for thirteen year-old me, who needed a book like this one,” and at the end, you say, “Writing Jake’s story hurt and healed my heart.” Ooooh, I ache for you and kids going through tough stuff, whether it’s bullying, anorexia, depression, grief, or all of the above. What was the hardest scene for you to write?

John Schu: Writing the dedications and the author’s note were two of the most cathartic writing experiences.

Oh, so many of the scenes were hard to write.

The scene in the library.

The scene when his mom is screaming and yelling because Jake won’t eat. She’s lost. She doesn’t know how to help him. She’s dealing with her own depression and anxiety.

But you asked me which scene was the hardest to write . . .

The hardest poems to write were the ones after Jake’s day pass with his mom to the Chicago Theatre. The Voice destroys what feels like it could be a turning point in Jake’s treatment. As I wrote those scenes, I kept saying, “I’m sorry, Jake! I need to hurt you again.”

Anne: When I read those scenes, I was soooooo sad for Jake.

Now, let’s talk about the grandmother character. She plays a huge role in Jake’s story. Was she based on your own grandmother? Tell us a bit about your grandma and your relationship with her. 

John Schu: Thank you for asking about Jake’s grandma. In addition to dedicating the book to thirteen-year-old me, I write this in the dedication:

 For Grandma Ruth,
who always reminded me to slow down.

I was VERY close to my grandma. She was my best friend. She would pick me up every Friday afternoon during the school year to spend the weekend at her house. We spent almost every day together during summer break.

Like Jake’s grandma, she loved the color red, The Golden Girls, music, and Venture department store.

Like Jake’s grandma, she read aloud Goofy’s Big Race hundreds of times. “Slow and steady . . .”

Like Jake’s Grandma, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when I was in middle school.

A cancer that destroyed her body. I miss her every day!

Anne: Oh, that must have been hard. I love how your grandma character kept telling Jake, “take care of my boy!” I felt like I knew her.

Jake has fond memories of elementary school. What about you? What year in school was your happiest?

John Schu: School was complicated.

I felt out of place.

I spent a lot of time during elementary school feeling alone and on the outside looking in.

In The Creativity Project, I write a letter to Dr. Mary Margaret Reed, my fifth-grade teacher.

I thank her for the happiest year of elementary school.

I thank her for being patient and understanding and kind.

I thank her for reading aloud to me.

I thank her for making me feel less alone.

A big thank-you to all of the Dr. Mary Margaret Reeds of the world!

Anne: I hope Dr. Reed reads this interview!

These days, as you travel around the country visiting schools and nurturing a love of reading and libraries, what age group do you most enjoy spending time with?

John Schu: I love visiting schools! I see grades 3-5 the most. I always thought it was my favorite age group, but I’ve been adding more and more middle school visits to my schedule. I enjoy every experience.

Anne: Let’s end with your social media links. Where can readers go to learn more about you and your books?

John Schu: The best place is my website, JohnSchu.com. You can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.

I would be most grateful if you bought a copy of Louder Than Hunger for a friend from your favorite bookshop!

Anne: Will do! Thank you for spending time with us today at MG Book Village. It’s been a privilege to chat with you and hear a bit about your life and your approach to writing this story.

John Schu: Thank you so much! I appreciate your thoughtful questions! Happy, happy reading!

John Schu advocates for the things he cares about most: kids, books, and the people that connect them. He is the children’s librarian for Bookelicious, a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, and for almost 6 years served as the Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs. He was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and is the author of This Is a School, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, This Is a Story, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo, Louder Than Hunger, and The Gift of Story: Exploring the Affective Side of the Reading Life. He is a contributor to The Creativity Project, edited by Colby Sharp. John Schu lives in Naperville, Illinois.

Anne (A.B.) Westrick (she/her) is the author of the older-MG novel Brotherhood. You can learn more about Anne at the MG Book Village “About” page and her website, ABWestrick.com.

Kathie: Hi Mónica! Thanks for taking time today to talk with me about your upcoming middle-grade debut novel, Sing It LIke Celia, which comes out April 2nd from Penguin Random House. I thoroughly enjoyed reading an early copy, and I look forward to learning more about it. Can you give us a brief synopsis of it, please?

Mónica: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me, Kathie! Sing it Like Celia is about a twelve-year-old girl named Salvadora Sanchez (Salva for short) whose life is turned upside down one day when her mother disappears without explanation. She winds up living with her long-absent investigative journalist father in a camper van while he travels to a campground in Northern California to work on a story about a woman who has been separated from her own children and is facing deportation. While navigating the emotional uncertainties of her new circumstances and unraveling the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, Salva befriends a group of local kids and is coaxed into lending her amazing vocal talents and love of salsa music to their band. The shake-up that ensues leads to drama amongst the band, but ultimately helps Salva to find her voice (both literally and figurately) as she fights for what she believes in and learns to stand up for herself and others.

Kathie: I know your childhood inspired this book, and I’d love to hear about your journey from the initial idea to the finished product.

Mónica: The initial inspiration for this book grew from a conversation with my editor, during which she asked about my years gone by as an avid salsa dancer and wondered whether this could be a good subject for a middle grade book. We talked about my earliest exposure to salsa music – the time I saw Celia Cruz perform at an outdoor concert when I was 13 – and this led me to dig a little deeper about what salsa, and music in general, meant to me during my childhood. There was a lot of instability during my childhood, beginning with the divorce of my parents when I was four, but music was a constant – a way for me to find solace and a sense of self-expression. I also found kindred spirits in the other kids who, like me, found strength in the performing arts. I began thinking about the many ways in which children find themselves coping with the loss of a parent – divorce, family discord, incarceration (another topic close to home), and deportation. I really wanted to give voice to the struggles these children go through, while also giving them a sense of hope and empowerment.

Kathie: Words that immediately come to mind to describe Salva are music-loving and passionate. What are two more words you’d use to describe her, and how is she similar and different from you?

