For Teachers

Interview with Author Angela Hsieh and her graphic novel: Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology

Welcome to From the Mixed-Up Files, Angela! It’s a pleasure to talk to you about your amazing graphic novel, Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology. The graphic novel was released on May 27, 2025, by Quill Tree Books (HarperCollins). Here’s the blurb from Bookshop.org:

Lu dreams of being a great adventurer, just like her ah-ma, who is a world-renowned geozoologist. Ah-ma has traveled far and wide, researching unique animals like dreamy cloud-jellies, enormous sunfish, and playful mossgoats. There’s nothing Lu loves more than reading Ah-ma’s letters about her quests, even if she and her mom struggle to understand the Cylian language Ah-ma writes in.

But when Ah-ma’s letters suddenly stop, Lu becomes worried. So when a nearby town needs a geozoologist, Lu decides to go on the journey to find Ah-ma. She charts a course with the help of Ren, an old friend turned new travel buddy.

As they follow in Ah-ma’s footsteps, Lu begins to discover the complex relationships between geofauna—and between people. What stories has Ah-ma never told her? And what’s Ren hiding from her?

What is Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology’s origin story?

As I get to know myself as an artist and writer, I’m realizing that there’s no one single origin for any of my stories. Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology is a combination of things I love and that have shaped my life: animals and nature, the relationships with the people around me, and growing up as part of the Taiwanese American diaspora. That being said, I can show you the very first illustration I ever made in the world of Geozoology:

Several years ago, I made a birthday illustration for a friend who really loves guinea pigs. My thought process was: “What if guinea pig… but BIGGER?” To really set the scene, I wrote a short travel postcard-style description on the back with fun facts about this guinea pig mountain’s behavior and ecology.

Needless to say, my friend loved it. So did a lot of other people, it turned out. So I set about drawing more giant landscape-animals (with proto-Lu for scale) and writing facts about them. The project transformed several times: from a series of illustrations that I thought I might turn into a calendar, to a picture book, to a graphic novel (though one very different from the Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology that was eventually published). 

Four years passed between that initial illustration and signing the contract for the book; another four passed before it was published. That’s a lot of years for ideas to meld together, come apart, and change. That’s also a lot of time for me to change as an artist. 

Can you share Angela Hsieh’s origin story as well?

I was one of those kids who loved reading and drawing. I had a vague idea that it’d be cool to make a book one day, but I wasn’t one of those “one day I’ll grow up to be an author” kids, you know? I read lots of manga and comics and watched a lot of animated films, so I knew that other people were out there making cool stories, but it all felt impossibly distant for me. I also thought I’d be going into the medical field for the majority of my education, so making my own stories was lower on my list of priorities for a long time. 

I don’t think there’s any one specific turning point in my life when I decided to make my own book, but rather a collection of events that led me down this path. One such moment was walking into my local Barnes & Noble as a high schooler and picking up the Flight comics anthology. Until then, I thought of comics as either 20-volume epic manga series (unattainable by its enormity) or daily funnies (something I enjoyed but didn’t want to make). Reading Flight made me feel like making comics could be an achievable goal. The seed was planted. I didn’t do anything with this revelation until about 15 years later, after I’d gotten an undergraduate degree in biology and finished my illustration degree, but I got there eventually. 

When did drawing evolve into visual storytelling for you? Have you always been drawn to telling stories with your art, or is it more of a long and winding path to get where you are today?

I both drew and wrote from a young age, but I didn’t really take the idea of combining the two seriously until I was an adult. And even then, I didn’t find my way to comics until after I graduated from art school. I thought I’d be an editorial illustrator, which often requires a more symbolic/conceptual approach than a narrative one (though the two aren’t mutually exclusive). I found myself more drawn to the narrative approach than the conceptual one. I realized the things I wanted to say could not be encompassed by one illustration.

