Posts Tagged books

Author Spotlight: Tricia Springstubb + a GIVEAWAY

By on April 4, 2025   /   Author Interviews   /   4 Comments

Today, I’m excited to shine the Author Spotlight on children’s author, Tricia Springstubb! Tricia’s latest MG novel, How to tell a True Story, was praised by Kirkus as “A sincere and humane narrative that probes human complexity.” It released April 1 from Margaret Ferguson Books and is a 2025 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Learn more and connect with Tricia at https://www.triciaspringstubb.com/

Interview with Tricia

Welcome, Tricia! Thank you so much for being a guest on the Mixed-up Files! 
I absolutely loved How to Tell a True Story. It’s such an impactful book that will be sure to spark many important conversations about honesty, ethics, and whether it’s ever okay to lie to protect those you love. Can you tell me a little about the inspiration behind it?
I started to think about this book years ago when I attended a school assembly where a student whose house had been destroyed by fire was presented with a collection of brand new books. It was a lovely, generous gift, such a heart-tugging moment, and of course the child said thank you. Afterwards, though, I found myself wondering: what if she didn’t really want all those books? What if she secretly wished she’d been given toys or games instead, but she had to act grateful?

Mind you–I had no reason to believe that was the case! But a writer’s brain is a devious place. I began thinking about how complicated the acts of giving and receiving are. How kindness is always well-intentioned, but how, often, we expect something in return. I started making notes for a story about a girl whose community comes together to help her and her family after a fire, and all the complications that could arise from that.

About How to tell a True Story

You do such a great job maintaining an element of mystery in the story about what exactly happened the night of the fire. Was it difficult to craft this novel? What was your biggest challenge in writing it?
I love to read mysteries but have always failed miserably when I tried to write one. (I’m also really bad at telling jokes too–I always manage to give away the punch line!) How To Tell a True Story was different, because though it revolves around a dark secret, it’s a book that asks as many questions as it answers. Is the truth black and white? What makes a hero? If kindness is a gift, can we change our minds and take it back? How does social media affect the way we see and present ourselves?

It was hard to keep the story taut and suspenseful while making room for all these questions. Also, research is never my favorite part of writing, but to describe the fire, the burn treatments, and the legal aftermath, I had to do a lot of reading and interviews. I’m so grateful those details ring true.

You describe the experience of surviving a devastating event so authentically. It is such a difficult topic, and you handled it with grace, care, and sensitivity. I’m always interested in hearing how authors make tough topics accessible to young readers and would love to hear your thoughts on this.
I’m a ridiculously hopeful person—probably both my biggest strength and weakness. Also probably why I write for young readers. No matter how deep their troubles, most kids stay alive to possibility. Their friends, their crushes, their dreams of what they might do and who they might be—all that beckons to them. I love that! I try to honor it in my stories.

Characters

Along with Amber, I enjoyed your other characters a lot too. I thought Amber’s relationships with her peers were so real and relatable. Do you have a favorite secondary character? Who and why?
I love Amber’s friends!  Please don’t make me choose among them!  I will say that my editor found Mariah unlikeable and pushed me to make her nicer, but I like her exactly the way she is. And of course I love Clancy, Amber’s goofy sister. All my main characters seem to have little comic sidekicks–in my last book, Looking for True, it was Spider and Sophie, who adore potty jokes.

Takeaways

What do you hope readers take away from this story?
I hope they’ll have a great reading experience, meaning they won’t want to put the book down! Beyond that, I hope they’ll think about the questions I mention above, and about the notion of kindness. Kids are constantly urged to Be Kind and Choose Kind. Of course in the best of all worlds, humankind is both human and kind! But as Amber discovers, many things are easier to say than to act on. Most of us can be kind to people we feel sorry for, but it’s hard–very hard–to be kind to people we don’t like, to people we feel have betrayed us. I hope readers will think about what Max, Amber’s classmate (and nemesis), says, “If only some people deserve kindness, then it’s just a reward.”

Writing Process

Will you tell us a little about your writing process? Are you a plotter or pantser? Where/when do you prefer to write?
To be honest, Sydney, I always dread this question! My process is so messy, I’m not sure it even deserves the word. Mostly, I start with a situation, a setting or a character that intrigues me, then write my way into the story, following where it beckons. Obviously, I do a LOT of revision, but I really enjoy going back over drafts and finding the clues I’ve left myself. One of my favorite writing quotes is from Flannery O’Connor:  “Like the old lady, I don’t know so well what I think until I see what I say; then I have to say it again.”

