Posts Tagged middle grade books

Worldbuilding for MG Writers

It’s back-to-school time for ELA classrooms soon! While we as teachers, parents, homeschooling families, and librarians might hear occasional moans and groans from students reaching the end of summer break, the advent of the new school term also brings so much eagerness and anticipation for new and different activities. This can be an especially exciting time with middle graders, who have learned some autonomy with their studies, are capable of more decision-making and logical thinking, and who love a creative challenge. Kicking off the school year by providing middle grade writers with some imaginative and unusual writing assignments will inspire them to pursue other reading and writing ventures throughout the year.

As writers, we recognize the importance of establishing a setting and developing it through details. This kind of worldbuilding not only immerses the reader in the time and place of the narrative but also allows the writer to carefully control what the reader sees and hears regarding the story’s location. For the young writer, worldbuilding employs the imagination, promotes pride of authorship, and provides an opportunity for critical thinking and the highest levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. From a curriculum perspective, worldbuilding as an assignment provides the instructor with a chance to fulfill standards by reviewing or introducing connected literary devices and techniques such as:

  • Description
  • Sensory imagery
  • Metaphor and Simile
  • Personification
  • Atmosphere and Mood
  • Tone and Voice
  • Point of View

Having students review these literary devices and focus on each or on a combination of elements in a piece of their own authored writing makes for a richer, more personalized learning experience. Here are some ideas, prompts, and examples for exploring the worldbuilding concept as an assignment with your MG writers.

 

Worldbuilding Components for Middle Grade Writers

In reviewing story elements during a short story or novel unit, you might go beyond the typical definitions and examples for setting and instead allow writers to create their own setting. Try a graphic organizer for these and other components (and lots of space for details, brainstorming, and descriptions). Or use poster-sized paper for visual images or maps, and offer this list to inspire connected labels or captions:

Living on the Land: Geography, landscape, weather, climate, ecosystems

Living with Others: People, animals, and creatures; homes, habitats, and shelters; societies, neighborhoods, and cities

Getting Along: Communication; government; laws; technology; social institutions like education; relationships like family and marriage; economy and money systems; transportation and infrastructure (roads, bridges)

Surviving: Food and agriculture, tasks and working, earning wages or trading, keeping healthy, protection

Dangers and Threats (i.e., Conflicts): Enemies, nature, wildlife, discord, war or battle, illness

Don’t Forget the Place Name: Borrowed or original; symbolic meaning, allusion

Once students have had a chance to think through these and other elements of worldbuilding, writing projects on the topic might expand to include prompts and activities.

 

Prompts for Worldbuilding with MG Writers

Three Characters in Search of a Setting:  Provide students with three character identities, including for each traits, goals, motivations, conflicts, and relationships. The writer’s job is to determine a world that would serve the characters well in terms of suspense, tension, and continued potential for conflict. Student writers can add maps with labels, bulleted descriptions, brief histories, and artwork to convey the setting more fully.

Time Travel: Students choose a real place for the setting for a simple, conflict-rich storyline and detail its basic concerns; then they choose whether to move the time period up (into the future) or push it back (into the past). Pushing a setting back at least 60 years, for example, offers a chance to investigate the history of a place and incorporate its time-period specific details (what were computers like in 1960, anyway?). Moving the time period into the future allows for more speculation based on the location’s current characteristics and needs.

Genre Swapping:  Take a familiar setting from a favorite book or class novel study and re-imagine the time and place by changing the book’s genre. For example, what if a modern comedy like Gordon Korman’s Unplugged was actually a high fantasy? Or if Lauren Wolk’s historical Wolf Hollow was contemporary? Build this “reset” world, keeping premise details in mind.

No Swapping Allowed: Choose a story for which the setting and worldbuilding is inherent to the narrative, and detail the ways in which the plot relies on the setting to hold together.

Narrative Nonfiction Worldbuilding: Apply worldbuilding analysis to a work of narrative nonfiction as a way to glean factual detail and comprehend the setting’s full impact on the tale, especially one in which the setting seems distant or almost otherworldly, like Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica by Rebecca E.F. Barone.

I hope an idea or two here suits your classroom goals, and that you find the notion of worldbuilding to be an interesting and useful writing workshop activity! Good luck to everyone this school year.

