Posts Tagged Book Giveaway

STEM Tuesday– The Impacts of Our Changing Climate– Interview with Christy Mihaly

By STEM Tuesday on February 22, 2022 / Climate Change/Earth Science, STEM Tuesday

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today we’re interviewing Christy Mihaly, author of Barefoot Books Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery. It’s a fascinating look at the many ways water forms the basis of life on our planet and how climate change impacts that. Kirkus Reviews said, “Oceanic in scope—but clear and refreshing.“

* * *

Christine Taylor-Butler: Christy, you write for children but before that change in career you went to law school and spent several years helping to protect the environment as an environmental lawyer. Those are tough issues. How did you develop the passion for that work?

Christy Mihaly: I’ve always loved being in nature. My grandmother was a serious backyard naturalist who shared her love of birds with me—I remember she had a record (vinyl!) with recordings of bird songs and would play it and listen to the calls and tell me which was which bird. She constantly worried about threats to wildlife and the need to protect wild places; she cared deeply about environmental protection.

In school I loved studying biology, ecology, and natural science, and grew to be a committed environmentalist. I remember collecting trash in a local park on the first Earth Day. I was active in the Girl Scouts, which gave me the opportunity to explore some of Earth’s wild places. As a teen one summer I spent ten challenging days paddling along the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine with a Girl Scout camp. Then, this east coast girl was accepted for a national scout program in Wyoming, and visited Grand Teton National Park. Wow! I was stunned by my first glimpse of the beauty of the west.

My college major was policy studies with a concentration in environmental studies. I remember an ecology course in which we modeled different and related animal populations, demonstrating the interdependence of the species. I learned more about various challenges facing the environmental movement. Then when I took an undergraduate course in environmental law, I was hooked. I was fascinated with the various creative ways that people were using legal theories to defend wilderness and people’s right to a clean and healthy Earth. I realized: This is what I want to do!

CTB: Your family relocated to Spain for a year which was full immersion. What was it like navigating local customs and getting up to speed on the language quickly?

Christy: Yes, that was ten years ago. And oh my gosh, what a pivotal year. It was challenging, stimulating, and inspiring! And exhausting, did I mention exhausting? When we first arrived, I felt like a complete outsider, a bumbling incompetent. I’d taken Spanish in college but I remembered only the basics. So had this horrible sense of being inarticulate. People looked at me as if they thought I wasn’t too bright.

Plus everything – from the traffic circles to the laundry to the supermarket check-outs – was different from what I was used to. I just had to laugh at myself and hope that if I smiled enough, people would be patient with me. I asked questions. I met people. One day as I was riding the metro, a young woman introduced herself to me and we ended up becoming good friends. Slowly, things got better. One day the kind woman at the bakery where I shopped said, as she counted my change, “Your Spanish is getting better.” How exciting was that!

It was a year of bonding for the family as we went through all this together. We leaned on one another as we explored the country. My daughter progressed from knowing basically no Spanish to being the most fluent Spanish speaker in the family. And I loved that she got to live in a new culture, and to realize deeply that just because we do things a certain way in the United States does not mean our way is better.

CTB: While in Spain, you say your head was swimming with ideas for children’s stories and you sold your first story. What was it about?

Christy: I had left my lawyer job with the idea that it was time to get into gear on my long-deferred plans to write for kids. I didn’t know how I would get started, but yes, living in a new place triggered questions about everything. Curiosity is probably one of the most important qualities we bring to our writing – and suddenly I was curious about so many things. And I thought American kids might also find so much of Spain intriguing.

So … that year I published my first piece of writing for kids. It was unpaid and appeared in an online magazine that no longer exists. I was thrilled! It was a short story based on our experiences in Spain. I wrote it as an epistolary tale, in e-mails between a girl in the U.S. and her best friend who moved to Spain.