Influences

What are some current books that have influenced you as a kidlit writer?
I read everything Kate DiCamillo writes. She is so deft–a great lesson for a blabbermouth-writer like me–and I love her dark sense of humor. When The Horn Book said Looking for True is “Because of Winn-Dixie for a new generation”, I about died.
Anne Tyler doesn’t write for kids, but she’s been a hero of mine for decades. Her quirky characters are so specific yet universal. Also, she just published her 25th novel at the age of 83–I’d love to follow in those footsteps.

Advice

What is your advice for aspiring writers?
As anyone reading this probably already knows, the writing life can be hard. I recently got a rejection that really stung!  But I don’t know anything better to do with my one wild and precious life than to keep trying to see through other eyes and walk in other shoes–in other words, tell stories. Read, observe, question, open your heart!

What’s Next

Can you give us some insights into what you’ll be working on next?
I have a fantasy novel out on submission. This is a HUGE departure for me, so who knows what will become of it. I’m also working on a new project. Like How to Tell a True Story, it falls into the category of Young Teen Lit, that space between true middle grade and true young adult. So far, all I know is it centers on A Big, Complicated Crush.

And for the lightning round:

Coffee or tea? Coffee! More coffee!
Sunrise or sunset? Sunset (only because I like to sleep in)
Favorite dessert: I eat ice cream every single day.
Superpower: I crave the superpower that would let me infiltrate the hearts and minds of those in power right now.
Favorite music: I’m bad at favorites questions, but today I’ll go with Motown!
Favorite book from childhood: Again, so bad at favorites, but I’ll pick Little Women. I’ll never forget my shock and grief when Beth died—my first experience of how enormously powerful a book can be.
Thanks again, Tricia! It was so much fun to learn about you, your writing journey, and your amazing novel! Learn more about Tricia on her website and follow her on Instagram.

For a chance to win a signed copy of How to Tell a True Story, comment on the blog!  (Giveaway ends April 11, 2025 MIDNIGHT EST.) U.S. only, please. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Interview with Author Cindy Jenson-Elliot: The Doomsday Detectives

By on March 14, 2025   /   Author Interviews, Nonfiction  
The Doomsday Detectives book

I always love bringing attention to new nonfiction books for kids and this is a GOOD one! I’m delighted to welcome author Cindy Jens0n-Elliott to the Mixed-Up Files Blog today.

Cindy Jensen-Elliott

 

She will be talking about her new book, The Doomsday Detectives

The Doomsday Detectives book

JLG Gold Standard

 

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection 2025

 

 

* “Packed with explanations of scientific terminology and methods of operation, this detailed and compelling book is a superb guide for curious STEM-focused readers. An outstanding resource that depicts the winding and complex journey of scientific exploration.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “This fascinating, informative volume highlights not only the people at the center of the discovery but the scientific processes by which they came to their conclusions….Perfect for kids who want to go all-in on dinosaurs.” — Booklist, starred review

 

 

 

 

JS: Welcome to the blog. I really loved this book. Let’s start with the first question: What drew you to writing about these two scientists?

Cindy J-E:   In summer 2017, I was driving to my first day at a new full-time teaching job when my agent, Stefanie Sanchez von Borstel, called to give me some updates: a rejection of a manuscript I had recently sent to her, and an opportunity. Cheryl Klein, an editor at Lee and Low Books, was seeking a picture book family biography of Walter and Luis Alvarez, the two scientists behind the discovery of evidence that an asteroid was responsible for the Cretaceous extinction. While I was intrigued – I LOVED my college geology classes and I LOVED teaching science — I was also feeling really overwhelmed. I was making a big career switch from holding five simultaneous but flexible low-paying part-time jobs in high-end communities, to holding one full-time teaching job in a low-income community. I was also switching from teaching grades 1 – 8 science and outdoor education to teaching middle school English to three different grades. As an introvert, full-time teaching has always been challenging for my psyche, especially when my kids were young. So I was especially nervous about the return to the classroom. However, writing, even in my most successful years writing for educational test companies, magazines, newspapers and publishers, has never been enough to pay the bills. But I could feel a spark of curiosity igniting.

I told Stefanie I would read Walter Alvarez’s book, T-Rex and the Crater of Doom, and see if I wanted to write a picture book biography. How long could that take, right? Over the next few months, I read Alvarez’s book before bed and on weekends, and contemplated how I might tackle a biography. By Christmas, I realized that this would have to be much more than a picture book biography. This story, involving everything in science from Paleontology and Earth Science to Astrophysics, was a science mystery much more complex than a simple biography suggested. For children to understand how scientists solved the mystery of the Cretaceous extinction, they would need to know the science that led to the discovery. I began working on a book proposal for a longer middle grade nonfiction book, and we submitted it to Cheryl in early 2018.