Author Spotlight: Chris Baron

I’ve been a fan of Chris Baron’s work since 2019, when I fell in love with his debut MG novel in verse, All of Me. My admiration for Chris’s books—and for his gorgeous, critically acclaimed writing—continued with The Magical Imperfect (2021), and most recently with The Gray, published last month by Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan, and hailed by Colby Sharp as “a magical and important book.” Now, it is my greatest pleasure to extend a warm Mixed-Up Files welcome to Chris Baron, shining brightly today in the Author Spotlight!

But first…

A Summary of The Gray

It’s been a tough year for Sasha―he’s been bullied at his middle school and his anxiety, which he calls the Gray, is growing. Sasha’s dad tells him to “toughen up”―and he does, but with unfortunate, hurtful results. His parents and therapist agree that a summer in the country, with his aunt Ruthie, might be the best medicine, but it’s the last place he wants to be. Sasha will be away from his best friend, video games, and stuck in the house that reminds him of his beloved uncle Lou, who died two years earlier.

 Aunt Ruthie is supportive, and there are lots of places to explore, and even some potential new friends. When Sasha is introduced at a local ranch to a horse coincidentally, and incredibly, nicknamed the Gray, he feels he’s found a kindred spirit. But his own Gray is ever-present. When one of his new friends disappears, Sasha discovers that the country is wilder and more mysterious than he imagined. He tries to muster enough courage to help in the search . . . but will the Gray hold him back?

Chris Baron: The Interview

MR: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Chris! It’s such a pleasure to have you here.

CB: Thank you! I feel so honored to be here with you!

MR: Could you please share your inspiration behind The Gray, including your thoughtful and detailed exploration of Sasha’s struggle with anxiety disorder?

The original inspiration for the story is rooted in imagery. That’s always an important part of writing any story. There was a time in my life where my parents abruptly left our busy life in New York City and moved us to a farm in Upstate New York. There were horses, an abandoned farmhouse, bats in the barn above the haylofts, and horses! That’s where I started riding horses—where horses became an important part of my life. Of course, as magical as it all was, there were all kinds of adventures, conflicts, and undiscovered things that I learned about myself and my family.

The other significant setting that really inspired me was my summer at Camp Shalom, a sleepaway camp that just happened to be across the lake from another camp, which had been abandoned. We spent some “unauthorized” times taking rowboats over to that camp. We were sure it was haunted!

As far as the anxiety: Certainly, my personal experience is a factor here in the inspiration—but also that we are in “undiscovered country” when it comes to understanding the kind of anxiety that kids are dealing with from the pandemic, and so many other factors in modern society. I see it in my college students, in my kids, and their friends. Anxiety is on the rise. I think books can help.

I Need A Hero

MR: In your Author’s Note, you state that Sasha, the protagonist of your novel, is an “unlikely hero.” Could you please elaborate?

CB: I don’t think Sasha would ever claim to be a hero. But sometime, somewhere in the adventure of our lives, we “step up” into something bigger than we are and play a part. In the story, Sasha is surprised when he feels a strong sense of purpose coming alive around his friends—discovering what they need, and how he might help. It’s love. Love inspires us to be a hero, even the most unlikely of us. For Sasha, it helps him get out of himself and navigate The Gray.

Dealing with Anxiety

MR: Like Sasha, you struggled with an anxiety disorder as a child. Can you tell us about this experience? How were your struggles similar to Sasha’s? How were they different?

CB: It’s true. I struggled a lot (and still do). When I was a kid, anxiety disorders were not commonly recognized or diagnosed, and mental-health awareness and treatments have evolved so much since then.

Just like Sasha, I shared a great sensitivity to my environment. That’s the core of Sasha’s gift: sensitivity to nature and his environment. That’s the core similarity. When the environment is challenging, overwrought, overwhelming, it can affect my nervous system, and growing up I didn’t always have the tools to handle things. So I often imagined worlds within worlds, sat beneath trees and read books, and played games with close friends to find safety and healing. This is true for Sasha, but he experiences a much more exacerbating and tangible form of anxiety that permeates his whole life: a world he calls The Gray.

Talking Tech

MR: When Sasha leaves Manhattan for Aunt Ruthie’s house in Upstate New York, he’s forced to leave his devices and video games behind, at the suggestion of his therapist, to help ease his anxiety. Video games, phones—and social media in general—are pervasive features of modern life, but how are they particularly harmful for kids with anxiety?