Mónica: I would agree that Salva is music-loving and passionate. I would also describe her as empathetic and resilient. I think it’s almost impossible not to put some of yourself into the characters you write, and Salva is definitely a testament to that. Salva and I both struggle with anxiety, we both come from broken homes where we were expected to take on the role of emotional caretaker, we both sing and love salsa music, we’re both keenly aware of the suffering of others and compelled to want to help them, we both struggle with stage fright, we both spent time traveling with our fathers in a camper van as children. The only measurable difference between me and Salva is that my mother didn’t disappear the way her mother does in the story. That part of the story was inspired by the experience of someone very close to me.

Kathie: I loved Betty, the owner of the Lonely Pines Campground where Salva and her dad stayed, and that Salva found a community that embraced her and helped her grow. Do you have a supporting character you most enjoyed writing?

Mónica: I definitely enjoyed writing Betty, who is just that sweet nurturing grandma type you just can’t help but want to hug. I also enjoyed writing Maj and exploring a little bit of her cultural background and personality, which is so different from Salva’s and my own. 

Kathie: The book addresses some big topics, such as mental health, incarceration, and the treatment of undocumented individuals in the United States. What’s one thing you hope young readers will take away from this story?

Mónica: If there had to be one take away, I would want it to be that we’re all struggling with something. We don’t always talk about what’s going on under the surface. What’s important is that we reach for empathy in all situations, that we are kind to ourselves and others, and that we aren’t afraid to speak out when our voice is being silenced. And if all of that feels a little too hard in the present moment, I hope that young readers will at least see themselves in the characters in this story and know that they are not alone in whatever they might be going through.

Kathie: Music is an important part of this story. Do you like to sing, and what role does music play in your life?

Mónica: Music has always been a big part of my life. I began playing the piano when I was six-years-old and started singing in choirs a couple of years later. I went to a school of performing arts from seventh to twelfth grade and turned my focus to songwriting in college. After I graduated, I moved to Los Angeles to be a recording artist and now teach piano to children in the few hours a day when I’m not writing.

Kathie: What’s one question you’d love to be asked about your book, and how would you answer it?

Mónica: I would love for people to ask about the best ways to support the book. And the answer to that would be to buy it from an indie book seller near you and, if you can afford it, buy additional copies to donate to a Title I school in your city; review the book online, share it within your community, and request it at your local library.

Kathie: Where can we go to learn more about you and your writing?

Mónica: You can learn more about me and my writing at https://www.monicamancillas.com.

Kathie: Thanks again for joining me today, and I wish you much success in your publishing journey.

Mónica Mancillas based her debut middle-grade novel on her own childhood experiences and those of her beloved sister, who shares her love of music and will someday take the world by storm. Mónica received her BA in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley before pursuing a decade-long career in the recording industry. She currently teaches piano in Burbank, California, where she resides with her husband and daughter. Her previous work includes Mariana and Her Familia, The Worry Balloon, and How to Speak in Spanglish. Find out more about Mónica at www.monicamancillas.com.

Anne: Hello, Chris! I’ve loved reading your many award-winning YA novels, and now to see that you’ve written for MG readers—well, it’s great news for MG Book Village. Welcome! Your MG novel Walkin’ the Dog comes out tomorrow, March 12. Would you please give readers a brief summary of what the story is all about?

Chris: Funny, the more one does these summaries, the harder it is to be brief. Because, I think, the book keeps growing in the author’s mind, to encompass so many ideas, the impulse to keep saying, “…and another thing…and another thing…” is strong. I will try to resist that impulse here.

Anne: This book has so many layers, it’s hard to sum up! Okay, what say you?

Chris: Thirteen-year-old Louis has been homeschooled for most of his life, and that has suited him fine. One of life’s happy and committed bystanders, he’s just not keen on getting involved. His activist mother nicknamed him “The Inactivist.” But things are changing, he is going to the local high school in the fall, and his mother is hospitalized with opioid-related issues. Circumstances dictate that he needs to get up and out—first as a favor to a family friend, then as a thriving business proposition—as a dog walker. As most people know, when you’re walkin’ dogs, all life eventually comes to you, and you to it. And this constitutes Louis’ pilgrim’s progress from reclusive kid to engaged citizen of the world.

Anne: Thank you. Louis ends up getting much more than a few bucks for his dog-walking efforts. The story is full of wisdom! And it’s really funny. You succeeded in making me laugh and cry. Seriously. And my question is: when you sit down to write, do you already know the themes you’ll weave into a story, or do they emerge along the way? What was your starting-point for Walkin’ the Dog?

Chris: The road to Walkin’ the Dog has been so long and twisty (first signed up in 2015) that I barely remember the starting point. Except that, as with all my work, it started with characters. The only two to make it through the whole journey were Louis and his older, gnarly brother, Ike. Ike changed a lot, but more importantly, the female characters came forward and took over much of the narrative. But I knew I wanted Louis to have a journey from ne’er-do-well to maybe-do-something. My editor, Kendra Levin, was the one who drove me to come up with a vehicle to get Louis out and about and into life. I’d long thought of dog walkers as making the world go round (how often do news items tell us that important stuff was discovered by people walking dogs?), and harbored dreams of using them in a book. So, rather than a starting point, I guess Kendra and the dogs represented the vital re-starting point of the book.

Anne: Nice. Your characters are unique and complex, including a fisherman dad, a quick-with-a-comeback younger sister, and (among others) two you already mentioned—Louis’s gnarly older brother and activist mom. How do you come up with your characters? Are any of them based on people you know?

Chris: Pretty much all my characters are composites. I don’t really like to lean too heavily on real people because I generally find that unfair. The people in our lives have not signed up for this life just because we fiction writers have signed up for it. So I hope there is deep enough cover at work that nobody I know feels violated by my work. Sometimes though, needs must, and I need to give credit where it’s due. The mother borrows heavily from an old family friend, Eleanor Batuyios, who worked for many years at Rosie’s Place, the women’s shelter in Boston. Eleanor was the model for Ma’s heroism and superhumanity, though not, I should emphasize, her personal issues.

Anne: That’s great. I hope Eleanor reads this.

Now, let’s talk about the dogs. They’re key characters, too. Clearly, you’re a dog-lover! You appreciate how therapeutic a relationship with a dog can be. Tell me about your dogs. Are any of the dogs in the story based on yours?