To be completely honest, I resisted making comics for a long time because of the amount of time and work they require. But at some point, I came to the conclusion that they’re the best medium to tell the kinds of stories I want to tell (at least for now), so I just had to take the dive. 

As a MUF STEM Tuesday contributor and career scientist, my reader’s radar activates when I see STEM used in a fantasy story.  You used real-life science and nature in Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology to create a believable world by grounding the fantasy with recognizable natural elements. How important was it to you to get the natural elements right, but with enough fantastical elements to engage the reader?

I hope I got that balance right! I was a nerd child who read Audubon’s First Field Guide: Birds from cover to cover. I also loved reading the Pokédex entries in Pokémon. Since Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology is more about exploring and learning about the world and less about, say, which geofauna would win in a wrestling match, I aimed for somewhere in between Pokémon and Audubon’s First Field Guide on the spectrum of fantastical to factual. 

In terms of telling a compelling story, the balance was less about fantastical vs. realistic and more about weaving the science-y stuff into the plot to such a degree that learning about the world felt like a natural progression of the story. I tried to approach worldbuilding in, well, a scientific way. If I change one thing (i.e., there are big animal mountains), what else will change? In a world where people have to live among these big animal mountains that move around, how would people interact with them? Some people, like Lu and Ah-ma, would try to learn as much as possible about them. If we follow these characters, we’ll learn about the world through their eyes. 

The geofauna’s behavior is based on that of real animals, and their geological features are based on real-life locations. The most fantastical things about them are that they’re (a) huge, and (b) made of rocks. Otherwise, most of their biology and ecology is pretty similar to the way nature works in real life. I didn’t feel the need to put a fantastical spin on something like hydrangeas changing color based on soil pH because it tied in neatly into the world and the story I was trying to tell. And because the natural world is already pretty magical, if you ask me. 

One part of your book I enjoyed was the use of the Cylian (Mandarin Chinese) language heritage to drive Lu’s interest, need, and frustration in understanding Ah-ma’s writings from her letters and travel journals. How challenging was it to incorporate the Cylian language into the story? (You did a beautiful job of this, by the way!)

Thank you! I very quickly came to the conclusion that whenever written Cylian showed up on the page, it would not be actual Chinese. The practical reason: My Chinese is not nearly at the level required to write letters, much less scientific field notes. The conceptual reason: Even readers who can read Chinese wouldn’t be able to read Cylian, so all readers would be put in Lu’s shoes when she struggles with the language barrier. 

My parents sent me to Chinese school when I was a kid, so my hand still remembers the shapes of the characters, even though I’ve largely forgotten what they mean. I was able to write characters that resembled Chinese, which, upon closer inspection, were incomprehensible. I took a lot of inspiration from Xu Bing’s installation, A Book from the Sky. I wasn’t aiming for semantic meaning as much as I was aiming for the emotional tension you feel when looking at something you “should” understand but just can’t wrap your mind around. 

Like many second-generation Asian Americans, I speak my parents’ mother tongue all right, even if my reading and writing leave much to be desired. My team and I went back and forth a couple of times when trying to figure out how best to represent Cylian (Mandarin Chinese) vs. Lirrish (English) dialog. We tried chevrons and colored speech bubbles, but we ultimately decided that the most elegant solution was to use colored text (purple for Cylian, black for Lirrish) and add a short note at the beginning to explain the difference to readers. The reader, like myself and Lu, will be able to understand spoken Cylian, but be at a loss when confronted with the written form. 

The drive Lu feels to understand the language deepens her connection with Ah-ma and reveals her strong curiosity about the world. How did you connect Lu’s curiosity to her problem-solving skills of following Ah-ma’s trail?

Curiosity and problem-solving often go hand-in-hand in real life. I find that people who want to understand how the world works are also the same people who’re driven to create interesting solutions to challenges. It only made sense to me that a curious kid like Lu would try to understand the world as her ah-ma, her idol, would see it in order to find where she’s gone. Lu wants to know things. The only way to know things is to go out and find answers!