CB: I am definitely not an expert, but one of the things I see is that technology and social media lives at the core of constructing self-image. As a parent, I see it with my own kids and their friends. Here is one article from the American Psychological Association that gets into some of it. For The Gray, I did extensive research including having Sasha “diagnosed” by a therapist. There are so many credible, peer-reviewed articles on this topic that are worth researching. For Sasha, devices and video games help ease his anxiety as part of his routine; but when those things stop working, the therapist suggests “an immediate break.”

I think it’s always good not to demonize things like video games and technology; there are many proven benefits for brain development, social activity, and so on. But in Sasha’s case, and the case for many of us, the things you mention can be so harmful. For Sasha, it was overwhelming for his senses and activated his imagination in unexpected ways. In the book, it’s alluded to that Sasha’s sensitivity to nature, his “gift” as Uncle Lou called it, gets taken over by his use of tech—until the tech squeezes out everything else.

This can happen sometimes: The technology dominates until it squeezes everything out and reforms the lens we look through. Sasha needs to make space for his natural gifts to grow, and shape him as they are meant to. I think that might be a little bit true for all of us.

Navigating Social Media

MR: As a follow-up, are there any concrete steps a parent, teacher, or other trusted adult can take to help kids navigate social media as well as their dependence on their devices/phones?

CB: Ha! Again, I am not an expert in this. I think we are all learning, all the time. My wife, Ella, and I are big believers in openness and honesty with our kids. We watched documentaries about social media and tech dependence. We monitor things while trying to allow freedom and discovery. Every family is different. For us, it was no phones until high school. But that isn’t for everyone. I think one concrete step might be community. Isolation can be one of the most harmful things, so being in a community of care and trust can help so much.

Ch-Ch-Changes…

MR: Change is an important theme in this novel as Sasha grudgingly learns to love his gadget-free life at Aunt Ruthie’s house in the country. He also learns to ride horses and takes lessons in the martial art of Krav Maga. At the same time, Sasha’s dad wants his son to change—to “toughen up,” despite Sasha’s anxiety. What is it about change that, for most of us, is satisfying and terrifying in equal parts?

CB: Yes! I love this question, because it almost answers itself. The world is changing fast, and even good change can be difficult. Change is such a natural part of who we are—and this novel, like my others (and so many middle-grade novels)—is a coming-of-age story at its core. For Sasha (and like many of us), we don’t like change because it’s the unknown.

I suppose this is particularly hard for Sasha, because for him the unknown means that The Gray might find him. But by taking some control, and actively pursuing things like horseback riding, Krav Maga, and of course, new friendships, he learns that he is more capable, brave, and resilient than he thinks he is. This has a hugely positive effect on understanding his anxiety. Change can often define us, but Sasha doesn’t face these changes alone. None of us should have to.

An Unlikely Friendship

MR: Friendship is another central theme in this novel, when Sasha meets Eli, an older boy who is struggling to come to terms with a violent assault perpetrated against his younger brother. Sasha, who has struggles of his own—including bullying, which heightens his anxiety—hires Eli as his bodyguard. In time, the boys forge a strong if unlikely bond. Can you tell us more about the significance of Sasha and Eli’s friendship?

CB:  Eli. One of my favorite characters ever. From the start, Sasha feels a connection with Eli. Eli, somehow, can penetrate The Gray and find Sasha in the midst of it, and because of it, Sasha and Eli form a sort of spiritual bond that draws them together. They need each other. Their unlikely friendship is a turning point for both of them.

(For more on Chris’s thoughts on The Gray, check out his interview in Publisher’s Weekly here.)

Tackling Bullying

MR: While we’re on the subject of themes, the theme of bullying is present in all three of your novels. In All of Me, Ari is bullied for his weight

in The Magical Imperfect, Malia is bullied for having eczema; in The Gray, Sasha is bullied for his anxiety (aka “the Gray”) as well as for his uncommon name. What is it about this theme that impels you to explore it, again and again?

CB: It’s funny you ask this question. Forgive my answer. We were JUST rewatching Captain America: The First Avenger the other night (one of my favorite superheroes), and my daughters always watch my face during the scene where Dr. Erskine asks a then-tiny Steve Rogers if he wants to “kill Nazis.” His response is, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies.” I tear up every time. My oldest daughter actually asked me recently, “Is this why you write about bullying?”