Chris: Dogs. Oy. I have had many magnificent mutts. I shall keep this brief because I could go on and on, but also for the next, obvious reason. Dexter, the dog with me in the book’s author photo, had to be put down in February. He saw me through so, so, so many things during his 13+ years, and it’s one of the great, rotten, cosmic jokes that he had to exit the stage one month before this particular book came out. But, if you knew Dex, you would be certain that this was just how he would have had it. No fuss suited him down to his paw pads.

Which leaves us with Selkie. Our wonderful blonde Lurcher (Greyhound/Saluki cross), who at least now can rocket across the park after tennis balls because she is not worrying about what Dexter is up to (which she did, constantly, charmingly, infuriatingly). We got the two of them at the same shelter, exactly 10 years apart. It closed this year.

I spent many glorious hours on the SSPCA website during the writing of WTD. Many critters—including the three-legged white Lurcher—came directly from those pages.

Anne: Oh, I sense how hard it must have been to say good-bye to Dexter. I’m sure Selkie misses him, too. In the book, your three-legged white Lurcher is a stunning character.

Now, back to the humans in the story: we tend to have a stereotypical view of a thirteen year-old as difficult and at odds with their parents, but Louis is nothing of the sort. He loves his parents. He cares about them. He’d do anything to please them. He’s a refreshing, endearing character! Tell me about you. What were you like when you were thirteen?

Chris: When I was thirteen? I suppose I think of that as calm-before-the-storm time. Eighth grade was one of the best years of my life. Bearing in mind I am fond of saying my memory is so keen I remember stuff that never happened.

Anne: Ha! Love it.

Chris: But there is no single phase of life that does not make me wince at my behavior to this day. I was overconfident and yet deeply lacking in self-confidence. I had friends, performed well in school, and managed being thirteen better than a lot of years before or since.

Anne: Much of the story’s underlying tension has to do with Louis not looking forward to high school in the fall. If you could once again imagine yourself as thirteen, anticipating the start of high school, what words of wisdom would you tell yourself?

Chris: On the precipice of high school, I would tell myself to find my true self. The world is opening up now, so find out who you are and how you fit within it. Then, as much as you can, be that guy, be great at being that guy and resist all the temptations (they will be overwhelming) to be somebody else.

Anne: Wise. Thank you. Makes me want to reread the book and soak up its wisdom all over again.

Chatting with you has been an honor. Let’s end with your social media links. Where can readers go to learn more about you? Google tells me your website is your name followed by “.link” but when I go there, I get a warning that the site has been compromised. Do I have the right URL?

Chris: As for a social media presence, I don’t really have one. There is a Facebook page or two, but I can’t even access them. The email that was used to set them up is long out of business, and Meta can’t let me redo my password because they would only do that with the email of record.

As for that other site, don’t bother if it’s compromised, as it’s not me anyway. Turns out there are a whole lot of other Chris Lynches out there, and some of them are writers. I guess if it can happen to Harvey Pekar, it can happen to anybody, right?

Anne: Okay, then I’ll link to this Simon and Schuster page that tells folks a bit more about the book and some of the great reviews it’s gotten.

Thank you so much, Chris, for spending a little time with us here at MG Book Village. I’m feeling Newbery vibes for Walkin’ the Dog, and I’ll be looking for it on next year’s Awards short lists.

Chris: Thank you, Anne, it has been a pleasure. I appreciated all your kind words. If my books can find readers, I’ll be a happy guy. I’m happy to just be able to keep doing what I do!

Chris Lynch is the award–winning author of several highly acclaimed young adult novels, including Printz Honor Book Freewill, Iceman, Gypsy Davey, and Shadow Boxer—all ALA Best Books for Young Adults—as well as Killing Time in Crystal City, Little Blue Lies, Pieces, Kill Switch, Angry Young Man, and Inexcusable, which was a National Book Award finalist and the recipient of six starred reviews. Chris is the author of middle grade novel Walkin’ the Dog. He holds an MA from the writing program at Emerson College. He teaches in the creative writing MFA program at Lesley University. He lives in Boston and in Scotland.

Anne (A.B.) Westrick (she/her) is the author of the older-MG novel Brotherhood. You can learn more about Anne at the MG Book Village “About” page and her website, abwestrick.com.

*The editors of this anthology are Chris Baron, Joshua Levy, and Naomi Milliner

Kathie: Hi Chris, Josh and Naomi! Thanks for joining me today and chatting about your upcoming anthology, ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS: A Passover Celebration in 14 Stories, which comes out on March 26th from Amulet Books. How did the three of you collaborate to bring the idea for this book to life?

Chris/Josh/Naomi: First, thanks so much for having us! We’re so happy to be chatting with you, and so excited for the anthology! The three of us first became friends in advance of our 2019 debut year and have been talking stories ever since. At some point during the height of the pandemic, the three of us began discussing a potential Passover-related collaboration, which eventually became this anthology. Passover has always meant a great deal to us–its rituals and stories and family-orientation. And we feel very privileged to be a part of a project that captures so much of the holiday’s many facets in a single middle grade book.

Kathie: Your book is set up so that the Seder (a special meal) is broken down into its stages, and each section has a brief explanation, a related story, and four questions that the reader can think about that help them connect to the theme. Whose idea was it to include these questions (which, by the way, were brilliant), and how did you come up with them?

Chris/Josh/Naomi: Honestly, it’s hard to say for sure. This whole project has been so collaborative from the start. (WE HAVE SENT SO MANY JOINT EMAILS!) The specific origins of this idea may have been Josh’s; but the execution has been by all three of us, together. We poured a lot of care into the intros and these questions; really glad they resonated.

Kathie: I love seeing more Jewish authors and their stories in the middle-grade book world, and I’ve thought about how I’d love to see an imprint from one of the major publishers that focuses on books with Jewish representation. What’s something you would like to see in the future of publishing?

Chris/Josh/Naomi: We certainly wouldn’t say no to a major Jewish-focused kidlit imprint! But for now, we hope to see Jewish stories from across the very diverse spectrum of our community continue to find homes at both smaller and larger publishers.