That year also led to my first paid article. It was in AppleSeeds magazine (also discontinued, is there a pattern here?). I submitted a query, which was accepted, about the Pinzon brothers of southern Spain. As every school child in Spain learns, the Pinzon brothers were a prominent seafaring family in the fifteenth century, and without their expertise and leadership on the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus’s explorations wouldn’t have succeeded. I researched the heck out of that 200-word article, traveling to Palos de la Frontera to attend the “Pinzon Days” festival, reading (in Spanish) materials collected in the local library, and studying artifacts in the museum that is the former home of the Pinzon brothers. I also took tons of photos, some of which I submitted for the illustrator’s reference. I was having fun and learning so much.

CTB: Once you returned to Vermont, you kept writing and sending out stories.

Christy: I did. I joined SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). I signed up for conferences. I attended workshops. I wasn’t sure I considered myself a writer yet. I still needed to figure out how to make a living at this writing thing. I needed to learn more about the craft and the trade. Gradually, I did.

CTB: Now you have two books out that include discussions of climate change: Barefoot Books Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery, and Diet for a Changing Climate, which you co-wrote with Sue Heavenrich.

Christy: I’ve found that if I’m writing about environmental topics, I can’t avoid addressing climate change. That was certainly the case in the most recent book, Water. I couldn’t write a comprehensive guide to the planet’s water without touching on both the ocean’s role in climate, and the effects of climate change on the ocean, rainfall patterns, and water supplies.

Sue Heavenrich and I visited STEM Tuesday to talk about DIET with Mary Kay Carson, here: https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/stem-tuesday-sustainable-living-interview-with-author/.

In addition to the two climate-related books you mention, I’ve written about climate change in several books for the educational market. For example, in my series “Shaping the Debate,” one of the titles is “Defining and Discussing Climate Change.” (Rourke Educational Media, 2019.) And in writing series nonfiction about national parks, animals, and renewable energy, I have had to deal with climate change and its impacts.

CTB: Barefoot Books Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery is done in multiple own voices from all over the world. That’s pretty innovative (and much needed perspective). Where did the idea come from? Did you get to travel to any of the places covered in the book?

Christy: The publisher, Barefoot Books, conceived of “Water” and went looking for a qualified author. They publish many multicultural picture books and they’re well known for their beautiful, oversized nonfiction books like Barefoot Books World Atlas and Barefoot Books Solar System. They wanted to add Barefoot Books WATER to this line.

I am so glad that Emma Parkin, the brilliant and delightful editor for the project, got my name. We had a Skype call and immediately hit it off. I was intrigued with her ideas. As Emma explained, although there are many children’s books about the ocean, marine animals, and other water-related topics, Barefoot Books wanted to create something that centered water’s role on Earth.

I shared with Emma my work on water conservation projects from Tahoe to Vermont. My experience meshed well with the notion of a compendium for kids exploring the power and wonder of water. I wanted to write something lyrical and poetic as well as scientifically accurate.

Together we developed a vision for this book to include science and social justice, history and stories. I loved the idea of including tales from global storytellers, traditional stories and legends to highlight the magical, mystical side of water. I also love the “behind the stories” feature included in the book’s back matter, which tells kids the story of each author, their backgrounds, and their thoughts about water.

But no, I couldn’t travel while writing this book. I wrote it entirely during the pandemic, starting in March 2020.

CTB: Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, calling your approach “intriguing.” They particularly loved your use of alliteration citing the passage “Glaciers are “massive, mountainous mounds of ice..”) Water is such an essential part of life on Earth. What surprised you most when researching this book?

Christy: I was surprised how difficult it was to explain some water basics – its molecular structure and why it’s so good at dissolving things, for example – simply, accurately, and clearly for our target audience. Luckily we had expert reviewers, both in child development and science.

Another surprise: I loved learning how some marine animals can drink salt water without getting dehydrated because their kidneys are adapted to handle the salt.

Sometimes, I knew a general fact (e.g., manufacturing uses a lot of water) but was surprised by some of the specifics (1 cotton t-shirt: 660 gallons; 1 smart phone: 3200 gallons).