I don’t like bullies. One way or another, we all face bullying—physical, emotional, or spiritual—and it can have a severe and negative impact on our lives. It did in mine, and I always wish I had looked for help from a trusted adult. I was often told, like Sasha is in the book, to “toughen up.” But often we are too scared, too worried, too shy. Stories always helped me with this. I’m thankful I get to write stories that might help some readers feel seen, know they are not alone, and even get help.

The Significance of Judaism

MR: Changing gears, Jewish culture, traditions—and food!—are celebrated in all of your novels. (In The Gray, Aunt Ruthie’s kugel made my mouth water). As a Jewish writer, why is it important to incorporate Jewishness, and Judaism, in your books? 

CB: The world is full of so many beautiful traditions. Judaism is part of me–and of course all of the incredible food traditions that go with it. I think Sasha’s Jewish heritage is very close to mine. The faith, the culture, and even the more mystical parts were all something I experienced with my family. For all of the Jewish holidays, big and small, I grew up hearing stories that helped me understand my heritage, my faith, my culture, and how I might fit into this giant world we live in. Those stories are relevant today, and I share them with my own children now. It’s fun to see them start to make these same connections as they grow.

MR: Also: Can you tell MUF readers about your upcoming Jewish MG anthology from Abrams, On All Other Nights: A Middle Grade Passover Anthology?

Oh, my goodness–our upcoming Jewish MG anthology is full of incredible stories from writers we love: Adam Gidwiz, Laurel Snyder, Sofiya Pasternack, and so many others. It’s been a labor of love to help edit (and write for) this project along with Josh Levy and Naomi Milliner, and we hope that this will be a wonderful book for all young readers and a fantastic companion for any Passover tradition.

Verse Versus Prose

MR: Your first two middle-grade novels were written in verse. What inspired you to choose prose for The Gray? How was your writing process for this novel different from the others? Any challenges or surprises?

CB: Since poetry feels more like my native language, I wrote much of The Gray in verse during the writing process. Of course, there are so many books that are poetic and lyrical, and I am hoping that’s true in places for The Gray. But eventually, the verse chapters became prosaic. As I explored the story, it was clear that this is a novel meant for prose. The way chapters unfolded, I found the story demanded more detail and exploration of setting, of time, and of action. So, prose… but the spirit of the book is verse.

(From the MUF archives: 5 MG authors–including Chris Baron–share their thoughts about writing novels in verse.)

The Juggler

MR: In addition to writing novels for young people as well as poetry (“Under the Broom Tree” was published in the anthology, Lantern Tree), you are a professor of English at San Diego City College and director of the Writing Center. How do you juggle these very different roles?

CB: It’s never easy to juggle. I love ALL MY JOBS, and this is an absolute gift. I often joke around with my creative writing students that when we write, we MUST be sitting in the bay window overlooking the rushing river while holding a warm tea. The reality is that we do what we can—when we can—making space when we need it and asking for help, and learning to value the creative parts of our lives in equal measure.

Advice for Writers

MR: As a professor of English, what’s your go-to advice? Also, are you a proponent of the common wisdom of “Write what you know”?

 CB: Don’t wait. The perfect moment to start is likely not coming. Just get to it. I try to teach my students that revision is not a bad word; it’s actually the fun part.

As far as “writing what we know…” Of course! Every book I write is layered with aspects of my own life and experience. It’s also important to push past the “simple” and literal truths that we know and into what we hope for, dream about, are terrified of, and desire most, in order to reach into the complexities of story and song that evolve into book-worthy ideas.

Writing Rituals: Map It Out

MR: What does your writing routine look like? Do you have any particular rituals?

CB: So many rituals! They are always changing. All of Me was written in the late hours of the night, The Magical Imperfect in the early morning. The Gray was written whenever time allowed. No matter what, I try to put on the right music. Of all my rituals, the most important thing is that I start with a map of the world, which seems to push my brain into the right focus. I always loved maps in books. I hope one day one of these maps will show up in a book!

Sneak Peek?

 MR: What are you working on now Chris? Mixed-Up Files readers (and I!) are dying to know…

CB: Oh! We already mentioned the Passover anthology….but next up is The Secret Of The Dragon Gems, a middle-grade novel I cowrote with the one and only Rajani LaRocca. We had so much fun writing this book. It comes out THIS AUGUST! Check it out here. https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2023/03/30/cover-reveal-the-secret-of-the-dragon-gems-by-rajani-larocca-chris-baron/

Next year, I also have a novel in verse coming that might just be my favorite one I’ve ever written. Forest Heart. It’s a character-driven story about kids who experience a wildfire in their Northern Californian town, and how they try to save the forest they love.