Kathie: I know the dates of Passover change from year to year; what determines when it occurs?

Yeah, this is definitely a “Josh” question, and careful what you wish for! Here goes (I’ll try to keep it short!): The Gregorian calendar is (obviously) 365 days long, except for leap years like these when we add a day. That calendar is generally “solar,” meaning, one year equals about the amount of time it takes the Earth to move around the Sun. And because it’s solar, it’s seasonal. February is always in the winter. August is always in the summer. But the Jewish calendar is (half) lunar. It’s a collection of twelve 29 or 30-day months built around the cycle of the moon. Problem is, 12 lunar months equals just 354 days, and every Jewish year falls about 11 days behind the solar calendar. (Kind of like if Christmas one year was on December 25, then December 14, then the 3rd!)

So…in order to have the lunar calendar keep up with the Sun (and make sure holidays like Hanukkah are linked to the winter and holidays like Passover are linked to the spring), every few years is a Jewish leap year. In fact, this year is a Jewish leap year! And instead of adding a day to the calendar, we add a thirteenth month. So yeah, Passover and other Jewish holidays roam backwards in the calendar every year, then are pushed forward again every leap year. It can certainly get a bit confusing. But I’m available to liven up any parties with long-winded discussions of calendar mechanics!

Kathie: What’s something I haven’t asked you about your book that you’d like our readers to know?

Naomi is taking this one: We tried our best to include not only everyone, but everything – from soup to nuts (or, kosher for Passover soup nuts). Speaking of food… we have recipes in the back from five fantastic chefs, created exclusively for the anthology! (Can you tell I’m excited about this?) Another uniquely Passover feature at the end of the book was loosely basing our acknowledgments on the song “Who Knows One?” It was a lot of fun.

Kathie: One of the things I thought set this book apart from other anthologies was how welcoming it was to non-Jewish readers. I felt like you invited us to join you and learn from your traditions, and I gained SO much interesting knowledge. Why was it important to you to write it that way?

Chris here: Thank you! We’re so glad you found this as welcoming as you did. We absolutely aspired for this. There are so many wonderful traditions, like Passover, across religions and cultures that bring families and communities together. Our hope is that kids and their families across a wide range of traditions can find these connections in a powerful way.   In today’s kidlit world, so many of us are trying to support stories that reflect folks from all different backgrounds–stories that can help kids from within those communities see themselves and that can help kids from outside those communities understand and empathize with others unlike themselves. Mirrors and windows. We think of Jewish stories in the same terms. As we say in our introduction to the book: “We hope you find something here that reminds you of yourself. We also hope you find something that doesn’t.”

Kathie: Can you take a minute to tell us about the books that you individually have coming out this year and where we can go to learn more about each of you and your writing?

We’ll take this one by one!

Chris: My next Middle Grade novel in verse will be out in 2025!  The tentative title (speaking of titles it might be fun to look at this article I wrote for MG BOOKVILLAGE a ”They Changed the Title of Your Book!” ) sorry-the tentative title is FOREST HEART, and it follows the adventures of some of the favorite characters I’ve ever written, Finn and Rabbit, two nature loving kids who live in a small mountain town that experiences a devastating wildfire-and how they have to redefine their lives and rediscover who they are.  I leave most of my heart in this book.  You can learn more at www.chris-baron.com and always on twitter @baronchrisbaron and IG @Christhebearbaron

Josh: Certainly! On May 14, I’ve got FINN AND EZRA’S BAR MITZVAH TIME LOOP from HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books (here’s some info) about two kids trapped in…a bar mitzvah time loop! It’s about family and community and appreciating what you have, and is also absolutely bonkers. I’m really proud of it and so excited for it to be out SO SOON! Otherwise, you can find me on the Internets at www.joshuasimonlevy.com and on Twitter/IG @JoshuaSLevy

Naomi: Thank you for asking – and, again, for this interview, Kathie. My next book is coming out NEXT year; I hope that still counts! 🙂 It’s called THE TROUBLE WITH SECRETS and will be published by Quill Tree. The heroine is a rabbi’s daughter who – in her mind – is forced to go behind her parents’ back to audition for All-County band. When she discovers that her older sister is also keeping a secret, they agree to cover for each other, leading to tragic results. I can be found on both Facebook and Twitter under Naomi Milliner, and at my website is: naomimilliner.wordpress.com/

Kathie: Thank you so much for answering my questions and creating an enjoyable book. I wish you lots of success with its release.

Thank you, Kathie! Really appreciate it!

Kathie: Welcome to MG Book Village, Nedda! It’s so nice to have a chance to get to know you. Please tell our readers a bit about yourself.

Nedda: Thank you for having me on the blog, Kathie. I am an Egyptian American author who grew up in Queens, NY. Even though I live in L.A. now, once a Queens girl, always a Queens girl. I didn’t pursue writing until later in life. Before that, I enjoyed a fulfilling career in teaching.

Kathie: DAUGHTERS OF THE LAMP is your debut middle-grade novel, coming out on February 20th from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers. Can you share the inspiration for the book and your journey to its publication?

Nedda: Sure. My publishing journey started during a period of major change in my life. After forty years of living on the East Coast, my family and I moved to Los Angeles for my husband’s job. Even though it was hard leaving behind cherished friends and family, our beloved home, and a teaching position at a school I adored, our big move forced me to ask, “What now?”

During childhood, writing had always been a means of self-expression and reflection for me. In retrospect, it makes sense that years later, as an adult, when so much was uncertain in my life, I would turn to it again. Eventually, my what now turned into what if and how about, leading to, “How about I try and write a novel?”

The stories and characters that have impacted me the most were from books I read when I was young. As a kid, I relished being transported through fiction to magical lands. However, I often wished that the characters in those stories looked and sounded more like me and the people around me. Sahara and her world were born from that wish.

Drafting the initial manuscript of Daughters of the Lamp was far from easy. I enjoyed writing, but I knew nothing about crafting a novel. At forty-one, I was a beginner again, taking writing workshops online, reading books on craft, studying works by other middle grade authors, and making new friends in the writing world virtually and in person. It took me two years to complete the first draft, then another to close the gap between what I read on paper and what I envisioned in my head.I needed help with the latter, and luckily, I found it in the form of input from dedicated critique partners and an exceptional mentor. Taking the time to work on the manuscript led me to a fantastic agent. She helped me hone it further for submission, where it found a wonderful editor who believed in it as much as we did.

