Posts Tagged “writing for children”

STEM Author Spotlight– Laura Stegman

We are delighted to have Laura Stegman, author of The Chambered Nautilus on the blog today.

Laura StegmanLaura Segal Stegman is a Los Angeles-based publicist and author whose middle grade debut novel, Summer of L.U.C.K., and its sequel, Ready or Not, were published by Young Dragons. The Chambered Nautilus, the third in the L.U.C.K. trilogy, will follow. L.A. Parent Magazine lauded Summer of L.U.C.K. as a “good read,” Readers’ Favorite awarded it 5 Stars, and a Macaroni Kid reviewer said, “I was instantly captivated and couldn’t put it down.” Laura serves as a judge for Society of Young Inklings and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) writer competitions, and she shares her author journey in engaging virtual and in-person visits to schools and libraries. Her non-fiction credits include collaboration on the travel book Only in New York. Her feature stories have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Magazine. A long-time publicity consultant, she owns Laura Segal Stegman Public Relations, LLC, which has represented a wide-ranging client list of businesses, arts organizations, and non-profit events over the years. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UC Irvine with a B.A. in Drama.

 

 

The Chambered Nautilus book

All about the book! Get ready for a whirlwind adventure with The Chambered Nautilus, the thrilling conclusion to Laura Segal Stegman’s enchanting Summer of L.U.C.K. trilogy.

Best friends Darby, Justin, and Naz are facing their biggest challenge yet. Since last summer’s adventure, they find themselves growing apart, making new friends, and being pulled in different directions. But when a ride at ghostly Mr. Usher’s carnival experiences a mysterious malfunction, the trio reunites to answer his desperate call for help.

With expulsion from camp and the carnival’s very existence on the line, Darby, Justin, and Naz will have to rely on their wits-and one another-to unravel the mysteries surrounding Mr. Usher’s plea. The camp’s newest attraction, the Chambered Nautilus, may hold the key, but it will take everything they have to unlock its secret.

Join them in a heart-pounding journey filled with friendship, courage, and the power of never giving up. Will they save the carnival and their cherished memories before it’s too late? Find out in this magical tale of adventure, discovery, and the true meaning of loyalty.

 

Laura, thanks for answering my questions:

JS: This is such a fun book with a great cast of characters. Were they inspired by yourself? Or maybe kids you knew or grew up with? You don’t have to give specific names, of course, but it’s always fun to learn where authors get their characters.

 

LS: I appreciate your describing The Chambered Nautilus as a fun book! I sure had fun writing it! It’s the third in my middle grade trilogy about three kids whose friendship with a ghost livens up – to put it mildly – their summer camp experiences over a three-year span. In Summer of L.U.C.K., the first book, we meet Darby, Justin, and Naz, who are struggling with communicating, and the ghost, Leroy Usher, who helps them find their voices via adventures in his magical carnival. The kids have more magical adventures in the sequel, but Ready or Not sees Mr. Usher helping Justin, who faces a tricky choice: stand up to bigotry or let fear hold him back. In The Chambered Nautilus, the conclusion to the series, the trio receives an urgent plea from Mr. Usher, and they must figure out how to help him without destroying his beloved, now real-life carnival or getting expelled from camp.

It’s certainly accurate to say that the kid  characters were inspired by me. A lot of Darby is based on my own experiences learning to find my voice. I never lost a parent as a kid, the way Justin does, but I’ve felt his sense of not being heard. As for Naz, whose endearing personality makes me laugh, I share his tenacity and his love of junk food.

 

JS: Your book has a ghost! How cool is that? Can you explain what made you decide to put a ghost in it? 

LS: I needed a character not only with magical powers but who was also deeply compassionate. A friendly ghost fit the bill. I modeled Mr. Usher on the kind of loving, understanding adult that kids like me loved to be around. I had a grade school teacher like that. She helped me navigate tough times and gave me a sense of security and trust. Like her, Mr. Usher adores kids and does everything he can to help them, which is why Darby, Justin, and Naz are so drawn to him. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Warner, and for all I know she has passed on, but perhaps she haunts my old elementary school, still helping kids. Ha!

 

JS: Why did you pick a chambered nautilus? This is not a typical ride at a carnival.

Agreed! The Chambered Nautilus in this book exists nowhere but my imagination. The carnival attraction is shaped like a nautilus shell (think giant snail). When kids enter, they (and readers) learn all about chambered nautiluses and their threatened status. As they go from room to room – each smaller than the last, like a real nautilus – they must answer multiple choice questions about what they’ve learned to get to the final room and win a prize.