 

JS: How did you decide to turn this book from a “normal” biography focusing on the scientists, to a journey of discovery? 

Cindy J-E: By summer, Cheryl had rejected my first proposal — it’s hard to remember why — but she offered to let me rewrite it, along with a sample chapter, if I wanted to make another attempt. I spent the summer and fall of my second year at the school researching and writing a second draft of the proposal. This time around, I structured it as a long-form science mystery, and developed a structure that included elements I knew my students would appreciate — graphic elements, expository elements, narrative family biography and a narrative of science discovery. I would start it with the discovery of dinosaurs and the idea of extinction, and proceed to the discovery of the crater. In the proposal, I included samples of each type of writing – comic script, expository science, science and biographical narrative — as well as a 20-page outline. We turned the proposal in again and waited. Six months later – a contract!

 

JS: Whose idea was it to use graphic novel-like insets to explain the more complex science? (I think this is brilliant, by the way).

Cindy J-E: Thank you! It was my idea to use graphic nonfiction to explain some of the science through graphic narrative, and it came about because by 2019, I had been segued over to teaching science in my school instead of English, possibly because, in my very traditionally-minded school (at that time) I was teaching students to write comic narratives in English class, in addition to essays. Prepping for science teaching, however, is a lot more work than prepping for English class, so I asked my school if I could teach two grades instead of three, and two types of science – 6th grade Earth Science and 8th grade Physical Science – instead of three (Life Science). At this particular school, this was considered part-time teaching – two preps instead of three – and working 7 -2 instead of 7-4. The best way to learn science, for me, is to teach it and to have to write about it. So having my writing and teaching focused on the same topics was helpful. I wrote the book I wanted my students – 98% of whom were English-language learners – to use to learn science, so graphics were a great resource for them.

 

JS: Can you give us a couple of  intriguing fun facts that you learned while writing this book? 

Cindy J-E: Instead of  intriguing facts, I will give you some amazing facts and experiences I had in researching and writing this book.

Intriguing fact #1: I hadn’t realized how recently, in the grand scheme of things, dinosaurs were discovered at all, AND long it took people to realize that extinction was even possible. When there were parts of Earth that were still uncharted by Europeans, folks thought that maybe dinosaurs were hiding out in some deep, dark pocket of Earth.

This also points to my own realization of how often new and alternative hypotheses are ridiculed, often for decades, until enough data comes in. I tried to include a variety of voices and viewpoints with respect.

Intriguing fact #2: When I was scripting the first and last comics, I had written sound effects for the voices of dinosaurs. Then I came across a study by a scientist who studies animal sounds and the acoustics of their skulls. His work suggested that T-Rex probably sounded more like a hunting horn than a roar.

 

JS: What would you like readers to get out of this book?

Cindy J-E: I would like readers to understand the great joy, responsibility and gift science is to our world. As I say at the end, “Scientists – geologists, paleontologists, physicists, and every other researcher in every field – never stop digging for data, collecting evidence and retesting results. The scientific practices of asking questions, tossing around ideas with colleagues from around the world (who often become friends), developing a hypothesis, and testing to see if it is actually true are the eternal pleasures of doing science. Science presents a never-ending opportunity to learn and grow, and to expand the knowledge of civilization. Scientists don’t work for themselves; they work for everyone – everyone on the entire planet, now and in the future – to bring the truth to light and make it accessible and available to the whole world.” (p. 186)

I want readers to understand what the scientific process really is, how it is used, and how our knowledge changes as we gather more information. Science is not static. It is growth.

JS: How would you like teachers/librarians to use this book?

Cindy J-E: I would like this book to be used by teachers who want to collaborate across the curriculum – science and the humanities – as a class book to teaching middle school Earth science curriculum. Students can identify science processes used as the mystery is solved. They can teach students to use comics to explain their ideas.

Thanks so much for being on our blog today, Cindy. If you want to learn more about The Doomsday Detectives or Cindy, please go to her website: https://cindyjensonelliott.com/

 

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STEM Tuesday– Radio/UV Waves and Applied Physics — Writing Tips and Resources

By on February 18, 2025   /   Applied Physicis, STEM Tuesday  

Catch a Wave!

(This post was originally a STEM Tuesday Spin-Off guest post for the Middle Grade Book Village blog. It fits with this month’s theme of Radio/UV Waves – Applied Physics so I’m recycling it for my Writing Tips & Resources post.)