Page 70 might be my favorite page of the book. It’s a masterclass on how to represent the passage of time and space on a single page. The four panels at the top of the page depict the passage from night to dawn and are set over a sweeping landscape establishing shot of Lu and Ren entering Ambyton. (Wonderful work in my opinion!) How difficult was it to come up with a solution to the problem of representing time and distance in such a compact space? 

Thank you! Playing with the passage of time is one of my favorite things to explore in comics, right up there with the page turn. It makes me feel clever when I’m able to pull it off, haha. One of the interesting challenges of making a graphic novel that involves a lot of traveling is showing the days on the road without the story dragging or the pages getting repetitive, but still getting across to the reader that days or weeks have passed. On a comic page, the gutter—that is, the space between the panels—represents the passage of time. More, smaller panels will slow the reader’s eye down and make it feel like more time has passed. It’s one of those things that I didn’t think about consciously when I was just reading and not yet making comics, but now that I’m creating comics, I’ve learned it can be used to great effect when done with intention. 

For this particular page, it wouldn’t say it was terribly difficult—mostly because I’d been itching to use this technique ever since seeing other artists do it. Shaun Tan has a breathtakingly understated spread in The Arrival that depicts a lengthy journey by ship via the changing shapes of the clouds, day by day, in a grid of sixty square panels. This is followed by a page turn to a splash page of the ship on the ocean, a small shape dwarfed by the cumulonimbus clouds towering above it. Just gorgeous. When I see someone do something well, I want to try it too. 

As creators, we are interested in the creative processes of other creators. In my graphic novel critique group, it’s an oft-discussed topic. Three members of our group are sketch-to-script creators, while I’m firmly grounded in the script-to-sketches camp. For your graphic novels, what’s your approach?

You can’t see me, but I’m giving you a script-to-sketches fist bump. I do some visual development ahead of time for characters and locations, but when it comes to the story, I have to write it down first. I don’t draw very fast, so I want to make sure the beats and pacing are right before I commit to drawing hundreds of pages. I work in a fairly straightforward way, from script to thumbnails to sketches/pencils to colors. (Since I worked in a lineless style for Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology, I skipped inks and went straight to colors.)

Having the script first means I can plan for putting speech bubbles on the page from the moment I begin drawing the book. I always make sure to plan the layout of the speech bubbles when I thumbnail. Dialog takes up a lot of space! Even with a “finished” script, I ended up cutting lines as I drew, trying to keep only what was necessary so that the pages didn’t feel overly cluttered. 

Do you have a critique group or a group of fellow creators/friends with whom you bounce your work and ideas off?

I do! I’m part of a few groups, both local and online. I’ve got a couple of trusted friends who see the early stages of my work, before they’re anything near a fleshed-out story, and I’ve got critique partners who see the more refined draft and help me work out the rough spots. I try not to bring too many critique partners into any particular story I’m working on. There’s definitely such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen. 

I’ve got to give a special shoutout to Middle Grade Escapades. It’s not a critique group, per se; it’s a marketing collective made up of 2025 middle grade debut authors. It’s been invaluable to have the support of folks who’re also going through the same roller coaster of an experience that is putting a book out in the world.

Apart from art and your creative practice, how do you spend your free time?

I’m a big believer in doing things that aren’t directly related to my creative practice. It both expands my world and gives me things to make art about. I love baking. My sourdough starter from 2020 is still alive and contributing focaccia to the household. I also practice (very amateur) bonsai. Every time I pass my window, I can’t help but stop and stare at the little garden we’ve got out there. One of my favorite things to do is hang out on my couch with a book or a crochet project and a cat on my lap. I play D&D and do my best to carve out time to spend with friends. 

After the release of Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology into the world, what’s next on your plate? Book promotion? School visits? Back to work on the next graphic novel?

