Posts Tagged children’s books

Author Spotlight: Tom Phillips + a GIVEAWAY

By on June 20, 2025   /   Author Interviews   /   2 Comments

In today’s Author Spotlight, Sydney Dunlap chats with author Tom Phillips about his middle-grade novel, The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves 3: The Peruvian Express, an exciting mystery published by Pixel and Ink Press and described by School Library Journal as “perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket.”

Despite a lifelong struggle with dyslexia, Tom Phillips grew up with a passion for storytelling. He writes books that kids can enjoy on their own, but also read aloud and share, including the first book in the Curious League series, Egypt’s Fire. He’s had a long career as a writer and artist for clients such as HBO, Disney, and ABC. An armchair Sherlockian, Tom lives in Los Angeles with his lovely wife and his dog, Dr. Watson. Learn more and connect with Tom at https://www.tomphillipswriter.com/

All About the Book!

All aboard for a high-speed new case in the third installment of this middle grade mystery series for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Enola Holmes.

Stranded on a mountain in Peru after the crash of a luxury airship, John Boarhog has only one mission on his mind: reuniting with his mentor and guardian, Inspector Toadius McGee. John’s convinced that if he makes his way to a plume of smoke in the distance, the great detective will be waiting. The only problem is there’s a whole rainforest between them.

After battling their way through the Amazon, John and his friends find a train—The Peruvian Express—and its glittering owner, Oro Del Rey, the Golden King, who offers them passage as they continue to search for their loved ones.

Soon John’s investigation goes off the rails when he’s asked to help to locate an infamous Object of Doom. But he’s not the only one on the hunt. . . .

The third book in The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves, The Peruvian Express is a hilarious, fast-paced mystery packed with action, wit, and another unforgettable adventure.

Scroll down for details about how enter a giveaway to win signed copies of all three of Tom’s books!

Interview with Tom Phillips!

Sydney: Welcome, Tom! Thank you so much for being a guest on the Mixed-up Files! I adore The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves series. And so do a lot of people, as you’ve had a book listed as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and you’ve also been nominated for a Beehive Award and a Mark Twain Award. Can you give our readers a little background on the series and the two books leading up to The Peruvian Express?

Tom: The first book is called Egypt’s Fire. It is the story of a boy named John Boarhog who lives in The Museum of Natural History in New York City. He gets framed for stealing a ruby and has to team up with a detective to clear his name and catch the real thief, a criminal mastermind known as the Mauve Moth. The second book is called S.O.S. It takes place on a cruise ship in the sky after John has solved his first case and is now a young detective. He is now super-popular and has to navigate being a kid and a detective. It’s about the hazards of social media and how to find real friends.

Inspiration

Sydney: Your characters are so spunky and interesting, and your stories combine fun and action with so much heart. What was the inspiration behind the series, and this book in particular?

Tom: I wanted to write about stories I would have read when I was that age. And I am dyslexic, so I’m a reluctant reader, and I wanted to write a book that kids who don’t like to read will love.  I was the video editor at Reading Rainbow and something that LeVar Burton said was that if you get a self-selecting reader, you’ll have a reader for life, so I wanted to write a book that was fast and funny but still had heart and substance.

Praise

Sydney: The Peruvian Express received high praise from Kirkus: “While punctuating the narrative with nods to pop-culture icons from Agatha Christie to Indiana Jones, he also contrives to include suitable numbers of sudden threats, hair’s-breadth rescues, secret agendas and messages, betrayals, explosions, and feats of both courage and clever deduction.” How in the world do you come up with so many zany, exciting, page-turning ideas, and how do you keep track of it all while writing?

Tom: The best part of writing for kids is that your readers haven’t already read everything that’s out there. I’m interested in introducing kids to mysteries so they love very similar things to what I enjoy like Agatha Christie and Indiana Jones. The Peruvian Express has a lot of similar themes as The Orient Express. I want to get kids excited so they’ll go read more mysteries. I keep track of it with a board on my wall where I use the twelve points of the hero’s journey to plot. I meticulously put the puzzle together.

Details

Sydney: You describe the train so vividly, as well as the Peruvian setting. Did you have to do a lot of research to get the details so well? What in the story comes from personal experience? It all sounds so authentic.

Tom: I bought a book about a cruise ship that has a map of all the decks. I bought a book about The Orient Express that has a map of the layout of the train. I have not been to Peru, but I watch a lot of the Discovery Channel. I base it off truth and then put in my own fictional details.

Characters

Sydney: I’m a huge fan of your main character, John Boarhog, but you have a wonderful supporting cast of secondary characters too. Do you have a favorite secondary character? Who and why?

Tom: My favorite character to write is the Great Goatini. He’s funny.  My favorite character outside of John in Shim-Sham The Monkey because he has the personality most similar to my own, so I can ask myself, what would I do?

Takeaways

Sydney: What do you hope readers take away from this story?

