Posts Tagged Jen Swanson

Mixed-Up Files Member Spotlight: Jen Swanson

By on January 13, 2025   /   Articles, Author Interviews  
Author Jennifer Swanson

NEW Post Series for The Mixed Up Files!

We have started a new post series to highlight our amazing Mixed-Up Files Blog members. Take a look, check out their websites, follow them on their social media, and look up their books.  We are very proud of our members and can’t wait to show them off!

It is my pleasure to write the first post and get to feature a very prolific author who has been a part of MUF for over ten years.

About the AuthorAuthor Jennifer Swanson

I’m excited to interview From the Mixed-Up Files’ own Jennifer (Jen) Swanson. Jen is the author of over 50 nonfiction books for children, mostly about STEM and technology. She is also the creator and co-host of the Solve It! For Kids Science Podcast, the creator of STEM Tuesday (on our own MUF blog) and STEAMTeamBooks a yearly book promotion group highlighting STEAM books for kids. Finally, Jen has been a member of the MUF blog since 2012 and has been an administrator of the Mixed-Up Files blog for the last 8 years.

 

Jen, can you give us five interesting facts about you, your books, and/or your writing?

  1. I have loved science my whole life, as I started a science club in my garage when I was 7.
  2. I am a curious person! My books take complex topics and break them down into easily understandable—and intriguing—concepts.
  3. I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1990 and was in the 11th class to have women there.
  4. I have three brothers, so I’ve either watched or played practically every sport there is.
  5. I am a huge reader! When I was a kid, I use to win the summer reading program every summer by reading the most books in my age group.

 

Tell us about middle grade Jen. What were your interests? How have you changed since then?

When I was in middle school, I had the best 7th grade science teacher. Her name was Mrs. Roth and she had a full skeleton in her classroom. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I was also a cheerleader when I was in 8th grade, and ran track in middle school and got second in state in the 200m dash.

I still love science, I’m no longer a cheerleader. But I love sports, and although I’m a bit slower, I still run.

 

What other jobs/careers have you had and how did they influence what you choose to write about?

I was on active duty as an officer in the U. S. Navy for 5 years. During that time, I taught chemistry at the Naval Academy Preparatory School, and also worked for the Commander-in-Chief of the US Atlantic Fleet providing the ship readiness reports for the morning meeting. For fourteen years, I was a middle school science teacher for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth.

All of those jobs helped me to be a dedicated, hardworking independent author. To be self-motivated to meet deadlines and to communicate effectively and network with people.

 

You head the fabulous STEM Tuesday column. Tell us about it. What is your motivation for it? Who is the intended audience?

I created STEM Tuesday to help teachers. The goal is to provide easily activities with high- interest STEM topics for teachers to use immediately in the classroom. Many of these include using STEM/STEAM books for a combination of science and literacy. The STEM Tuesday team is composed of an awesome mix of children’s authors, teachers, STEM advocates and literacy lovers. We have a huge database of activities, as we’ve been doing this for 7 years. And it’s completely searchable! Please check it out.

About Jen Swanson’s Books

If you were to sum up your books/style of writing in four words, what would it be?

Engaging, exciting, exploring resources

 

As I am a huge alien fan. I’d love to learn more about your upcoming book How to Talk to An Alien! Is this categorized as sci fi or nonfiction?

It is nonfiction middle grade. This book is chock full of astrobiology, linguistics, and a whole lot of science, this book is for the curious kid of all ages who wants to see our universe in a new light and (maybe) even discover how they would talk to an alien, if they should ever meet one!

 

Do you have any other new books coming out? 

The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World by Dylan Thuras and Jennifer Swanson, illustrated by Ruby Fresson  link, August 12, 2025 (Workman Publishing)

3 WEEKS IN THE RAINFOREST: A Rapid Inventory in the Amazon (Charlesbridge Publishing)  September 30, 2025. This middle grade STEM book follows the Rapid Inventory scientists of Chicago’s Field Museum as they conduct an inventory of everything that crawls, creeps, walks, or flies while they  explore some of the ecologically and culturally richest places on Earth.

 

Research/Writing

Have you done any strange/surprising research for a book?

I got my own private underground tour of CERN, where the Large Hadron Collider is located. It’s where scientists are trying to understand how our  universe began. I’ve also been to multiple rocket launches, been behind the scenes at NASA Johnson and NASA Kennedy Space Centers. Basically, wherever I travel, I do research for a book!

 

For Teachers

What advice do you have for teaching children to write nonfiction?

  •   Let them follow their own curiosity
  •   Think outside the box—have them describe how to do something and then make it
  •   Read a lot of nonfiction in your classroom and have discussions about it.
  •   Have fun with it!

 

Do you do virtual/in person school visits?

Yes, I love to interact with students and teachers. You can find more information about my school visits here: https://jenniferswansonbooks.com/about/author-visits/

 

Where can we learn more about you?

I also have an award-winning science podcast for kids:

Solve It! Science Podcast for Kids—Check it out!

You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky

 

Thanks for sharing your background with us!