Lightning Round!

MR: And finally, no MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

Preferred writing snack? Any chip or chip-related snack.

Coffee or tea? COFFEE. Coffee forever.

Favorite horse? My Buckskin, Shawnee.

Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay? Nay. (Please nay–I hope). But I’m ready, just in case.

Superpower? Flight.

Magic… Real or imagined? Real.

Favorite place on earth? Right here with my family. (Cheesy enough?) Okay, there’s a little spot in the San Diego mountains that I discovered last year…it’s old forest and running rivers. It’s my current favorite place.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three things, what would they be? A water filtration system, a Star Trek food replicator, and while I’m in Star Trek mode—a transporter array. This way I can unstrand myself but also get back to this awesome Island.

MR: Thank you for chatting with us, Chris. It a pleasure, and I’m sure MUF readers will agree!

CB: I am such a huge fan of The Mixed-Up Files. Thank you for all you do!

Bio

Chris Baron is the award-winning author of novels for young readers including All Of Me, an NCTE Notable Book; The Magical Imperfect, a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book/SLJ Best Book of 2021; The Gray (2023), Forest Heart (2024)—all from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillion—and The Secret of the Dragon Gems, co-authored with Rajani LaRocca, from Little Bee Books (2023). He is also the editor of the forthcoming MG anthology, On All Other Nights: A Middle Grade Passover Anthology(Abrams, 2024). A professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center, Chris grew up in New York City and completed his MFA in Poetry in 1998, at SDSU. He lives in San Diego with his family and is represented by Rena Rossner from the Deborah Harris Literary Agency. Learn more about Chris on his website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Author Spotlight: Sally J. Pla

For those of you who are regular Mixed-Up Files readers, you know that I LOVE to do author interviews. So, you can only imagine how thrilled I was to have the good fortune to chat with one of my favorite authors—and favorite author friendsSally J. Pla!

Sally, who wrote the best-selling MG novels The Someday Birds and Stanley Will Probably Be Fine, is also the author of a picture book, Benji, the Bad Day, and Me. Her latest MG novel, The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn, is out tomorrow, July 11, from Quill Tree Books.

A  Summary of Maudie McGinn

Neurodivergent Maudie always looks forward to the summers she spends in California with her dad. But this year, she must keep a troubling secret about her home life—one that her mom warned her never to tell. Maudie wants to confide in her dad about her stepdad’s anger, but she’s scared.

When a wildfire strikes, Maudie and her dad are forced to evacuate to the beach town where he grew up. It’s another turbulent wave of change. But now, every morning, from their camper, Maudie can see surfers bobbing in the water. She desperately wants to learn, but could she ever be brave enough?

As Maudie navigates unfamiliar waters, she makes friends—and her autism no longer feels like the big deal her mom makes it out to be. But her secret is still threatening to sink her. Will Maudie find the strength to reveal the awful truth—and maybe even find some way to stay with Dad—before summer is over?

Interview with Sally J. Pla

MR: Sally! I’m jumping up and down with excitement to welcome you to the Mixed-Up Files. Thanks for stopping by, my friend!

SJP: I’m jumping up and down with excitement to be here! I love Mixed-Up Files! And you!

MR: First, you already know how much I loved The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn. I laughed, I cried, and I rooted for Maudie from beginning to end. What was the inspiration behind this wonderful book?

SJP: Thank you so much for those kind words! In terms of inspiration, I guess you could say that for this book, the setting was the first character. Maudie’s story is set in an RV campground by the beach, in a fictional town in San Diego County. I live in this county, not too far from the beach, and there’s an actual RV campground that I often meander through during beach walks.

Something about the place is so appealing. Lawn chairs pulled up to fire pits, folks chatting, kids whizzing around on skateboards, surfers making their way up and down the cliff steps with their boards. The supply store, the rangers’ office, the snack bar—it’s a whole little world. So, as I walked, I started to weave a narrative in my head about a young girl who lived in a fictionalized beachside campground. What would be her story? And what could have brought her there?

All About Maudie

MR: The protagonist Maudie, who is autodivergent, is a kind, lovable, and highly relatable character. How were you like Maudie as a child? How were you different?