Kathie: One of the things I most enjoyed about your book was how it alternated between Sahara’s current-day experiences meeting family and learning about their history protecting artifacts with the perspective of Sahara’s ancestor, Morgana, and her journey to safeguard one of the same treasures generations ago. What made you decide to tell the story this way?

Nedda: One of the novels that inspired me during the writing process was Holes, particularly how author Louis Sachar skillfully wove together the experiences of Stanley at Camp Green Lake with those of his cursed ancestor from Latvia. It made me think a lot about how our families’ legacies, stories, triumphs, and struggles live on in us. I yearned to explore that theme in my own story. How would the lights and shadows of Sahara’s ancestral past manifest in her own life? How would she respond to them? Regardless of the answers, I wanted readers to have an intimate view of both. Some of my favorite books have been ones where I’ve been allowed to make discoveries before the protagonist does. I wanted to give my readers that opportunity too, which is why I decided to include the events in Morgana’s timeline along with Sahara’s.

Kathie: Tell us a little bit about Sahara, and how she developed from your original vision of her to the one we meet in this book? What’s one thing you most admire about her?

Nedda: I knew early on that I wanted to explore through Sahara’s character the experience of growing up as a first-generation American like I had. How would she navigate living in America, which she very much thinks of as home, while her family had so many ties to a land a world away? A land they thought of as home, too.

It wasn’t until I had figured out some of the major plot points that her other characteristics became clearer. I love it when character and plot play off each other, so once I decided Sahara would discover she was part of a thousand-year-old magical legacy, I thought about what traits Sahara should possess to make this world one that would push her to transform on the page. Who better to have to learn to accept her magical legacy and all the wacky things that happen around her when she arrives in Cairo than a kid who starts off being completely guided by logic and science? And the road to transformation is not easy for her. There are a lot of missteps along the way. But Sahara is resilient. That’s what I admire about her most.

Kathie: You grew up with an extended family in Egypt that you visited each summer. Did you face struggles similar to Sahara about your identity, and what do you hope readers might learn from her?

Nedda: Absolutely. Even though Queens is what I called home, I couldn’t deny the ties I had to Egypt because my extended family, with whom I spent almost every summer as a kid, lived there. But beyond those ties, there was a feeling that would come over me when I arrived in Egypt. It’s hard to describe, but while Cairo is very different from Queens, I felt at home there too. Sahara grapples with the question I often asked as a child: “Which one is home?”

Growing up with one foot in America and one foot in Egypt wasn’t always easy. But like Sahara, I came to learn easier isn’t always better. And that the answer to the question above is “both are home.” I don’t have to choose one. I can check more than one nationality box (literally and figuratively) because the most beautiful things in life don’t always fit into a neat package.

Kathie: You have a very busy year as the book’s sequel, CHILDREN OF THE WIND, comes out in June! Can you tell us a bit about what to expect and how many books are planned for the series?

Nedda: Tell me about it- very busy and very exciting! I’m thrilled that kids will have the opportunity to go on more adventures with Sahara. In CHILDREN OF THE WIND, she returns to Cairo, but this time with her best friend, Vicky, in tow. Sahara must find a way to protect her family’s magical treasures while working through some tough stuff with Vicky, who has no idea about Sahara’s legacy. In this book, Sahara’s POV alternates with that of Husnaya, a tenth-century Fatimid princess who yearns to learn wind sorcery. There are four books planned for the series.

Kathie: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about this book, and where can we learn more about you and your writing?

Nedda: You can learn more about my writing on my website, www.neddalewers.com. I also am active on Instagram @neddalewersbooks.

Kathie: Thank you so much for joining me today, Nedda, and I look forward to reading about Sahara’s next adventure this summer.

Nedda: Thank you so much for having me, Kathie.

Nedda Lewers is an Egyptian American author and former teacher. She writes books that take
children on fun adventures and feature characters who are trying to make sense of the big,
complicated world and their place in it. Her debut novel, Daughters of the Lamp, will be
released on February 20th, 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers. It was
recently selected by the ABA’s Indies Introduce Kids panel as a Top Ten Winter/Spring 2024
title.

Children of the Wind, the second installment in the Daughters of the Lamp series, will follow in
June 2024.

Kathie: Hi, James. Welcome to MG Book Village! We are big fans of your City Spies series around here, so I asked Laurie, one of our team members, to come up with some questions for our interview today. Let’s start by having you tell us a little bit about Mission Manhattan, the 5th book in the series.

James: The book starts off in Venice, Italy where the team has been sent to help protect a teenaged climate activist from Brazil named Beatriz. Since Rio is also from Brazil, he becomes the point of connection between her and the team. This book is his chance to finally take the lead. The ensuing adventure also takes them to Washington D.C. and New York City, where Beatriz is set to address the United Nations.

Laurie: Without giving anything away from Mission Manhattan, what are you most excited to see how readers react to?

James: I am always equal parts excited and anxious to see how readers will receive the story. If they’ve come this far through four other books, I do not want to disappoint them. I have my fingers crossed that they will see this as a proper continuation of a story they care about. I also want them to feel that it provides a significant advancement and development of the storylines and characters. There was a big cliffhanger at the end of book 4 and this book needs to address that in a way that is satisfying and rewarding.

Laurie: You’ve written three series: do you know it will be a series at the beginning, and do you plan the plot and character growth for the entire series, or does it happen from book to book?

James: I think because I began in television, I always think in series format. When Sherlock Society comes out in September it will mark the beginning of my fourth series and each was intended to be that. That said, I don’t plot them too far in advance. I have general thoughts and ideas, but they’re more questions than answers at the beginning. For example, with City Spies, I was curious about how the found family dynamic would play out, but I didn’t have any of it predetermined. I’m sure the smarter thing is probably to figure it all out, but I don’t seem to be wired that way. However, I usually try to think of big things a book or two ahead to make sure that I move in the right general direction building toward it.