But it’s not as simple as all that. The Chambered Nautilus attraction is Mr. Usher’s son’s misbegotten attempt to bring his late father’s plans to life. Mr. Usher never intended it to be built anywhere except in his magical realm, but his son doesn’t know that. And of course everything goes wrong. When pieces of the carnival start disappearing, the three kids must rescue the trapped Mr. Usher so he can go back to rest once and for all.

 

JS: You have a little STEM in your book. Why did you add that?

My favorite book as a kid, The Diamond in the Window by Jane Langton, had a chambered nautilus-related scene, so I knew a little about them. But as I did research for my book, I became fascinated by their intriguing biology, their intricately designed shells, and their precarious status as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. For young readers who’ve never heard of chambered nautiluses, I’m hoping to inspire their interest in these soft-bodied cephalopod class creatures, which have cruised in deep ocean coral reefs for more than 480 million years.

 

JS: What do you want young readers to find interesting and exciting about your book?

LS: Aside from discovering chambered nautiluses, I hope they’ll be engaged by the relationship between Darby, Justin, and Naz and enjoy sharing their adventures. In The Chambered Nautilus and the other two books in the trilogy, there’s a lot about finding self-acceptance, perseverance, ways to deal with life’s unfairness, and the power of friendship. It would be great if my readers also learn that whatever they’re struggling with, other kids struggle too, that they’re not alone, and that help is possible, even if you don’t have the guidance of a friendly ghost).

 

JS: Do you have any tips for writers who want to break into fiction children’s books?

LS: What helps me the most are these things, in no particular order:

1) Reading widely, especially contemporary middle grade but also other genres.

2) Making contact with as many other middle grade writers as possible, especially those at the same stage of their careers as I am.

3) Joining or creating a critique group.

4) Learning as much as possible about the publishing industry by taking advantage of the range of no-cost writer’s resources, from social media (X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, for me) to web sites/blogs.

5) Joining the SCBWI and, when eligible, the Author’s Guild, which offers everything from free contract reviews to webinars,  workshops, seminars, and events to website building and hosting and much more.

6) Continuing to write, never giving up, and remembering that there is no age limit to our dreams.

 

JS: What are you working on now?

LS: I’m deep in revisions for my fourth book, a contemporary middle grade novel about a self-conscious twelve-year-old who flourishes in an acting class only to confront her binge eating when it jeopardizes all her progress. This story of healing, self-acceptance, and hope is especially dear to my heart, and I hope it eventually finds a home. I also have an idea for another MG contemporary about a blended family, which is in such rudimentary stages that I haven’t been able to decide where the story begins.

 

Laura Stegman

 

 

 

Author Spotlight: Adam Borba

Today, please welcome critically acclaimed MG author Adam Borba to the Mixed-Up Files! In addition to being the author of Outside Nowhere—which was hailed by Publishers Weekly as an “intriguing novel with a strong emotional core”—and The Midnight Brigade, described by Booklist as a “tongue-in-cheek frolic,” Adam develops and produces movies, many based on beloved children’s books, such as A Wrinkle in Time and Peter Pan & Wendy.

His latest MG novel, This Again? has been praised by School Library Journal as… charming… nostalgic and fresh” and is out now from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. But before I chat with Adam…

This Again? A Summary

Noah Nicholson has solid grades, great friends, and he’s finally becoming closer with Lucy Martinez, his crush since second grade. He might also have a chance to be elected class president. But despite all that, Noah fixates on the belief that he can make his life perfect—and comes upon an opportunity to do just that.

At the local bowling alley, Noah runs into someone most unexpected: himself, from nine days in the future. This lookalike—who Noah nicknames “Future”—insists that if Noah does every ridiculous thing he says—from quacking like a duck in science class to painting himself green—the two of them can achieve their dream of perfection. Unfortunately, fate has other plans.…

Interview with Adam Borba

Melissa: Welcome back to the Mixed-Up Files, Adam—and huge congratulations on the publication of your latest novel!

Adam: Thank you! And thanks so much for having me back! I love this place. It’s such a wonderful resource for discovering amazing new books.

Melissa: Could you tell MUF readers a bit about This Again? and the inspiration behind it?

Adam: It’s a story in the spirit of Groundhog Day or Back to the Future about the misadventures of a kid attempting to orchestrate the perfect day with the help of his future self and a time machine. But more importantly, it’s a book about a kid wrestling with anxiety and perfectionism, learning to accept that life doesn’t always go according to plan and that he’s good enough.