And I was surprised and saddened to read recent research about the effects of climate change on the ocean … and how changes in ocean currents (the global conveyor belt) are disrupting weather patterns.

CTB: You include activities for readers to try while explaining conservation and the impact of climate change on water sources. What process did you use for your research that might help young readers understand how authors approach writing nonfiction?

Christy: My first step in this project was reading broadly. As I read, I looked for facts and aspects of water that would be most interesting to kids. What would make kids wonder? What would surprise and intrigue them? And what are the concrete details that really bring the story home?

In deciding what to include and how to present it, we gave a great deal of consideration to the book’s design. The artist, Mariona Cabassa, and the entire team at Barefoot Books deserve credit for this. We had extensive discussions about the most engaging ways to present information.

For example, how to show the quantity of water on the globe: 326 million trillion gallons. We looked at illustrations of buckets, swimming pools, and the like, but finally decided that for a figure that large, just showing it with all those zeroes was effective: 326,000,000,000,000,000,000. We went through a similar process for many aspects of the book. And we created the friendly talking-water-drop character to provide quick fun facts throughout the book. This was one way we sought to make the book accessible to younger kids as well as middle grade readers.

As I researched, I flagged topics that kids could explore through hands-on activities. For example, try dissolving different substances in water; or get outside with a magnifying glass and see what life you can find in a pond or a puddle. In one activity, I asked kids to think about the work involved in carrying a family’s water. The activity suggests filling a water bucket to carry and figuring out how many buckets of water their family would need in a day. Here’s an extension of that activity, for a class or other group of kids, building on information in the book which appeared on author Patricia Newman’s LitLinks blog. This gets more deeply into the social justice theme of the book. (And the inequity of the world’s global water supply is of course exacerbated by the climate crisis.)

Finally, I find that when kids see a problem, often their instinct is to act, so I spent a lot of time thinking about what water-steward steps we could suggest for kids to take. Those are sprinkled throughout the book.

CTB: What do you want readers to come away with after reading this book?

Christy: An appreciation for the magic of water! This ordinary everyday substance is in fact so extraordinary. And how vital it is to all living things. And I hope kids will feel a desire to protect this treasure for everyone. My approach was to focus on how wondrous water is, but without glossing over all the water-related challenges.

This is similar to what Sue Heavenrich and I did in our Diet for a Changing Climate book. We wanted to help young readers think actively about the climate crisis but without overwhelming them. Our approach was to encourage kids to think creatively and notice how their choices about what foods were on their plates could help make real change in the world.

CTB: What’s next on your horizon? Any new books coming out we should watch for?

Christy: Yes! Thank you for this question – I’m expecting three books in 2022. (And one of them relates to climate change.)

The Supreme Court and Us, coming March 1, is a kid-friendly introduction to the U.S. Supreme Court, its history and role. (Illustrated by Neely Daggett, pub. Albert Whitman.)

Patience, Patches shows up in April. This fictional tale, narrated by Patches the dog, follows the disruption (and rewards) when a baby joins the family. (Illustrated by Sheryl Murray, pub. Dial/PRH.)

Ultimate Food Atlas: Maps, Games, Recipes, and More for Hours of Delicious Fun. A Nat Geo Kids book that the talented science writer Nancy Castaldo and I co-wrote, it’s due to release in September. It’s stuffed with fun facts about food, geography, and agriculture … and we talk about climate change, too.

CTB: I want to thank Christy Mihaly for being such a passionate advocate for the environment and for young readers. Enjoy!

Win a FREE copy of Barefoot Books Water:

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. The randomly-chosen winner will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (within the U.S. only) to receive the book.

Good luck!

Christy Mihaly is a nature lover, former lawyer, and poet. She has written more than 25 children’s nonfiction titles on topics from hayfields to free speech to food. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of California, Berkeley, Christy is passionate about environmental education, has chaired the board of the Vermont River Conservancy, and is a regular volunteer in local elementary schools as an environmental educator and reading mentor. She writes for kids because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising young people who love to read, and giving them the knowledge and skills to lead.