Laurie:  In City Spies, there are a lot of different cities, and detailed research was completed to put us in each location.  How do you go about your research? What tips do you have for young writers?

James: Research is critically important for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that you want to get your facts right. But more importantly, you want to know the location well enough so that the story becomes organic and feels like it belongs there. I try to go to the locations in the stories. For this book I went to all of them. That included walking through Venice in the same places the team went, sneaking around the Iranian embassy in Washington DC, and going behind the scenes at the New York Public Library.

Often, though, travel to a loation is not possible because of expenses or logistics. An example is Istanbul, which is a setting in City Spies 6. (That comes out in February 2025.) I wasn’t able to go there, so I started researching on the internet. I read travel books. I watched videos on YouTube. These started to give me a feel for what was special and what I wanted to tap into. Luckily, the City Spies books are translated into Turkish, so I also reached out to my editor there and mailed her questions and zoomed with her a couple times for nuts-and-bolts types of things.

As for advice for young readers, I have three words – Google Street View! It’s amazing that I can sit in my home in Florida and “walk” along a specific street in London.

Laurie:  Could Florian and Margaret from your Framed series fit in as City Spies? Is there a potential for a crossover?

James: They could definitely fit, but I don’t think that will ever happen. If it was going to, it would’ve been this book, because the team goes to Washington. I thought about it, but it didn’t feel organic and I already have so many characters in these books that I couldn’t find a good way to do it. The one crossover that does exist – and I’ve never shared this before – is that David Denton Douglas is the name of the Director of the FBI in the Framed books and it’s the name of the head of MI6 in the City Spies books. Different guys, but the same name. My nickname for him is 3-D.

Laurie: You are so generous with your time, building and supporting other authors. Who are your supporters that you are grateful for?

James: There are so many. The middle grade writing community is beyond supportive. Mission Manhattan is dedicated to Dr. Rose Brock, who was a librarian and is now a professor of library sciences. She writes the curriculum guides for my books (and many others) and has been a great advisor and friend over the years. She’s really helped me figure out the world of Middle Grade. I also would like to mention Suzanne Collins, Chris Grabenstein, Stuart Gibbs, and Laurie Halse Anderson as four incredibly successful writers who are also amazing human beings who have helped me repeatedly.

Laurie: What type of genre would you like to try writing and why?

James: I think a strength of my writing from a career standpoint, has always been a pretty good understanding of what type of writer I am and where I fit best. I am exactly where I belong at the intersections of spy, mystery, adventure, and humor. 

Laurie: Given all the books you’ve written, which character is most like you and why?

James: All the characters have significant parts of me in them, but the one who probably overlaps with me the most is Florian Bates, the man character in the Framed books.

Laurie: What book(s) written today do you wish you could have read as a middle school reader? 

James: So many. I struggled as a young reader (and am still kind of slow at it as an adult) and would’ve loved the selection of graphic novels. I think they really would’ve had a positive effect on my reading life. If I had to pick one book, I’ll go with my friend Stu and say Spy School. I would’ve flipped for it.

Laurie: City Spies has been your focus, and with more books in the series coming our way, is it possible to write other books from ideas? 

James: Starting this year, I have two books a year. City Spies books will keep coming out for a while and starting in September the Sherlock Society will debut. It’s a mystery series set in my home state of Florida. It’s been exhausting but I am so excited about it.

Kathie: Thank you so much for taking some time to chat with us today, and we can’t wait to read Mission Manhattan!

James Ponti (he/him/his) is the New York Times bestselling author of four middle grade book series: The Sherlock Society following a group of young detectives; City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists, and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com.

Anne: Welcome to MG Book Village, Cathy! Your newest MG novel—Lost Kites and Other Treasures—comes out from Abrams tomorrow, February 6. Would you please give readers a brief summary of what the story is all about?

Cathy: Sure! It’s about twelve-year-old Franny who lives with her grandmother and hides how much she thinks about her troubled mom who left years ago. When Nana has an accident and Franny’s uncle arrives to help out around the house, long-guarded family secrets come to light, and Franny has to come to terms with discoveries she makes about her mother—and herself.

Anne: Thank you. I think the book will help lots of people—kids and adults—talk about mental illness. As Nana says to Franny, “Mental illness is a lot more common than people might think. It’s just that no one ever talks about it.” So true! What made you want to tell this story? What was the kernel that got you started?

Cathy: I think there were two kernels.

One was my father’s history. He wasn’t abandoned, but his mother died suddenly when he was four. Even as an adult, my dad could never talk about her death without choking up. In the 1930s there was little understanding or sympathy for the behavioral problems he developed. Instead of getting help, he got a reputation as a bad, hot-headed kid and a whole lot of whippings. In writing this story, I imagined a different outcome for a kid like my dad, a story where a troubled girl gets the help she needs and can have a happier, more stable life.

Anne: Oh, man, my heart breaks for your dad. What was the second kernel?

Cathy: Second was my own history. When I was growing up, some of the people in my family struggled with their mental health. Again, in that time and place there was little understanding or sympathy—mental health was simply not discussed. Psychological problems were not openly acknowledged and often went untreated. If the struggling person was functional, that was good enough. I remember that silence and secrecy as a terrible weight, very isolating.

When I finally started coming clean about my childhood, I was surprised to find out how many people I knew had similar stories. That’s what silence and shame can do–make you feel as if you’re the only person in the world who’s ever struggled with a particular problem. It turns out I was far from the only person I knew who had had to deal with this issue. There is a lot of mental illness out there, way more than some people would think. I wanted to promote honesty and openness around mental health and most of all I wanted kids like Franny to know they weren’t alone, even if they sometimes feel as if they are.

Anne: Honesty and openness rather than shame—yes! Such a valuable realization you had. Tell me about the moment in the book when—after she learns that her mom struggled with bipolar disorder—Franny worries she could inherit it, too. Your down-to-earth way of addressing Franny’s worry is realistic. Authentic. Heart-warming. Would you talk a bit about your process in crafting that delicate moment (chapter 25)? How much revision did you have to do to get Franny’s story right?