SJP: Maudie has many of my childhood behaviors, quirks, and challenges. She dislikes change. She has shy attacks– i.e., going mute when overwhelmed, just as I did. She loves simple, comfortable clothing. She is incredibly empathetic, caring, and sensitive. Nothing about her is too girly or precious. Maudie is willing to be brave, though, and she wants to delve into life; to join in, to try new things. These are all ways we are similar.

As for differences: Maudie’s mom and dad were struggling teen parents who split, and now she has a difficult stepdad situation. This is not my family history. Although, like Maudie, I did experience emotional and physical abuse in my formative years.

The Future is Female

MR: As a follow-up, Maudie McGinn is your first MG novel to feature a female protagonist. What made you decide to switch it up?

SJP: I have three boys. Between them and all their friends hanging out, I used to joke that the testosterone in my house was giving me facial hair! Because I lived in boy-world for a long time, it naturally filtered into my writing choices. But now they are grown, I am turning to my own personal stories and experiences. It’s time to write for GIRLS.

Autistic girls are diagnosed at a rate four times less than boys. They fly under the radar, because their behaviors can be more subtle. Part of why I write is that I want to shine a spotlight on this.

Poisonous Secrets

MR: An important theme in the novel is secret keeping, when Maudie’s mom makes Maudie promise not to tell anyone about the abuse she’s suffering at the hands of her stepfather, Ron. What were you trying to say about secret keeping—and secrets in general?

SJP: That sometimes, secrets are poison. They corrode your sense of self, your self-esteem. Certain secrets are intricately connected to shame. And you can’t really heal yourself from the damage they do, until you find the power within yourself to show them the sunlight. Speak them aloud. I feel so strongly that we need to learn to air certain secrets, if we ever plan to heal from them.

Maudie’s mother puts Maudie in a dire situation by making her promise to keep her new stepdad’s anger attacks upon Maudie a secret. It compounds the abuse. And Maudie has trouble speaking, in general—so how does she find her way through this dilemma?

Fact: Autistic (or otherwise neurodivergent) and disabled children are three times more likely to experience abuse than their normal-presenting peers. Quite frankly, they are more likely to frustrate a caregiver or parent. And they are less likely to be believed or listened to, after the fact.

 Hang Ten

MR: Maudie wants to learn how to surf, so she takes lessons from former pro surfer Etta Kahana. Unless I’m mistaken, Sally, you’re not a surfer yourself. How did you make the surfing scenes so realistic? What kind of research did you do?

SJP: Many of my family members are surfers. And where I live, a lot of it is just in the air. I also have surfing-enthusiast friends—most notably, my pal Janet Berend, lifelong surfer, author, and teacher. She read the whole manuscript for me to check it for surf-accuracy, and I’m forever indebted to her. (Any mistakes are my own!)

I do not surf, but when I was younger, I used to love to windsurf. I still have my old Mistral board. Nowadays, though, all I do is swim. And I deeply enjoy being surrounded by all that beautiful, watery blue.

Literary Leanings

MR: Maudie McGinn is a wonderful hybrid of prose and verse. What made you choose this particular literary form for your novel?

SJP: Maudie has a glitch: She has some auditory processing delays. Auditory processing (listening-understanding-responding within typical speed parameters) is a challenge for some autistic people. It was for me when I was very young.

So, words come to Maudie, and leave her lips, at a halting pace sometimes. Verse is perfect for this. I found myself writing verse for her without even realizing it. Verse format reflects how she sometimes thinks: in slow, considered, spare, fragments.

Path to Publication

MR: What was the path to publication like with Maudie McGinn? To use a surfing analogy, was it a smooth ride or did you wipe out once in a while?

SJP: Ha ha, great analogy! Publishing IS like surfing: a ridiculous and unpredictable combination of skill, timing, and luck. Lord knows, I’ve messed up that combination often enough in the past, but Maudie was more or less of a smooth ride. I wrote it during Covid, so there were big waves of emotion involved. But the writing flowed.

I’m so grateful to be at Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, that raises up underrepresented voices. Quill Tree’s slogan is: “Many branches, many voices,” and I love that.

No World Too Big

MR: You have a poem in the MG poetry anthology, No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change. Can you tell us about this project? How did you get involved, and why?