I’ve spent my summer jetting about the US on my self-styled “book tour”—as of writing this, I’ve just gotten back from the wonderful Bigfoot Kids’ Book Festival in Washington—and I’m ready to hibernate in my apartment and just work on my next book! Though I met many wonderful readers and fellow authors this year, book promotion takes a lot out of me, and I found myself without any energy left to create. I’m looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of making things again. 

The From the Mixed-Up Files family wishes you and Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology the very best of luck, and hope it finds its readers! Thank you, Angela, for being our guest! Your book is absolutely fantastic. 

Thank you so much for having me, Mike!

Links

Angela Hsieh Website

Kids Comics Unite! Interview

Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology Publisher’s Page

 

The Scientific Method is Dead! (Sort Of) – Emphasizing the Science and Engineering Practices With Middle Grade Books

Raise your hand if you grew up learning the scientific method. Me too. In fact, for thousands of years, all the way back to Aristotle in Ancient Greece (and possibly earlier), the scientific method has been the way science is done. And it still is. Sort of.

When the Next Generation Science Standards were released in 2013, it was immediately apparent that they are very different than previous standards. The NGSS are written in three dimensions that work together to help students make sense of the world: the Disciplinary Core Ideas, the Crosscutting Concepts, and the Science and Engineering Practices.

What are the Science and Engineering Practices?

In this post, I’m going to address the Science and Engineering Practices because they describe the actions we want our students to be engaging in. In other words, what we want our students to be able to do. Take a look at a comparison between the scientific method and the practices. What similarities do you notice? What differences do you see?

A table comparing the science and engineering practices with the scientific method

One of the main reasons for the shift away from the scientific method is its representation of science as a series of sequential steps to be completed in order. But science isn’t sequential. It is messy, as shown in this fantastic video by the California Academy of Sciences. (It really is worth the six-minute time investment.)

According to the NGSS Appendix for the Science and Engineering Practices:

The Framework uses the term “practices,” rather than “science processes” or “inquiry” skills for a specific reason: “We use the term “practices” instead of a term such as “skills” to emphasize that engaging in scientific investigation requires not only skill but also knowledge that is specific to each practice. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 30)”

Now that you have a bit of background on the practices, let’s take a look at how you can emphasize them using middle grade nonfiction.

DISCLAIMER! We want our students to be doing the science and engineering practices, not just reading about them. The following suggestions are in addition to time spent engaging in the practices through a high-quality curriculum during dedicated science time.

Emphasizing the Science and Engineering Practices With Middle Grade Books

Below are a few examples to spark ideas about how you can bring more scientific thinking into your ELA instruction by focusing on the science and engineering practices.

Who Gives a Poop?: Surprising Science From One End to the Other by Heather Montgomery

This is the #1 book for exploring the #2 process! Heather takes readers along on a feces field trip. From dissecting possums to trains full of sewage, Heather models for students how asking questions and conducting investigations can lead to amazing (and gross!) discoveries.

 

The Doomsday Detectives: How Walter and Luis Alvarez Solved the Mystery of Dinosaur Extinction by Cindy Jenson-Elliott

This book chronicles the father-son team that solved one of the greatest mysteries of all time: How did the dinosaurs die? This book gives readers a front row seat to the science behind the discovery. All of the science and engineering practices are modeled, yet I love to emphasize how they analyzed data, engaged in argument from evidence, used mathematics and computational thinking, and communicated information.

 

Where Are the Aliens? The Search for Life Beyond Earth by Stacy McAnulty

This book explores the scientific thinking behind the search for alien life. Readers have a front row seat to the calculations that help scientists think about the potential existence of extra-terrestrial life. How scientists use mathematics is on full display!

 

One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Followed Them by Loree Griffin Burns

Loree’s opening perfectly describes this book: “This is a story about unusual caterpillars, curious people, and fascinating conversations.” It zooms in on a specific discovery involving pine processionary caterpillars and is perfect for spotlighting the practices of asking questions and conducting investigations.