Cathy: It didn’t take as much revision as you might think because I had had those same worries about inheritable disorders and my own mental health, and I had a similar discussion with someone—in my case with a therapist instead of a family member. It’s an extremely common fear for kids who have mental-health issues in their families. Like so many other worries, it just seems to get more inflamed the less they talk about it. I’m happy you think that scene was successful, because it was so important to get right.

Anne: Yeah, that was a powerful scene. Now, about the art in the novel—Franny loves to create art with found objects, and the novel ends with a section called, “Why You Should Be an Artist.” Tell us about you! What sort of art do you enjoy doing?

Cathy: The main thing I did, for years, was make quilts. I never took lessons or watched tutorials. One day in my twenties I just cut up some old clothes and found some needle and thread and started stitching away. I make them by hand, even now, because when I started I didn’t have a sewing machine. It takes me years to finish one but the process is very satisfying. Then, during the pandemic, I was helping my son with his art classes and they made me remember how much I loved doing art as a kid. I wondered why I had stopped doing something so enjoyable and absorbing, and decided that maybe I should just start doing it again. Luckily, it’s never too late. It’s literally never too late to get back into art.

Anne: Finding the process satisfying—that says it all.

Cathy: It really does. I do all kinds of things, whatever pleases me. I’m currently working on a weaving made from cut-up cloth strips and an old picture frame, like the one Franny works on in Lost Kites. And I’m always taking photos while I’m out for my walks—having an iPhone makes that so easy. I also collect objects for found art. My son was the one doing found-art pieces and now I’m the one who seems more interested. It always surprises me how many hubcaps I find in our neighborhood. There must be a lot of fender-benders.

Anne: Ouch. Yeah. And speaking of ouch moments, in one scene, Franny bakes a pecan pie that turns out to… well, let’s just say she’ll do things differently next time. Might you share with us a cooking-disaster story of your own?

Cathy: Ha! The last disaster was pretty recent. At Thanksgiving I decided to try a new way of cooking the turkey, starting it off at a high temp and then finishing it on low. I put the bird into the oven at 500 degrees F and set the timer for thirty minutes. Over that next half hour someone working in the kitchen—almost certainly myself—bumped against the oven controls and turned the setting from Bake to Convection Bake. Convection Bake is sort of like a hot wind sweeping through the oven, making it hotter and drier. It’s great for browning things, but it wasn’t the right thing for the turkey. My friend John, who was visiting for the holiday, tells me I let out an actual scream when I discovered Convection Bake was on.

Anne: Oh, no!

Cathy: The turkey was not my greatest. The stuffing was still good, though.

Anne: Too funny. Now, back to the book… In both of your MG novels—365 Days to Alaska and Lost Kites and Other Treasures—the protagonist goes to live with her grandmother. Tell us about you and your grandmother! In your next book for MG readers, will a grandmother play a key role? What are you working on now?

Cathy: Believe it or not—I wasn’t that close to either of my grandmothers. My paternal grandmother died when my father was four, and my maternal grandmother lived several states away from us, so I didn’t see her all that often. I did acquire some found-family grandparents over the years, though, and remember them fondly. Maybe they are the inspiration for my fictional grandmothers.

Grandparents don’t feature largely in my next book. The main character is a 13-year-old girl who lives in rural North Carolina and races gokarts. She does have an uncle she’s close to, though.

Anne: I didn’t live near my grandparents, either, and I’ve always envied kids who lived near theirs.

Let’s wrap up with you sharing your social media links. Where can readers go to learn more about you?

Cathy: You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @cathycarrwrites, and my website is: www.cathycarrwrites.com.

Anne: Thank you so much, Cathy, for telling us a bit about your process, and for crafting such a heartfelt character in Franny Petroski.

Cathy: Thanks. So happy to be featured on MG Book Village.

Cathy Carr was born in western Nebraska and grew up in Wisconsin. Since high school, she has lived in four different U.S. states, plus overseas, and worked a variety of jobs, from burger flipping to technical writing. Wherever she goes, her observations of the natural world give her inspiration. Her debut novel, 365 Days to Alaska, was called “a wonderful debut novel about compassion, belonging, and finding your way home” by Lynne Kelly. It was a Junior Library Guild selection and chosen for Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year 2021. Cathy lives in the New Jersey suburbs with her family and a semi-feral cat named Barnaby.

Anne (A.B.) Westrick (she/her) is the author of the older-MG novel Brotherhood. You can learn more about Anne at the MG Book Village “About” page. 

Anne: Hello, Hena! Welcome back to MG Book Village! Your newest MG novel, Drawing Deena, will hit shelves next week, so let’s tell readers a bit about it. Would you start with a super-brief summary of the story?

Hena: Thanks for having me back! Drawing Deena follows Deena, a young artist who is trying to find her own style, her role in her family, and her place in the social media landscape, all while dealing with her attention-seeking cousin and confronting her undiagnosed anxiety.

Anne: Thank you. You show Deena feeling anxious, then having a panic attack and needing help from a counselor. I really like how you invite readers to see therapy as a good thing—a way to talk through issues and develop healthy coping skills. How autobiographical is Deena’s story? Have you struggled with anxiety, yourself, or is the story based on someone you know well?

Hena: I wanted to explore the aspects of discovering and learning to manage anxiety in adolescents, since it can be difficult to diagnose and easy to confuse with other physical ailments, like acid reflux or other gastrointestinal issues. The story is both based on personal experience and those of family members whose journey I’m intimately familiar with. Anxiety can be tricky and manifest in unexpected ways. I get stomach aches and insomnia, but have never had a full panic attack, thankfully. I’ve seen others deal with them, and they seem terribly frightening. But the parts about Deena cracking a tooth and needing a nightguard are based entirely on me, since that’s one of the ways my anxiety gets me!

Anne: I wear a nightguard, too! (And it’s surprisingly comfortable. Just saying.)

Hena: I also wanted to include the aspect of seeking counseling and getting outside support to help manage anxiety since a diagnosis can be hard to accept, especially among immigrant families who might not be as familiar with available services in the school setting, or who may fear stigma around mental health challenges generally. I’ve witnessed debates around seeking professional help for kids and heard some of the concerns that parents have about potential consequences. But I think it’s important to learn coping skills as early as possible.

