Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!
Today we’re interviewing Jennifer Swanson, author of Save the Crash-test Dummies. The book discusses how restoring the balance between the primary predator and prey was instrumental in restoring a U.S. park’s ecosystem.
This book won a Parent’s Choice GOLD Award!!
“Attractively designed and engagingly written—sure to appeal to readers with a taste for the scientific and technical.”—Kirkus Reviews
★ “[An] innovative blend of history, technology, and engineering. . . insightful fun. STEM at its best.”—Booklist, Starred Review
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much for joining us today!
ST: Tell us a little bit about Save the Crash-test Dummies and the impetus behind writing it?
JS: For an earlier book I was doing, I had to research the self-driving car. At the time, Google was the only one making them. I LOVED the idea of a self-driving car! I mean, I am not a fan of driving. For more than 5 years I spent every afternoon from 3pm to 7pm in the car. That’s the price of having 3 kids in 3 different sports across town all at the same time. Have a robot drive you? YES! Sign me up! (After all, I had alerady survived 3 teenage drivers).
But I knew I wanted this book to be a trade book, so I had to find the right hook. One night I was walking with my husband and we were talking about an old Crash-test dummy commercial that they had brought back (from the 70’s). I said something like, “Hey, if we have self-driving cars, we won’t need the dummies.” He said, “Yes, that would certainly, save the crash-test dummies life.” OMG! That was it! The hook, the title—everything all in one neat package. Suddenly, the whole book popped into my head. I sat down to write my book about the history of car safety engineering from the Model T to self-driving cars. The rest, as they say, is, well history.
ST: It looks fascinating! Everyone should go buy the book, but can you give us one thing that really surprised you while researching?
JS: It might surprise people to know that engineers were always concerned about safety, but the first group to create seatbelts was an emergency room doctor who saw first-hand the dangers of not having them in your car. He made them for his family.
ST: Have you ever been to see an actual crash test in person?
JS: Unfortunately, no. I would love to do so, though! I think it would be cool to see all of the equipment that is hooked up to the dummy. These things may be called “dummies” but they are really smart pieces of equipment, holding thousands of sensors to track every tiny movement and impact. We owe our lives to these “dummies” .
ST: Yes, we do. You’ve been very prolific in getting books out. How long does it take you to go from concept to finished product?
JS: Well that all depends on the publisher. I have TONS of ideas. But since I write for middle grade readers, I don’t write the entire manuscript, instead I submit a proposal. Sometimes the proposals are accepted right away. Then I start writing. If that happens, it can be about 3-4 months from idea to first draft. But if it takes longer to sell, it can take a while. In the meantime, though, I’m off and running on my next project and proposal. At any one time I may be working on 4-6 different projects (at various stages of publication) at once. It’s fun, if a bit challenging. But I love my job!
ST: What was the first book you wrote?
JS: The first book I ever wrote was in kindergarten. I used to write “books” about my dog, Lucky. I even illustrated them (with stick figures). My first nonfiction book that I wrote was called “Uninvited Guests: Invisible Creatures Lurking Inside Your Home” by Capstone Press. Very cool, but creepy if you don’t like crawly things.
ST: Can you tell us about any other books you have out recently and what we might expect to see from you in the future?
JS: Yes, thanks for asking! My two recent books are:
The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World
by Dylan Thuras (Author), Jennifer Swanson (Author), Ruby Fresson (Illustrator)
The team behind the bestselling Atlas Obscura presents a kids’ illustrated STEM-oriented exploration of the world’s most interesting technologies, inventions, and scientific discoveries.
3 Weeks in the Rainforest: A Rapid Inventory in the Amazon
by Jennifer Swanson
A women-led team of scientists protect the Amazon rainforest from destruction as readers get a firsthand account of real-life fieldwork in action. A compelling, nonfiction, photo-illustrated STEM read for 8-12-year-olds who aspire to be future scientists, environmentalists, and conservationists!
As for what’s in the future, I have a middle-grade graphic novel about science coming out in 2027. And a book titled, How to Talk to an Alien (Should You Ever Meet One), also in 2027.
Thanks so much for having me!
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