SJP: I was super honored to be asked to write the poem for Greta Thunberg, as she is one of my absolute heroes! Talk about an autistic girl with courage and grit! It’s such an inspiring anthology, with gorgeous illustrations by Jeanette Bradley. Editors Lindsay Metcalf and Keila Dawson were a joy to work with! And there is no more important issue affecting our next generation—affecting all of us—than climate crisis.

(For more information on the impacts of our changing climate, check out this STEMTuesday interview with author Christy Mihaly.)

Write This Way…

MR: What does your writing routine look like, Sally? Do you have any particular writing rituals?

SJP: I have insomnia, and sometimes do my best work sitting up in bed in the wee hours. That is a HORRIBLE method, however, and I do not recommend it unless you enjoy feeling dopey and groggy all day. Otherwise, I try to be an early bird. Hot tea. Quiet. A comfy armchair. Oh, and ‘Freedom’ blocking software on my laptop, to keep me from wandering away into every rabbit hole in the cyberwilderness.

A Novel Mind

MR: In addition to being an acclaimed children’s book author, you run anovelmind.com, a site about mental health and neurodiversity in children’s literature. Can you tell MUF readers a bit about it? What was the impetus behind starting this site?

SJP: Thank you for mentioning A Novel Mind! I cofounded it a few years ago with my friend, neurodivergent author/licensed therapist Merriam Saunders.

It grew out of our many, many complaining conversations, bemoaning how hard it was to find stories with quality, authentic autism/ADHD/disability/mental health representation. The stories that didn’t “other” or “pathologize” the neurodivergent kid, or use them for the purpose of what’s called “inspiration porn.” The stories that just showed neurodivergent or otherwise challenged kids going about their lives naturally, and having adventures, etc. Because these stories help show kids their power. They are great touchstones to classroom conversations. They grow empathy. They heal.

We have well over 1,000 such books in our searchable database now. And there are Educator Resource pages on the site with tons of informative links, curated by amazing autistic librarian Adriana White and myself. There are close to 200 guest posts on our weekly blog, now, written by some of today’s foremost award-winning children’s authors, and educators and other professionals. In sum: it’s a great resource, and a labor of love. I hope Mixed-Up Files readers will check it out!

MR: What are you working on now? Enquiring Mixed-Up Files readers want to know.

SJP: A dual point-of-view Romeo+Juliet retelling, set against the background of a simmering family feud, in a small farming town in the upper Midwest, in the early days of the culture wars. Upper middle-grade!

Lightning Round!

MR: And finally, no MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

Preferred writing snack? Roasted almonds.

Coffee or tea? I love the smell of coffee but sadly can’t drink it! I’m “English Breakfast” all the way!

Cat or dog? Big goofy dogs are my total weakness.

Favorite beach? I grew up on Southport Beach, in Connecticut. It’s the setting of so many memories: big nostalgia! But now I live by, and love, Moonlight Beach, Swami’s, Cardiff Beach, Del Mar dog beach, La Jolla Shores–all my favorite San Diego sandy spots.

Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay? No apocalypses of any kind for me, thank you very much!

Superpower? To not feel sensory overwhelm, fear, or anxiety anymore would be a superpower enough. But if we’re being truly aspirational: SuperWorldPeaceMaker!

Favorite place on earth? The chair in my living room that looks out over a beautiful canyon and soaring hills, and it’s so peaceful, all you hear are birds.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three things, what would they be? A deluxe resort! Great friends! Good weather! Ha ha.

MR: Thank you for chatting with us, Sally—and congratulations on the publication of The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know MUF readers will too!

SJP: Thank you so much, Melissa! This is my most personal and heart-felt book yet, and I hope everyone who reads it, falls in love with Maudie a little bit. Then I’ll feel as if I’ve done my job.

Bio

Sally J. Pla is the award-winning author of acclaimed middle-grade novels THE SOMEDAY BIRDS and STANLEY WILL PROBABLY BE FINE, and the picture book, BENJI, THE BAD DAY, AND ME. Her books are Junior Library Guild Selections with starred reviews that have appeared on many awards lists and “best books” roundups. Her latest middle-grade novel, THE FIRE, THE WATER, AND MAUDIE McGINN, pubs on July 11, 2023 (Quill Tree/HarperCollins).

Sally has appeared on television and radio as an author and autism advocate, and she runs the website resource A Novel Mind (anovelmind.com). Learn more about Sally on her website and  follow her on Twitter and Instagram.