Anne: Agreed. Drawing Deena deals with social media and learning to cope with that—the story is timely! But you don’t depict the Internet as all-bad all the time. Tell us about your process in deciding how to incorporate social media issues into the story.

Hena: I was honestly thinking about my own relationship with social media when writing the book. I struggle with it a lot, although I know it’s an important tool for advertising and sharing creative works. But how much of what we share is motivated by “likes”? And how authentic can we actually be? Does having a constant and immediate audience change the way we create art? I wanted Deena to wonder about and wrestle with these questions, especially as she observes those around her get sucked in by socials and obsessed with them.

Anne: Great questions!

Hena: I know younger kids who haven’t yet gotten into the world of social media often have a surprising amount of clarity about it. They may even make promises about how they will or won’t behave once they’re allowed to join the platforms. But that is often easier said than done, as we all know, since social media is such a powerful force. And Deena is grappling with the newness of the experience and all that it can entail, which is a lot! 

Anne: Yes, it really is a lot, and it’s helpful for kids to encounter characters who are dealing with this stuff.

Now, let’s switch gears and talk about the art in the story: I loved your mention of working artists, such as Pakistani American visual artist Shahzia Sikander. You encourage readers to see creative expression as “speaking your truth” and inspiring change. The character named Salma says that her art “always focuses on a question” and “art gives us space to claim our narratives.” When you began writing this story, did you plan to include these insights about art, or did they emerge along the way?

Hena: I adore Salma as a character! But I can’t take credit for her vision. I interviewed a “real-life” (as Deena would say) Pakistani American artist named Sobia Ahmad while I was writing the book, and those insights are hers. I loved the way she framed the idea of art helping us to express and answer our own questions, which is what I realized writing is for me.

When I was younger, I thought I needed to have things figured out to create art, whether it was visual art or writing. Like many kids, I felt like I had to have the final product fully imagined before I started and that it needed to be perfect. I didn’t understand that the process of creating art can be about exploring unresolved feelings, connecting thoughts, or even expressing our confusion—and that it’s okay for it to be messy or evolving. Now I know that making and sharing art can be enormously cathartic and helpful to others who share in our journey.

Anne: Oh, yes, the messy process. So true. And while Deena is trying to process her anxiety-filled life, there’s a morning when she doesn’t feel well and her dad gives her a concoction that turns out to be Sprite, lemon juice, and salt. (I thought, Ha! Homemade Gatorade. Get some electrolytes into your system, Deena!) What is your family’s comfort food or drink when someone isn’t feeling well?

Hena: That was it! My mom would make us that very concoction. And if there was no soda around, she’d squeeze lemon juice into water instead. Another family staple was a homemade chicken broth, made with chicken bones, onions, garlic, cloves, cardamom, and peppercorns. My mom would strain it and give it to me in a mug to drink like medicine. The best part is that the Urdu word for it is “yukh-nee” which is how I felt about it as a kid: yuck! But now I love it.

Anne: That’s great. And speaking of Urdu words, you wove lots of Urdu into Deena’s story, and I loved how Urdu added depth to the characters and made them come alive. Your bio says you grew up in Maryland. How did you learn Urdu? How much was Urdu spoken in your house when you were growing up, and have you taught your own children Urdu? 

Hena: My parents spoke Urdu (with some Panjabi mixed in) to us while I was growing up. I’ve been told that I was fluent in Urdu as a young child, which I don’t remember. But apparently, after I started school, I began speaking in English to my sister who is five years older than me. And after a while, when my parents spoke to us in Urdu, we both responded in English. It didn’t occur to my parents that we would eventually lose the ability to converse freely or that we’d hesitate to speak Urdu. When they did realize it, we were already too self-conscious to make the switch back. I still understand household Urdu very well, and I can get by and be understood, but I know I mess up grammar and my vocabulary is basic.

I tell kids all the time that it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life to have lost my “mother tongue,” and I feel like a failure since I can’t teach it to my children. They only know a few phrases. It came in handy as a secret language for my husband and me, but I would rather have preserved the language and given them that skill! And I always encourage kids to avoid making the same mistake as me and to speak a second language if they have one at home since it’s a gift.

Anne: A beautiful gift—yes. Thanks for sharing that.

Before we wrap up this interview, please tell us what you’re working on now. What do you have coming out next?

Hena: I’m editing my second graphic novel now and revising a picture book, which is my favorite part of writing. After Drawing Deena, I have an edited anthology of South Asian American short stories called The Door is Open (Little, Brown) and my debut graphic novel We Are Big Time (Knopf) both coming out later this year, in addition to a picture book called Behind My Doors (Lee&Low) and a co-authored middle grade, Best Wishes #4, with Sarah Mylnowksi. That makes five new books for me in 2024!

Anne: Five in the coming year! That’s awesome.

Let’s end with your social media links. Where can readers go to learn more about you?

Hena: You can learn a lot more about me through my website, www.henakhan.com, which has dedicated pages for educators and for kids, along with information about all of my books, speaking and visits, interviews like this one, articles, reading guides and more! I send out an occasional newsletter you can sign up for. And you can also find me on Instagram and Facebook @henakhanbooks although I’m not super active or consistent on social media.

Anne: Thank you so much, Hena, for joining us at MG Book Village today, and for writing such an engaging story!

Hena: Thank YOU so much, Anne, for taking the time to read my book and asking me such thoughtful questions!

Hena Khan (she/her/hers) is a Pakistani American writer and winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature. She is the author of the middle grade novels Amina’s Voice, Amina’s Song, More to the Story, Drawing Deena, and the Zara’s Rules series and picture books Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Under My Hijab, and It’s Ramadan, Curious George, among others. Hena lives in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland, with her family. You can learn more about Hena and her books by visiting her website at HenaKhan.com or connecting with her @HenaKhanBooks.

Anne (A.B.) Westrick (she/her) is the author of the older-MG novel Brotherhood. You can learn more about Anne at the MG Book Village “About” page.