About ten years ago I had an idea about a kid creating a time machine out of a blender and an exercise bike. It was a fun concept, but it wasn’t really a story. A few years later, I began jotting notes for a book about a boy running for class president who is wildly unqualified for the job. I didn’t know where that idea was going until I decided those two concepts could be parts of the same book: a kid traveling back in time to coach himself in a misguided attempt to win an election. Shortly after, I realized that Noah, the main character, should (like so many kids) be struggling with self-doubt and anxiety. Combining all those aspects clicked the story into place for me.

The Many Faces of Noah

Melissa: Noah, the protagonist, is a study in contradictions. He maintains a neat-as-a-pin appearance but his room is a mess; his parents are physicists yet he struggles with math; he’s a self-described geek, with little confidence and shaky social skills, yet he runs for president of his seventh-grade class. Tell us, Adam: What’s the deal with Noah?

Adam: As Noah explains early in the novel, “People are complicated and I’m a person.” So often, we say one thing and do another—but that doesn’t mean we can’t always mean well and be true to who we are. We’re all contradictions doing our best. Noah’s big problem is that he takes on more than he can handle. He wants to do it all because he believes that’s what his parents and older brother did. And he thinks it’s expected of him. Along the way, he’ll discover that most of the pressure he’s feeling is self-inflicted and that sometimes others can seem to have their lives more together than they actually do.

Quest for Acceptance

Melissa: An overarching theme in This Again? is the craving for visibility and acceptance. Not only does Noah want to be accepted by his high-achieving parents and athletic, brainy older brother, he craves recognition from the popular crowd at school. Noah will do anything to get it, too, including turning his back on his best friends. What were you trying to say about popularity–and the need for acceptance in general?

Adam: One of the underlying ideas in the story is that the rules for who gets to be popular in middle school can be absurd. Life isn’t always fair and sometimes it can be downright silly. Noah learns that one of the keys to popularity, and much more importantly general happiness, is accepting yourself. Be who you are and do what you enjoy. Liking and believing in yourself can go a long way in getting others to take notice and appreciate you, too.

Oh, Brother!

Melissa: Let’s talk about Noah’s relationship with his older brother, Paul. Noah feels as if he’s in Paul’s shadow, which is something Noah tries to overcome by striving to be just like his brother. We later discover, though, that Paul’s life isn’t as charmed as Noah thinks. Is this a statement on the unreliability of perception, the nature of sibling rivalry—or both?

Adam: Both! So often sibling rivalries arise from siblings believing that the other had it easier. And (especially) younger siblings believing that they must do something because their sibling did. I think it’s fair to say that everyone in this world is struggling with things that others aren’t aware of. We often focus on the challenges we have in our own lives and overlook the hardships faced by others.

When Noah meets a future version of himself, he sees it as an opportunity to avoid life’s challenges all together. A way to orchestrate a perfect day and make his seventh-grade dreams come true by following the instructions of someone who has been there before.

Back to the Future

Melissa: Another prominent theme in the novel is time travel, when Noah’s parents invent a time machine and Noah meets his future self–aka “Future.” What is the significance of Noah’s relationship with Future, and Future’s with Noah? Also, what is it about time travel that most of us find so fascinating? 

Adam: Without giving too much away, one of the big questions that emerges is how similar are Noah and Future. Future is older than Noah, but only by a matter of days. Though those days have resulted in a more jaded person. As time goes on, Noah recognizes more and more flaws in Future, and he begins to wonder whether he’s been overlooking those issues in himself.

And time travel—is there anything cooler? For me, I think it’s the wish fulfillment. Breaking laws of physics sure does open amazing possibilities: Go back in time to fix a mistake. Relive something wonderful. Experience something before or after your time. Or like Noah Nicholson in This Again, pull strings in an attempt to create a perfect life.

It’s Just a Fantasy

Melissa: This isn’t your first novel to include a hearty dash of fantasy. Your previous novels, Outside Nowhereand The Midnight Brigade, have fantastical elements as well (i.e., flying cows, magical farmland, monsters and trolls). What is it about fantasy that floats your boat?

Adam: I’m drawn to stories that are driven by heart, humor, and magic. And for me, it really is that “dash” of magic that I love. Where everything in the story feels grounded, real, and relatable except for one wondrous element. Magical realism. It’s the wish fulfillment idea that we were just discussing. The feelings that come when a character in the “real world” experiences the seemingly impossible and a reader can daydream about what life would be like if that incredible thing happened to them.

The Extraordinary Within Reach

Adam: In This Again it’s the time machine, while the world around Noah and all the internal and external conflicts he faces are grounded. My first book, The Midnight Brigade, was about a shy kid in Pittsburgh who befriends a troll living under a bridge, but again, everything else is grounded. And in my second novel, Outside Nowhere, we follow a fish-out-of-water city kid, a Ferris Bueller-type, who is forced to navigate life working on a farm that just happens to have one secret, magical element. I love that when you paint everything else as real and relatable you can suggest that enchantment and miracles can be found anywhere, and make the extraordinary feel within reach.