As your students engage with the texts, you can ask them questions about the practices in three ways:

  1. Ask students to identify how a particular practice is represented.
    • Give an example from the book where Heather is conducting an investigation.
  2. Ask students to identify a practice of their choosing.
    • What practices do you notice in this book? Support your answer with examples from the text.
  3. Ask students a specific question about a particular practice.
    • How do Walter and Luis use data as evidence to explain phenomena?

Bottom line: The more we can model the practices for our students, the better they will understand and internalize them. After all, the practices, require practice!

The Best Middle Grade Podcasts and What You Get From Them

Why we love podcasts about kids books?

Podcasts are the perfect way to consume quality material while running errands, cleaning, driving, getting ready for work, etc. We build connections, learn, are entertained, expand our thoughts and opinions, and get inspired to be and do better. With so many great hosts out there it is so fun to feel like you are in the room with these creators hearing them talk about things that interest you. And what interests us? Children’s books, of course! Especially middle grade books which are filled with hope, intense emotions, and are wonderfully fun!

The Best Podcasts Focusing on Children’s Books

There are so many amazing podcasts out there, but when I first went searching for podcasts where they talk to authors of children’s books I had a surprisingly hard time finding what I was looking for. Not because they didn’t exist, but because what came up in my searches were usually read alouds for kids, instead of podcasts for adults looking to dive further into children’s literature. Where were the podcasts for parents, teachers, and librarians who wanted to know about the important books published for kids? Why these books were written? What inspired these authors? And deeper discussions about these amazing books?

This incredible list is part one of two parts that I am posting as I have over twenty amazing podcasts to share with you. Some of these podcasts are aimed specifically by writers. And some of them are for anyone with an interest in children’s literature. Many of these are interview format, but some are solo episodes with the podcast host. It was hard to put it in any kind of order so when all else fails, go by alphabetical order, right? I hope you will find some awesome new podcasts to add to your listening list and don’t forget to come back for more in our upcoming part 2 article of The Best Podcasts Focusing on Children’s books.

 

BackStory Podcast from StoryCon Logo

BackStory is a podcast presented by StoryCon and hosted by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen. Each episode is presented in two parts. First, our extraordinary host Jennifer A. Nielsen gives us a teaser of the upcoming interview with an author, she doesn’t say who she will be interviewing, but gives us some of their backstory, just enough to get us interested in what is to come. Then in part two we find out who that author is and get to dive further into their BackStory and hear more about the creation of their amazing books! Check out her most recent interview with wildly successful author of The School for Good and Evil Series, Soman Chainani

Book Friends Forever B.F.F. Podcast Logo

Book Friends Forever is hosted by two best friends, award-winning author/illustrator Grace Lin, and one of NYC’s top editors, Alvina Ling. In these very authentic and raw conversations between friends you will discover some fascinating secrets of the children’s book publishing world. Just like you were listening in on any old conversation between two close friends, you will get a wide range of topics, for example this most recent episode, Chop Suey, discusses “a bunch of different pieces of publishing news, including the launch of Google’s Gemini Storybook App, the cancellation of the NEA Creative Writing Grant, the creation of a new MFA program of writers of young people’s literature… Children’s Literature Specialist Alison Morris joins them to discuss two recent studies on the decline of pleasure reading, and about how Gen Z isn’t reading to their kids as much as previous generations.”

BookHuddle With Readgab Podcast Logo

BookHuddle with Readgab is hosted by children’s literacy advocate Karen Reeder. In each author interview we discover not only a bit about why the author created their story but we also get to dive into time relevant themes that we experience in the book. Listening in on these chats gives us food for thought for ourselves as well as ways that we can bring up these important topics with the kids in our lives. Whether you are a parent, educator, librarian, or simply a lover of kids books, you will love listening in on these powerful conversations. Most interviews are with middle grade authors, but there are also some with authors of picture books and other individuals having to do with children’s literacy. In their most recent episode author Mari Mancusi and Karen explore how Misunderstandings Have Higher Stakes When Dragons are Involved!

