Let’s give a warm welcome to Charlotte Watson Sherman, a former librarian and author of children’s picture and middle-grade books. She’s going to dish about her latest works and share her best librarian recommendations for middle-grade readers to enjoy during Black History Month and beyond. So, settle in and enjoy!
Author Charlotte Sherman
Tell me about This Opening Sky. How did the idea for the book come about?
This Opening Sky is a middle-grade verse novel about two 12-year-old girls – one Black, one White – coping with the end of the Civil War. Aurelia, the daughter of a plantation owner, has lost both parents. Halle, newly freed, is searching for her parents. The girls decide to travel North together and confront misconceptions about each other as they depend on each other for survival.
The book came about after my co-author, Kelly Hollman, submitted a manuscript to
Bushel and Peck Books. They liked the story’s premise, but wanted to include a Black writer. I had previously submitted a co-written board book manuscript that Bushel and Peck rejected, but they reached out to see if I’d be interested in co-writing the book with Kelly. After I read the early draft, I was intrigued by Kelly’s plot and excited to get involved.
What was it like collaborating with another writer? How did the writing and revision process work?
Collaborating with another writer was a journey. Sometimes an emotional rollercoaster for both of us. I wanted to be respectful of Kelly’s vision as the originator of the story idea. I could see that she loved both characters. I also believed that together, we could produce something fresh that hadn’t been seen in children’s literature before.
We had difficult conversations about race and history and stereotypes. I felt like I was constantly battling tropes from Gone With the Wind, Birth of a Nation, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and Huckleberry Finn. I knew what it felt like to be a Black student in a classroom where the N-word was invoked dozens of times in a piece of literature. And I didn’t want a contemporary Black child to have to endure that type of trauma as a result of anything I’d helped bring into the world. Luckily, my co-author didn’t want to inflict that type of trauma either.
When we wrote the book, we alternated chapters. In early drafts, I solely focused on “my” character. I fleshed out her backstory and frontstory, gave her an inner life, and added scenes; my co-author did the same with “her” character. In later drafts, we needed to make sure chapters flowed seamlessly and revised to maintain the overall flow of the book. We set deadlines based on when the publisher needed the manuscript finished. Multiple sets of eyes provided feedback for revision.
When did you realize you wanted to become a writer?
I was hooked on books by third grade. I was a bookworm who read with a flashlight under the covers. The more adventurous the story, the better. I couldn’t wait to begin writing my own.
You’ve written for different age groups. What is your favorite part about writing for the middle-grade reader?
My favorite part about writing for middle-grade readers is how you can up the ante a little bit with subject matter and concepts and vocabulary. And fun. I also read books with my tween grandchild and enjoy the range of subjects we tackle. And the discussions about life that the stories allow us to have.
How (or does) being a former librarian impact what/how you write?
As a former librarian, I was exposed to a large swath of readers from different backgrounds and was able to see how different types of stories resonated with young readers. In library school, I focused on the information needs of youth and was able to immerse myself in reading children’s literature. That study informed the books I now write. I love research, so being a former librarian helps me use those research skills to write fiction and nonfiction about a variety of subjects. I never get tired of learning new things.
Also, leaning on your librarian experience, what middle-grade books would you recommend for readers during Black History Month?
What’s next for you? Any more middle-grade books on the horizon?
Learn, Baby, Learn: The Shindana Toy Factory’s Legacy of Black Pride, a picture book illustrated by Esther Stimphat, publishes March 2026. It’s the story
of the nation’s first Black toy factory established after the Watts Uprising. I’m also working on a middle-grade verse novel and a couple of middle-grade biographies.
Bonus question:
If you could hang out with any middle-grade character in literature, who would it be and why?
My grandchild and I had so much fun reading the Operation Sisterhood books; it would most likely be that family because they have so many fun things going on. My grands actually started their own dog-walking business due to that family.
Thank you, Charlotte! It was a pleasure learning about your work.
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She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Otis College of Art and Design and her BA in Journalism from the University of Southern California. Her first early reader will be published by Simon & Schuster in ’25.
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