In STEM Tuesday Spin-Off, we look around at the things in life we often take for granted. We peer behind the curtain, search underneath the hood for the STEM principles involved, and suggest books and/or links to help build an understanding of the world around us. The common, everyday thing will be the hub of the post, and the “spin-offs” will be the spokes making up our wheel of discovery. As our former STEM Tuesday Writing Tips & Resources partner, Heather L. Montgomery often says, we’ll “Go deep!” on a common subject and take a look at its inherent STEM components. 

Today, we will take a closer look at something that is always with us and affects the life of the average 8-14-year-old.

Waves!

Shalom Jacobovitzderivative work: Brocken Inaglory ([[User talk:Brocken Inaglory|talk]]) [CC BY-SA]

The Hub: Waves

Waves, dude! They’re awesome. Riding a wave, either on a board or by body, is exhilarating. Throwing a rock into a calm lake or pond to watch the wave patterns is pretty entertaining and tossing in another rock or two to watch the wave patterns interact takes it to a whole new level. 

Wave motion is pretty cool. The waves created by a sheet flapping in the breeze or the waves generated with a length of rope or a Slinky toy give us hours of entertaining observation. Waves provide both satisfaction from their aesthetic and their physical principles. In short, waves rock!

As cool as the above waves are, there are multitudes of waves in constant motion around us every day and we don’t even need to hit the beach to enjoy them. We notice some of these waves, while others we don’t notice. Yet these waves profoundly affect our modern life every second of every day.  

In today’s Catch a Wave Edition, we’ll talk about these sound and electromagnetic waves and introduce some spin-off resources to learn more and dig deeper into STEM. There are waves all around us, light waves, sound waves, radio waves, microwaves, other electromagnetic waves, and, may I add, waves of middle-grade academic enthusiasm.

Spoke 1: Sound Waves

Sound waves are mechanical waves created by the vibration of a source. The vibrations create longitudinal waves consisting of regions of high pressure and low pressure called compressions and rarefactions that mimic the source vibration. A sound wave must travel from one place to another in a medium and cannot move through a vacuum. 

Sound wave in a cylinder. via Wikimedia Commons.

Transverse Waves

The remaining Spin-Off Spokes are all transverse waves of the electromagnetic spectrum. One of the amazing things about electromagnetic waves is they are a single physical phenomenon that can be separated into types by the characteristic properties associated with their frequency and wavelength.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is em-spectrum-nasa_-wikimedia-commons.jpg

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is longitudinal-and-transverse-waves-1.png

Electromagnetic wave shape is the more familiar wave shape of crests and troughs, called a sine wave. Transverse waves of the EM spectrum travel at the speed of light in a vacuum.

Spoke 2: Radio Waves

We are all familiar with radio. Turn it on, crank it up, and dance down the hallway on the way to the lunchroom. Radio rocks! Let me tell you, that box that plays our favorite tunes is only a mere sliver of the pure awesomeness of radio waves. Radio waves are the do-it-all, blue-collar, workman of the physical world. Sound, data, and video can be pulsed (modulated) onto a radio wave carrier, transmitted great distances through an antenna, and received by another antenna. A receiver then separates (demodulates) the original signal from the carrier wave and transmits it to an output device.

Let’s say I want to play my wicked new surf guitar solo to a friend who lives six hours away. First, I create the sound into a microphone by playing my new jam. The microphone transforms the vibration of the longitudinal sound wave from the guitar strings into an electromagnetic wave which then gets pulsed/modulated onto a radio wave or microwave. The message on the carrier wave is sent by my antenna great distances at the speed of light until it reaches my friend’s antenna. The antenna catches my message, and the electromagnetic wave is decoded/demodulated from the carrier and sent to a speaker where it is transformed back into a sound wave. Next thing you know, my friend is rocking out to my surf guitar solo. All is good in the world.

A low-frequency message signal (top) may be carried by an AM or FM radio wave.

Look around your school or classroom, there are probably devices on the ceiling or on a table all around that are constantly modulating and demodulating data for your computers and Wi-Fi networks. MOdulating and DEModulating, MOdulating and DEModulating, MOdulating and DEModulating. (Isn’t “modem” an exceptional portmanteau of “modulator-demodulator”?) Did you know that’s what your modem does? Radio waves and microwaves are the carriers of modern life. Technology doesn’t go anywhere without them.

Spoke 3: Microwaves

Microwaves do more than make popcorn or heat up that frozen burrito. With higher energy and higher frequency wave than a radio wave, a microwave can penetrate obstacles that radio waves can’t. Some of the non-food functions of microwaves overlap with the functions of radio waves and the daily utility of these may surprise you. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, satellite radio, amateur radio, weather radar, and some broadcasting and communications transmissions, to name a few, are all microwaves. See what I mean? Microwaves make life better, and the bag of popcorn popped in two minutes is truly a bonus.