Christy’s books have been included on the Green Earth Book Award shortlist, Bank Street Children’s Best Books, and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections. She lives in Vermont, where she enjoys walking her dog in the woods and playing cello (though not simultaneously).

To learn more about Christy and her books, please visit www.ChristyMihaly.com. You can follow her on Twitter @CMwriter4kids

Your host is Christine Taylor-Butler, MIT nerd and author of more than 90 books for children including Save The Tigers part of a new animal conservation series by Chelsea Clinton. She is also the author of the middle grade sci-fi/fantasy series The Lost Tribes. Follow @ChristineTB on Twitter and/or @ChristineTaylorButler on Instagram

Author Spotlight: Jake Burt + a Giveaway!

By Melissa Roske on February 18, 2022 / Articles, Author Interviews, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Giveaways, kidlit, New Releases

My amazing 2017 Debuts author pal Jake Burt has recently released his fifth novel (!!!), but this is his FIRST time chatting with us on the Mixed-Up Files!!! Can you tell how excited that makes me? Well, CAN YOU…? 🙂

Before I turn the mic over to the mega-talented Jake Burt (besides being an author, Jake is a fifth-grade teacher, an Ultimate Frisbee champ, and a gifted banjo player), here’s a short summary of his latest MG novel, The Ghoul of Windydown Vale (Feiwel and Friends).

(Oh, and don’t miss the chance to win TWO signed copies of Jake’s books–GHOUL and Cleo Porter and the Body Electric–if you enter the giveaway. Scroll down for details! )

The Ghoul of Windydown Vale

Copper Inskeep holds Windydown Vale’s deepest and darkest secret: He is the ghoul that haunts the Vale, donning a gruesome costume to scare travelers and townsfolk away from the dangers of the surrounding swamps. When a terrified girl claims she and her father were attacked by a creature—one that could not have been Copper—it threatens not just Copper’s secret, but the fate of all Windydown.

Without further ado… heeeeere’s Jake!

Interview with Jake Burt

MR: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, my friend!

JB: Thank you, Melissa! My pleasure to (finally) be here!

MR: Your latest book, The Ghoul of Windydown Vale, has been described as “scarier than Scooby-Doo, but not too scary to read [to kids] at night.” What is the secret to writing a spooky book for middle-grade readers? Is there anything specific you aimed for—or avoided—during the writing of this novel?

JB: To me, the best spooky stuff is that which is unknown. I’ve never been a big fan of slasher horror, for instance: if you know from the first scene or chapter that the menace is a guy with a chainsaw, then the rest of the movie/book is just about seeing what inventive/gruesome ways said guy can terrorize people with a chainsaw. But a creeping, unseen dread? That, to me, is compelling and chilling in all the best ways. It’s particularly effective for middle grade novels, too, since ideally, we’re trying to avoid subjecting young readers to Friday the 13th-level bloodshed. I elected to go with first person present as my narrative style, too, because I wanted the reader to have that close, closed experience of navigating the spooky things right alongside my main character.

Windydown Vale and its (Vaguely) Pioneer Past

MR: Windydown Vale is set in an unspecified historical era, in an unspecified geographical location. What was the inspiration behind these fictional choices? Was it meant to reflect the secret behind the Ghoul’s true identity? Or maybe something else…?

JB: By keeping the location very local, and by locking the setting into a nebulous, vaguely pioneer past, my goal was to “trap” the reader. You don’t know what else is out there, except that Windydown Vale is surrounded in the immediate sense by deadly swamps. Better to stay in town than to risk a journey elsewhere, no? And an ahistorical time period lends itself to the tone of the book. Even if ghouls aren’t real, our characters don’t have the technology to prove it. I wanted the lore of the book to sit solidly in a temporal framework where legends and monsters are part of the science, since scary things are much more fun when everyone believes in them.