Readers, feel free to drop a comment or question for Jen below!

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Cover Reveal – The Lost Forest

By on December 14, 2023   /   Articles, Cover Reveal  
The Lost Forest
text saying "cover reveal"

The Lost Forest

I have a special treat today … MUF gets the exclusive opportunity to reveal the gorgeous new cover for The Lost Forest (Millbrook Press, April 2, 2024) Check this out!The Lost Forest

 

What’s even better about today’s cover reveal is that this is the latest work from MUF’s very own Jennifer Swanson, and is a JLG gold standard book.JLG

About The Lost Forest:

Dive into the unexpected! Have you ever heard of an underwater forest? They are rare, but they exist. Ancient stumps stand tall in a secret location, hidden from view for more than 60,000 years.

Take a deep dive with scientists exploring a sunken cypress forest that had been undisturbed in the Gulf of Mexico since the last Ice Age. Page Plus links lead to videos of the scientists at work.

In addition to getting our MUF exclusive cover reveal, I got a chance to chat with my friend and colleague Jen abotu writing her newest amazing book.

Interview with Jen Swanson

HMC: Congratulations, Jennifer! And congratulations on your Junior Library Guild Selection! Your book sounds really cool. An underwater forest? What is that exactly?

JS: Yes, most people don’t think that forests can be found underwater, but of course, they can. Most underwater forests are kelp, which sort of looks like big, wavy, palm trees that look like seaweed.

But the forest that these scientists studied is an ancient cypress forest. Cypress trees are normally found above ground, not under the water. That’s why this is so special. There are still partially standing trees—some as tall as 6 feet—in the water. This ancient forest is believed to have been covered by silt and sand for almost 60,000 years.

HMC: So the description says that this was a secret underwater forest. Why is it secret?

This forest was revealed in 2018 after Hurricane Ivan went through the Gulf of Mexico. It was discovered by accident by fishermen who saw that this area had a lot of fish around it. The fish were feeding off of the creatures that were living in and around the forest.

The cypress forest is a treasure trove of information about the environment in the Gulf of Mexico. It needs to be preserved and studied. But the cypress trees are also very valuable, so the exact location was initially kept secret so that companies would not harvest the wood and make furniture out of it.

HMC: How did you become aware of this story?

One of the lead scientists on the only team chosen to do research on the site is a good friend of mine. Dr. Brian Helmuth was the expert on my Astronaut-Aquanaut book. We’ve stayed in touch since that book and I’ve visited his lab in Nahant, MA. Once he learned that his team was chosen to be the ones to do the research, he called me and asked me if I was interested in writing their story. WAS I? Absolutely! It was a truly wonderful experience.

HMC: What was the most exciting thing about writing this book?

JS: The scientists on this project made me a part of their actual team. I was invited to attend several of their planning meetings, and was even invited to go out on one of their research trips to the forest. Unfortunately, I was not able to do so, but I got tons of access to them, their data, and all of their photos and videos. They made me an honorary aquanaut, which to me, is a huge honor!

HMC: What do you have coming up next?

JS: I’m excited to see my first ever narrative nonfiction picture book biography come out next year. It’s called, Up Periscope: How Engineer Raye Montague Revolutionized Shipbuilding (Little Brown BFYR). The book is illustrated by the fabulous Veronica Jameson and follow the life of the U.S. Navy’s Hidden Figure, Raye Montague. The amazing Ms. Montague was the first person to figure to develop a computer program to design a ship. Before that, everyone had to make calculations by hand and it too months and months. This is the very inspiring story of how Raye faced many challenges to accomplish this amazing feat. The book releases November 2, 2024.

HMC: Where can everyone learn more about you and your other books about STEM?

JS: You can find information about me, my books, and tons of STEM resources including free teacher guides, videos for students, and learn about my podcast, Solve It! for Kids at my website: https://jenniferswansonbooks.com/

HMC: Thanks again, Jen and congratulations!

TO PREORDER THE LOST FOREST:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lost-forest-an-unexpected-discovery-beneath-the-waves-jennifer-swanson/20184903?ean=9781728493015

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NonFiction MG in the News

By on January 9, 2021   /   Oh MG News  
STEAM Team Books

A common misperception–middle-graders don’t love nonfiction–has become the center of a high profile (and thankfully, courteous) debate, thanks to the Washington Post and one of our very own contributors and MUF STEM Tuesday curator, Jen Swanson.

STEM Tuesday

It all started with this December opinion piece from Jay Mathews.

A month later, nonfiction authors Jen Swanson, Cynthia Levinson, and Melissa Stewart countered with this article for Publishers Weekly, citing multiple studies illustrating just how much middle-grade readers really do like their nonfiction. They also called out the exciting innovation of the format to include comics and narrative nonfiction, as well as a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

 

Non fiction books from MUF STEM Team

Since there’s no such thing as bad press, nonfiction titles get a boost from this debate on such a visible stage. Moreover, in an age when the old fashioned textbook is slowly going gently into the good night, a healthy conversation about keeping our kids engaged and interested in reading works for us all.

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