A satellite dish receives satellite television over a Ku band 12–14 GHz microwave beam from a direct broadcast communications satellite in a geostationary orbit 35,700 kilometers (22,000 miles) above the Earth.

Spoke 4: Infrared Waves

Infrared is such a cool sounding word, science fiction level cool in my book. In reality, though, it simply means “below red”. Infrared waves are often associated with heat, especially the longer wavelength end of the spectrum. These heat waves are given off by fire, heat lamps, and the sun. On the opposite end, the shorter infrared wavelengths don’t give off much heat but do function in one of mankind’s greatest inventions—the remote control! Automatic doors, heat sensors, and night-vision technology are just a few ways we interact with infrared waves in our daily life. Now, where did I put that TV remote?

IR thermography helped to determine the temperature profile of the Space Shuttle thermal protection system during re-entry.

Spoke 5: Visible Waves

We are all familiar with the visible spectrum of electromagnetic waves. They’re the ones we can see and account for the rainbow of colors detected by our eyes. The different frequencies of visible waves are either absorbed or reflected by an object. If the reflected waves are at the longer wavelengths of the visible spectrum, 625-740 nm, the light is red. If the reflected waves are at the shorter end of the spectrum, 380-450 nm, the reflected light is violet. Everything we can see and the multitude of colors originate from the electromagnetic waves of the visible spectrum. You may also have heard about fiber-optic cables used for communication. Fiber optics contain light waves that carry data much like radio and microwaves. Without the visible wave spectrum, we would spend most of our time in the dark.

Spoke 6: Ultraviolet Waves

If the word “infrared” wasn’t cool enough for you, may I present “ultraviolet”? In reality, it’s just an awesome way to say “beyond violet”. Besides the level of word coolness, ultraviolet waves themselves are pretty dang awesome. UV waves are emitted by high-temperature objects, like stars, and help astronomers learn more about how the galaxies are put together. Just as “beyond violet” suggests a deeper shade of purple, ultraviolet waves have their own dark side. UV rays emitted by our sun are the cause of sunburns and prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation can cause cancer by changing our DNA.

Of course, there are also the UV rays of lower frequencies emitted from a blacklight bulb which we all know make the school dances spectacular events for white clothing clad individuals.

NASA image of Mira’s bow shock & hydrogen gas tail in ultraviolet, rendered in blue-visible light.

ROUGE WAVES?

There are two additional wave types in the electromagnetic spectrum. These waves, however, are ones you don’t want to expose yourself to regularly. 

X-rays are high-energy waves naturally produced by high-temperature sources, like the sun’s corona. We may be more familiar with medical imaging equipment that uses the power of X-rays to view bone structure. There’s a good reason the radiology technician wears a lead apron for protection while performing X-rays—too much exposure to X-rays can cause serious health problems.

The second waves to avoid are gamma waves. Gamma waves are such high frequency/short wavelength they can pass through the space of a single atom! Unfortunately, they can also destroy living cells. Gamma waves are mainly formed by high-energy objects in space and are absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. Lightning, nuclear explosions, and radioactive decay are sources on Earth that can produce gamma rays.

Franquet T., Chung J.H. [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)]

Wrap-Up

The final waves needing recognition are the waves of middle-grade enthusiasm and, in particular, the waves of middle-grade enthusiasm for STEM. Keep riding the STEM wave and asking questions about how our world works.

Hopefully, I’ve given you at least six good reasons to appreciate the physical phenomenon of waves. They may not be the easiest thing in the world to understand but they are fascinating.  

Next time you switch on a radio or the TV or get your sprained ankle x-rayed at the hospital, think about all the invisible and visible waves swirling around us every second of every day. Appreciate the STEM-tastic wave and remember this:

Be curious. 

Think about the world around you.

Figure out what makes it tick and work to make it a better place.

CATCH A WAVE!!!

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal-opportunity sports enthusiast, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/life/training-related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101,  are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming Bluesky under the guise of @mikehays64.bsky.social and @MikeHays64 on Instagram.

The O.O.L.F Files

This month on the Out Of Left Field (O.O.L.F.) Files, we take a trip around the internet to further investigate the awesomeness of radio and ultraviolet waves. 

National Radio Astronomy Observatory 

The University of Central Florida’s Astronomy coursebook chapter, The Electromagnetic Spectrum.

NASA’s Hubblesite

Studious Guy

Middle School, Experiment with Radio Waves Science Projects

GCSE Physics

  • Radio Waves #65

  • Visible and UV Light #67

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