Cleo Porter and the Body Electric + a Global Pandemic

MR: Your previous novel, Cleo Porter and the Body Electric, takes place in the aftermath of a fictional pandemic—“influenza D.” Cleo Porter, the 12-year-old protagonist, experiences life from the confines of her germ-free apartment, takes classes via Virtual Adaptive Instructional Network, and enjoys computer-simulated playdates with her friends. Interestingly, this book was written a year before the appearance of Covid-19. You’re an amazing guy, Jake, but I know you’re not psychic. How on earth did you come up with this idea? Also, what was it like to have a book come out during a global pandemic—about a global pandemic?

JB: Having Cleo launch in the midst of COVID was surreal, to say the least. I was certainly worried that it would be a “too soon” situation, but reception of the book has been universally positive. Part of the reason, I think, is that the book doesn’t actually center on the pandemic; it’s about the long-term aftermath. Still, many of the themes (isolation, compassion, the value of science) are relevant. Teachers and librarians have reported finding Cleo to be a compelling resource for book groups and classroom discussions, and I’m honored that it has served that purpose, in addition to being a fast-paced, twisty adventure. Part of the reason it rings so true is that it’s based on my experience during a real pandemic–not COVID, but SARS, back in 2013. I lived in China at the time, and we went into full lockdown as the country sought to manage the spread. It was upon that time that I based Cleo’s setting.

Reviews and Feedback

MR: As a follow-up, Jake, what kind of feedback did you receive from readers following the publication of Cleo Porter? I’m guessing kids found solace in Cleo’s plight, considering that many of them were in similar circumstances. Did any of the feedback surprise you—from kids or reviewers?

JB: I was pleasantly surprised by the reception; it was certainly nerve-wracking waiting for reviews to come in! To be honest, the biggest surprise came from the New York Times. I didn’t expect them to review it, much less do so in such a positive way. It was definitely a career milestone. (To read the Times’ glowing review of Cleo Porter and the Body Electric click here.)

The Tornado + Bullying

MR: To switch gears, your 2019 novel, The Tornado (2019), focuses on two characters who are the victims of bullying but handle it in vastly different ways. Bell Kirby hides from his tormenter while Daelynn Gower—a new girl with outrageous clothes and rainbow-colored hair—confronts the perpetrators head-on. Not to stir up unpleasant memories, but were you bullied as a child? If so, how did you handle it? Also, what advice would you give to fellow educators who confront bullying in their classrooms?

JB: Heavy questions, Melissa! And important ones. Yes, I was bullied. Parker Hellickson, the bully in Tornado, is based on the guy who bullied me throughout elementary school. Everything Parker inflicts on Bell is something my bully did to me. How did I handle it? Not well. I wilted. Thus, when I saw him bullying other kids, I didn’t say a word. I hid, and in some cases, I even laughed along with my “Parker,” hoping that by supporting him, I’d stay out of his crosshairs. It didn’t work, and it left others feeling as alone as I did. Tornado is, in part, a way to explore that bystander guilt.

My advice to educators, based on my own experiences and what I’ve seen in twenty-two years in the classroom, is to call a spade a spade. Don’t be afraid to label bullying behavior as such. “Bully” is a necessarily loaded term, but attempts to tiptoe around it or explain away bullying behaviors as simply “kidding around,” “accidental,” or “a one-time thing” subtly erode an educator’s ability to address the root causes of the behavior and to put measures in place to protect the victim. I’d also advise bringing in administrators and families as soon as possible to be part of the dialogue. A teacher shouldn’t have to handle something as serious as bullying in a vacuum, and multiple perspectives can be helpful in correctly diagnosing bullying as such.

The Right Hook of Devin Velma + Social Anxiety

MR: The Right Hook of Devin Velma (2018) features a character who suffers from social anxiety. As an example, Addison “freezes” when he’s feeling particularly anxious, or when he speaks to certain adults. He’s also majorly stressed about social media. What prompted you to write about social anxiety? What sort of research was involved?