Tom: This book is about finding yourself and paving your own path. The 32 Rules for Detectives are what I want to tell boys so they can find their own truth. It’s our job as men to tell the younger generation that it’ s okay to be silly, it’s okay to laugh, it’s okay to dream, that happiness is a truth.

Words of Wisdom

Sydney: Do you have any advice for writers?

Tom: Three tips for writers:

  1. Even if you’re a pantser, figure out what you want the book to be and then plot it.
  2. Find your time to write and then write as much as you can at that time because once you get in the routine, your brain is ready for that routine and has less writer’s block.
  3. If you can, when you write your first chapter, try to do it by hand on paper. If you have a pen or pencil in your hand it makes you think more about what words you want to write.

Sydney: What’s a current book that you have enjoyed recently?

Tom: I just read James Ponti’s Sherlock Society. I think he’s the funniest and best of us all.

Sydney: What is your favorite part about being an author?

Tom: The kids! I was just in Missouri at a school visit, and some of the kids had never seen an author before. I loved having a chance to connect with them, and see their eyes light up, and know that some of them may one day become writers.

Sydney: Can you give us some insights into what you’ll be working on next?

Tom: I’m working on a horror book series and a retelling of Oliver Twist.

And for the lightning round:

Coffee or tea?

Tea

Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset

Favorite place to travel:

Home to Colorado

Favorite dessert:

Key lime pie

Superpower:

I’d love to have technokinesis so I could communicate with machines.

Favorite music:

It’s very eclectic and depends on what I’m writing.

Favorite book from childhood:

The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot by Robert Author

Thanks again, Tom! It was so much fun to learn about you, your writing journey, and your amazing novel! Learn more about Tom on his website and follow him on Instagram.

For a chance to win signed copies of the three Curious League books, comment on the blog!  (Giveaway ends June 27, 2025 MIDNIGHT EST.) U.S. only, please. 

 

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STEM Tuesday– Cephalopods — Writing Tips & Resources

By on June 17, 2025   /   Cephalopods/Mollusks, STEM Tuesday   /   Leave a comment

Creativity and Octopuses!

The first of the cephalopods that comes to my mind is an octopus. To me, the metaphor of a multi-limbed being is in the multi-possibilities offered to apply to creative activities. Many arms and many legs and many muscular hydrostats mean that connections can go many ways. As my focus is STE(A)M, I began to run options though my head. I settled on music, research, and visual art (camouflage). Like a cephalopod, these are just three of the connected “arms” in the world of art. I make my case below.

Music and the Octopus.

One of the best known octopus songs is “The Octopus’s Garden,” by Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) and recorded by the Beatles.

“I’d like to be under the sea
In an octopus’s garden with you”

The cover of Octopus's Garden

The song is full of fun and joy. It is said that Ringo wrote the song after being told that octopuses collect stones and shells to make a decorative garden around their homes. Studies have shown that while we don’t understand their full capacity, octopuses have great intelligence.

Ringo is crediting them with a sense of artistry. Enough artistry to design and build a garden where …

“Oh, what joy for every girl and boy
Knowing they’re happy, and they’re safe”

Musicologist  Alan W. Pollack says:

The charm of “Octopus’s Garden” lies in its simplicity and complete lack of pretension.

Alan W. Pollack is an American musicologist known for having analyzed every song released by the British band the Beatles. Since this STE(A)M post is about science, I was wondering if a musicologist is considered a scientist. While Wikipedia describes it as “the academic, research-based study of music,” it employs of a number of fields of science, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, formal sciences and computer science.

The Octopus and Reasearch

Back to the idea of octopus as metaphor -it makes a great visual for research. Sometimes called a map or web for exploring possibilities, finding connections through random ideas is a superb tool for creativity. One can imagine the octopus, sitting in their garden, all arms reaching out to explore different places. There are no boundaries to using the mind this way.

Listening to “The Octopus’s Garden,” you find it is more than about a garden. It tells a story, shows emotion, incites curiosity, invites the imagination. Which is what good research should do. Musicology is sometimes considered to be a social science but many aspects, such as acoustics, musical instruments, and sound waves (and more), involve mathematics, materials science, psychology, and the list goes on. It one of many multi-armed disciplines.

In planning projects for kids, music and octopuses are intriguing ways to frame research and creative thinking. The investigation can be about any topic at all.  

Visual art and Octopuses

Octopuses have been the subject of artists since ancient Greece. Shown here is a lithograph from Jean Baptiste Vérany’s Chromolithographs of Cephalopods (1851). There is curiosity about creatures so unlike humans.

A historic lithograph of an octopus.

Members of the shell-less subclass of cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses) have the magic trick of color changing (yes, I know it’s a complicated process – not magic, but it is like magic to me). Some of their cells are capable of producing rapidly changing color patterns to match the surrounding areas or mimic other creatures. What a fascinating ability!