The Bookish State Podcast Logo

The Bookish State is a brand new podcast hosted by New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Grace Lin and teacher librarian Melissa Thom. The pair discusses tips and tricks for teachers and librarians by focusing on different state children’s book award lists. Season one features titles from the Connecticut Nutmeg book award list. They only have two episodes out, but it will be fun to listen in as this unique new podcast grows.

 

 

The Book of Life: Jewish Kidlist (Mostly) Podcast LogoThe Book of Life Podcast focuses mostly on Jewish Kidlit, but sometimes we get to dive into some young adult or adult books which also feature Jewish literature, music, film, and web. The host is Heidi Rabinowitz. The podcast is updated semimonthly and has been around for 20 years now, which is amazing! One of my personal favorite children’s books is Max in the Land of Lies so this is a definite must to check out from their list of interviews. Listen in as Adam Gidwitz discusses his Holocaust historical fantasy novel.

 

The Children's Book Podcast Stories Worth Noting with Matthew C. Winner logoWhile The Children’s Book Podcast was featured in a previous article, I would feel remise is I did not mention it as it has been around for so long and is so popular and I wouldn’t want seekers of kidslit themed podcasts to miss out on this one! Host Matthew C. Winner is a writer and children’s librarian who is “Celebrating the power of storytelling to reflect our world, expand our perspectives, and foster connections between readers of all ages. They feature interviews with authors, illustrators, and everyone involved in taking a book from drawing board to bookshelf.” In this recent episode Diana Rodriguez Wallach discusses her recent book, The Silenced, and reading through a different cultural lens.

The Children's Book Review: Growing Readers Podcast LogoThe Children’s Book Review: Growing Readers Pocast is of course focused on growing readers of all ages. In this most recent episode host Bianca Schulze chats with graphic novel creator Stan Yan about why represenation matters and the importance of not only advocating for others, but also for yourself. The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang was a book Grace Lin recommended for me to read and I can’t wait to read it and then listen to this podcast episode.

 

The Creative Life Podcast with Sara Zarr LogoThis Creative Life podcast is hosted by author Sara Zarr who writes both middle grade and young adult books. Her podcast focuses on life between the process of writing lines down on paper. She does both solo and interview episodes. So when you have a pile of chores, but you want to also keep your mind on writing you might check out an episode like this one What Counts as Writing.

 

KidLit Craft Podcast LogoKidlit Craft is another great podcast for writer’s of kids books. They take a look at “mentor texts to figure out the mechanics of how writers do what they do, so we can improve our writing.” Cohosts Anne-Marie Strohman and Erin Nuttall focus on just one novel per season with each season containing at least twelve episodes so you really do get a deep dive into each book they focus on. Episodes last anywhere from 8 to 45 minutes. You might want to check out this episode from season 2 about Complicated Family Relationships from the book Thieve’s Gambit.

 

Kidlit Happy Hour Podcast LogoKidlit Happy Hour podcast is hosted by New York Times bestselling author Joanna Ho and author Caroline Kusin Pritchard. On the show they talk about the craft, the industry and the creative life of the children’s book world. They recognize that storytelling happens in many spheres so they include a myriad of topics and guests so that listeners can further their enjoyment of and/or expand their talent in the beauty of kid’s books. In this recent episode the hosts are joined by the talented Dan Santat to discuss The State of Publishing and Hope.

 

From The Mixed-UP Files has created lists about podcasts in the past but it has been over 5 years and while some of those podcasts are still creating wonderful content, I wanted to introduce you to these other amazing new podcasts out there as well. Don’t forget to watch for our upcoming part 2 of this article because we have at least ten more to share with you! If you want to read our previous articles you might check out

Share in the comments your favorite podcast to listen to or which one you look forward to listening to next.