JB: Addison’s anxiety was a way to explore my own, particularly around the topic of social media. When my first novel was published, one of the requests Macmillan made was that I jump onto Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to help spread the word. I was deeply unsure about how that would go, though it turns out that all my fears are shared by a considerable number of other authors on those platforms: I don’t have anything interesting to post; I will over-post and annoy people; I will seem like an egomaniac; I will bore people and turn them away from my books with my inane ‘netprattle. Fortunately, none of that has come to pass…or just as fortunately, I’ve made friends kindly enough not to embarrass me by telling me my online act has grown stale.

Of course, social media anxiety isn’t social anxiety disorder, and so I did need to do considerable research into how it manifests, how those who have it cope, and how therapists try to address the issue and help people live with it. Like with so many anxiety-based disorders, there is no one way people experience SAD, so I tried to make Addison’s journey as authentic to him as I could, while staying true to the narratives of folks with SAD writ large. For example, there is no quick fix; Addison doesn’t suddenly wake up one day “cured” of his anxiety. He manages it as best he can, enjoying the small victories where he can claim them, in the hopes that they will ultimately build to a life more comfortable to live.

Genius at Work

MR: Of all your five books, which was the hardest to write? The most fun…? Also, what about titles? Do you come up with them yourself?

JB: Hardest: The Ghoul of Windydown Vale. Genius that I am, I decided to try to write this one during the school year. All my others I manuscripted over the summer. Trying to balance writing and teaching was daunting, and likely something I won’t attempt again any time soon. The most fun to write was Cleo. Her pragmatism and overly literal way of looking at the world made her a tremendously entertaining character to shepherd through a sci-fi world. Plus, giant insectoid drone battles are a ton of fun to choreograph.

Carving Out Writing Time

MR: In addition to being a prolific novelist, you’re a fifth-grade teacher and parent to a young daughter. When do you find the time to write? Do you have a specific writing routine?

JB: I thought I had a routine, and then COVID hit, and then I tried to write during the school year, and then I didn’t have a great routine anymore. I think many of us are in the same boat, re-learning how to be creative and productive. When I’ve got all my ducks in a row, my writing arc goes something like this: Brainstorm, outline, and research in the spring (especially spring break). Begin manuscript writing in mid-June. Finish manuscript and revise through late July. Get manuscript to second readers at the start of August. Revise again. Send manuscript to agent at the end of August. Wait for feedback. Revise more throughout the fall, until my editor is ready to proceed with copyedits. Take care of those over winter break. Then the novel is pretty much out of my hands, and I can turn my attention to the next one.

The Pedaler

MR: Rumor has it that you write while pedaling an exercise bike. I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time! How on earth do you do this? Enquiring minds want to know.

JB: It’s true: I’m actually responding to these questions right now while on a bike. I’ve found that cycling (stationary, of course) helps settle my body and quiet my mind. If I simply sit, my legs get twitchy and I’m distracted. I should note, though, that I’m not on a Peloton or something of the sort. I ride what’s usually called an “exercise desk.” Imagine a bike with a desk surface where the handlebars should be, and you’ve pretty much got it.

Meet Jake’s Next Book Projects

MR: What are you working on now, Jake? Can you give us a teaser?

JB: Only the vaguest of teasers, but yes…in question form:

Q: “What do you call a kid with three wishes?”

A: “The single greatest threat to global security the world has ever seen.”

Lightning Round!

MR: One last thing. As you know, no MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

Preferred writing snack?

Nothing. Sticky fingers + keyboard = disaster.

Coffee or tea?

TEA!

Dog or Cat?

(I think this photo speaks for itself. 🙂 — MR)

Favorite song you can play on the banjo?

“Wildwood Flower.”

Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay?

As in “Would I survive?” Yea. Totally yea. I’m up-to-date on all my literature. As in “Do you want one?” Nay. Very nay.

Superpower?

I used to go with teleportation. Then I switched to telekinesis. Now it’s “the ability to craft the details of my own afterlife.”

Favorite place on Earth?

I do love me some Disney World…

Hidden talent (besides strumming the banjo, pedaling your desk bike, and playing Ultimate Frisbee)?