Doing art activities involving camouflage is a great way to improve eye, hand, and perception skills. And a real challenge. One needs to recognize shape, value, and colors to accurately reproduce them. Teachers Pay Teachers (link below) has a number of activities listed on their website. You don’t have to be an art teacher to use art projects as encouragement for students to do in-depth observational studies. With today’s fast-paced imagery of phones and games, people seem to be losing ability to focus. The value of practicing real observation can be time well spent.

Conclusion

Making connections is a large part of the creative process. It may appear this post strayed off topic, but it is an example of allowing the brain to find solutions that are new. Many inventions (such as the printing press) were the result of someone making an odd or unusual connection that ultimately led to a very useful solution. And, like learning to play music or becoming a good athlete, preliminary training paves the way. Anyone can practice connected thinking skills and use them for practical situations. Sometimes when I am doing research, allowing my mind to wander discovers materials better than what I was looking for.

Happy Connecting!

Margo Lemieux

References and more info

The Octopus’s Garden book https://bookshop.org/p/books/octopus-s-garden-with-cd-audio-ringo-starr/10265712?ean=9781481403627&next=t

The Octopus’s Garden video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De1LCQvbqV4

Alan W. Pollack https://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/og.shtml

Teachers Pay Teachers Cephalopods

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse?gad_campaignid=20273913093&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgIXCBhDBARIsAELC9ZiEjEwazcCjEgkVAUxueIxDCn_5mZEzBJuPrZn1OJjIO_wtepaOXSAaAtP5EALw_wcB&search=Cephalopods%20

Teachers Pay Teachers Camouflage

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse?search=camouflage

Historic lithographs of cephalopods

https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/verany-cephalopods

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STEM Tuesday– Cephalopods — In the Classroom

By on June 10, 2025   /   Cephalopods/Mollusks, STEM Tuesday   /   Leave a comment

 

Oooh, this month’s theme is cephalopods! I’m always amazed but the things octopuses and squids can do—escape aquariums, camouflage in an instant, mesmerize predators with flashing colors, and so much more. I even read that octopuses can sometimes grow a ninth arm when they are injured!

There’s so much to amaze kids too. And while they are not in the classroom right now, here are some activities to get kids thinking about cephalopods and learning more about them!

 

Ink! 100 FUN Facts about Octopuses, Squid, and More by Stephanie Warren Drimmer

You can’t go wrong with National Geographic. This very visual book introduces readers to a variety of squids including cuttlefish that camouflage themselves and octopuses that outsmart their predators. The text is written by experts with first hand experience and includes many fun facts. It’s both educational and entertaining.

Activity: Octopuses and squid are a lot alike in many ways, but they do have some key differences. Use the facts found in this fascinating book to create a game to test players’ knowledge of these different kinds of cephalopods. Use index cards and write a fact on one side. Or print a picture or draw a diagram of a squid or octopus body part. Take turns guessing if the fact or image is that of an octopus or cephalopod. Whomever gets the most correct wins the game!

 

Amazing Octopus: Creature from an Unknown World, written by Michael Stavaric, illustrated by Michele Ganswer

This book takes a unique approach. It explores and views octopuses as otherworldly, almost as aliens. The text and original, black and white illustrations really capture the magic and mystery of these creatures. It introduces this topic by first talking about the evolution of all sea creatures, to provide context.

Activity: What if octopuses DID come from another world? What would that world look like? What would an octopus spaceship look like? Imagine that world and make a list of details about it (their homes, their favorite places to eat, their communities). Imagine their spacecraft, too. How different would it be from our spacecraft? Then make a short comic about these alien octopus astronauts traveling to Earth long ago. Use some free comic panel templates. You can find some here:

 

Giant Squid: Searching for a Sea Monster by Mary M. Cerullo and Clyde F. E. Roper

Part science textbook, part detective story, this Smithsonian book recounts biologist Clyde Roper’s search for a real-life sea monster. Readers will enjoy unearthing clues about the giant squid as they follow along with Roper’s ocean adventures. Cerullo’s text is full of facts and accompanied by a variety of eye-catching images, including both black-and-white illustrations and up-close photographs.

Activity: It’s not easy studying sea creatures and scientists have to be creative with how they study them. One method is to use a Crittercam, a camera described in this book. The scientists used a Crittercam on a sperm whale to try to capture the elusive giant squid on camera. Watch a few videos showing how this is done. It takes many steps and tries to complete successfully. Then write a step-by-step process for attaching a Crittercam to a sperm whale. This is a a good exercise in describing a process in a simple way when writing about a topic. Include diagrams if you’d like and share it with a friend. Ask: Does this make sense? Do you think I left a step out? What is confusing?

Here are some videos to watch:

Karen Latchana Kenney is a children’s author and editor who loves creating all kinds of STEM books and classroom content. Find her at https://www.karenlatchanakenney.com/.

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