After twenty-two years of practice, I think I’m really, really good at reading middle-grade fiction aloud to an audience.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three things, what would they be?

Teleportation, telekinesis, and the ability to craft the details of my own afterlife.

MR: Thanks for participating, Jake. And congrats on the publication of The Ghoul of Windydown Vale!

And now…

A GIVEAWAY!

For a chance to win TWO signed copies of Jake’s books, The Ghoul of Windydown Vale and Cleo Porter and the Body Electric, comment on the blog–and, if you’re on Twitter, on the Mixed-Up Files Twitter account, for an extra chance to win! (Giveaway ends 2/21/22 EST.) U.S. only, please.

All About Jake

Jake Burt is the author of the middle-grade novels Greetings from Witness Protection!, an Indie Next selection, The Right Hook of Devin Velma, a Junior Library Guild selection, and The Tornado, which School Library Journal called “one of the best stories about bullying for middle grades,” in a starred review. His novel Cleo Porter and the Body Electric was praised as a “thrilling sci-fi adventure” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz. His latest book, The Ghoul of Windydown Vale, is available now. Jake teaches fifth grade and lives in Hamden, CT, with his wife and their daughter. Learn more about Jake on his website and follow him on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

GHOUL Art by Larissa Brown Marantz

A Serendipitious Interview and Giveaway

By Mimi Powell on February 4, 2022 / Articles, Author Interviews, Giveaways

I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed Amber Smith’s middle grade debut Code Name: Serendipity about a misunderstood girl named Sadie who discovers that she can hear the thoughts of a stray dog that she finds in the forest behind her house. In her quest to rescue the dog, Sadie finds that Dewey, the dog, can hear her thoughts as well, and a friendship forms between them. Soon, through her rescue efforts, Sadie is making more unlikely friends. This is a book to hand to anyone who loves animals and who has ever felt misunderstood. So, when an opportunity to interview the author arrived, I jumped at the chance. Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Amber.

MUF: Tell us about Code Name: Serendipity?

A: Code Name: Serendipity tells the story of eleven-year-old Sadie, a lonely misfit whose life seems to be going all wrong lately — she can’t get along with her older brother, her best friend moved away, and it seems no one understands her. That is until she meets a stray dog and realizes that they have a very special connection: They can communicate telepathically. Sadie sets out on a mission to rescue the dog, but in the process, she might just rescue herself too.

MUF: You’ve written several great young adult novels, and Code Name: Serendipity is your first MG? How was the experience different?

A: In terms of process and structure, it wasn’t too different to switch from writing YA to MG. But I found that it took me quite a while to find Sadie’s voice. As I was drafting, I struggled to balance her youth and maturity in a natural way, one that was so different from the older characters I have been writing for years now. Once I found it, though, the pieces of the puzzle just started falling into place!

MUF: Your bio says that Code Name: Serendipity was inspired by your own experiences rescuing animals. Are there any particular animals that inspired Dewey? Are there any stories from your time rescuing animals that particularly inspired this story?

A: Definitely! My wife and I are both huge animal lovers – we currently have seven rescues (two dogs and five cats). There are little pieces of each of these sweet furbabies threaded throughout the story, but the one who really inspired it was a third dog, Darwin. I rescued him from a shelter when he was still a puppy and he was with me his whole life, up until he was a senior, and eventually passed. I always refer to him as my “soul dog” because we had such a close bond that at times, it really did feel as if we knew what each other were thinking. Not quite telepathy, like Sadie and Dewey, but pretty close! So, I started writing this book in memory of him, and how much joy and love he brought into my life.

MUF: Not gonna lie, I really wish that I had Sadie’s power not only with my own cats but also the cat that I TNR’d. (Trapped, Neutered, Released) Have there ever been animal rescue experiences where you wished that you had Sadie’s power?

A: First, I love that you participate in a TNR program!

This is how we have ended up with the majority of our rescue cats. Former members of feral colonies, who, when brought in for spay/neutering, were found to have health issues that prevented them from being re-released back into their feral colonies. These kitties can have such weird and sometimes aggressive behavioral issues that prevent them from being (or staying) adopted — after all, they’ve never been a part of a household or family. So, my wife and I have become known as the “crazy cat ladies” the shelters call to take the cats who have run out of options. I have definitely wished I could telepathically communicate with some of these cats (we have five of them currently) to explain what it means to transition from feral-to-house cat. They get it eventually, but it would be so much easier if we could just talk it out!

MUF: Code Name: Serendipity deals with some weighty issues with Sadie’s grandfather’s illness, her LD, and also what could happen to Dewey if she’s not rescued from the shelter. How do you approach writing about these topics for MG. Is it different from how you’d approach writing them for YA, and how so?

A: My YA novels have all dealt with some pretty heavy, hard-hitting topics that sometimes get into dark places, and while I definitely wanted to touch on serious real-world topics in Code Name, I was very conscious of not wanting any of Sadie’s problems and challenges to ever feel insurmountable. One of the ways I tried to achieve this was to show her finding tools, help, and allies along the way – so there was always a light at the end of every tunnel.

MUF: Why does Gramps call Sadie Sassafras?

A: Gramps has a lot of what Sadie refers to as “Grampsisms” – or his own unique made-up expressions – old-timey sayings, but with a twist! When I was brainstorming nicknames he might have for Sadie, I kept thinking he’d probably want to express his admiration for Sadie’s spirited (or, some might say, sassy) nature. I thought at first, he could call her “Sassy,” but I wanted it to be something a bit more endearing and special, so in true Gramps style, Sassy became “Sassafras.”

MUF: Your descriptions of food in this story are awesome. I ended up buying a box of Uncrustables because I was craving PBJ after this. Were there any foods that you wrote, that you were hungry for after describing them?

A: Yes, I ate many a late-night PBJ sandwich while writing this book – and I still don’t know whether it was my snack that inspired the recurring PBJs in the book or the book that made me crave the recurring sandwiches. Also, Sadie has a penchant for French toast and big weekend breakfasts with her family, which is something I always looked forward to as a kid!

MUF: Sadie’s very gifted with art. I loved the scene where she’s drawing out the word problem. Do you draw? Or do origami like Macy? (Fun side note, I tried to learn origami in Japanese class in college because we did this whole Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes thing, and I literally made one sad, pathetic paper crane because like Sadie, I cannot figure it out.)

A: I actually do have a background in visual art – I went to college for Painting and grad school for Art History, so I love to incorporate creative and artistic themes in my books. I honestly don’t practice art too much these days, but it will always hold a special place in my heart as my first creative love. (Side note: I probably logged at least 100 hours of YouTube tutorials on origami while writing this book because I wanted to get the descriptions of Macy’s creations just right!)

MUF: Also, in a similar vein, throughout the story, we see Sadie working on her graphic novel. Are you a fan of graphic novels? If so, what are your favorites?

A: When I was a kid, I wanted to be an illustrator, but my wife is the true graphic novel aficionado in the family, so I borrowed that interest of hers for Sadie.

MUF: What are your favorite books?

A: I have too many to name (and the list is always growing), but on the middle-grade side I love anything by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Holly Goldberg Sloan, and Kate DiCamillo – Because of Winn-Dixie has been a long-time favorite of mine, and definitely inspired Code Name!

MUF: What are you working on now?

A: I am in the beginning stages of a new middle-grade novel that I’m super excited about (all I can say right now is that it involves another special animal – this time, a cat).

How can readers find you online?

A: I love connecting with readers! You can find me online at www.AmberSmithAuthor.com, @ambersmithauthor on Instagram and Facebook, or @ASmithAuthor on Twitter.

Thanks for having me on From the Mixed-Up Files!

Code Name: Serendipity is out now, and here at Mixed-Up Files, we’re giving away a copy to one lucky reader.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posts Tagged Book Giveaway