(For more on Outside Nowhere and The Midnight Brigade, check out Adam’s past MUF interviews here and here.)

At the Movies

Melissa: As stated in the intro, when you’re not writing for kids you’re developing and producing movies (Pete’s Dragon, Peter Pan & Wendy, A Wrinkle in Time). How does your job as a movie producer influence your writing? And vice versa?

Adam: While filmmaking offers the luxury of telling stories with pictures, it all starts with a screenplay, which is a relatively short document with a lot of blank space. Because scripts are so short, the storytelling on the page needs to be efficient. Every word matters. I try to take that approach with my writing: Cut out the boring stuff and anything that isn’t essential. I also try to be as clear and economical as possible with character arcs, so readers understand how and why a character changes and grows as cleanly and efficiently as possible.

Variations on a Theme

Adam: Theme is also something I learned how to implement from filmmaking. When I’m developing a movie, one of the early goals I have is to get to a one sentence message. Something universal. Something that each scene in the movie builds to. Something that sums up what the movie is really about. It’s rarely a line that’s said out loud in the film, but it’s always something that my colleagues, the director, and the film’s writers have agreed to.

A few examples: In Pete’s Dragon it was “Everyone belongs somewhere.” In Peter Pan & Wendy it was “Everyone grows up at their own pace.” And in a Wrinkle in Time it was, “Everyone is deserving of love.”

When I’m writing, I try to figure out the theme before I begin a rough draft, so I can tie it to narrative and character as much as possible. Universal, clear, relatable. And not something you need to hit your audience or readers over the head with–again, often the exact line isn’t ever spoken or written in the story, but the subtext is clear because all the scenes in the piece build to that idea. For This Again, it’s “No one can do everything” (even with a time machine).

It’s All About Structure

Adam: Structure is also something I learned from film development. My initial outlines for a movie or a book are about three pages, and they’re in traditional three act structure. As I write and work with my editor to revise, my drafts become longer as subplots are added and we dive deeper into character. So, while my final manuscript isn’t quite a traditional feature structure, because I started the novel that way the story remains structurally sound for me.

And as a producer, I’m always hunting for ideas for movies. I’m biased, but I think adaptations of books tend to make the best movies.

Adam’s Writing Routine

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

Adam: I have a little office in my backyard that I sit in for eight to ten hours a day while I write, powered by green tea and diet soda. As I suggested, I like to begin a project with an outline, but I’m a strong believer in embracing the unexpected. I love being surprised by the details that emerge as characters and story lead the way.

My initial outlines will often have literal lines like, “And then something bad happens,” and that line could be followed by something like, “And then something happens that makes everything worse.” I’ll use those beats as placeholders to figure out the most unexpected ways to surprise myself (and my characters) to keep readers on their toes and turning pages. Because, hopefully, if I’m not entirely sure what’ll happen next, no one else will be either.

Adam’s Outlining Tips

When I start writing, my outline will be three pages of bullet points, but as I move forward, characters, subplots and drama will emerge, and that outline will grow with my manuscript. I keep both documents open while I’m writing to keep track of everything, make notes on things I want to call back to, and hopefully not go too far off the rails. So, what starts as a three-page outline is closer to twenty pages by the time I finish a draft of a manuscript. I also love listening to music while I write. I’ve found that lyrics can distract me, so often I’ll play movie scores from films with a similar feel to the project I’m working on.

Melissa: What are you working on now, Adam? Enquiring Mixed-Up Files readers want to know…

Adam: Still early stages, but I’m working on a project about a girl who befriends an alien.

Lightning Round!

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

Preferred writing snack? Whatever my three-year-old is in the mood for. I pick her up from preschool around lunch and we’ll usually grab chicken nuggets or tacos.

Superpower?  Being about to fly would solve so many of life’s problems.

Time travel: Fact or fiction? Fact. I have a theoretical physicist friend who convinced me that someone will eventually figure it out. Depending on how you look at time they probably technically already have.

Favorite place on earth? A great bookstore.

Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay? If it doesn’t happen, I’ve wasted so much time and money on my bunker.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three things, what would they be? My wife and kids. (Hopefully they won’t be too mad at me for bringing them along.)

Melissa: Thank you for chatting with us, Adam. It was a pleasure to learn more about you and your book, and I’m sure MUF readers will agree!

Adam: Thanks again for having me! Hope everyone gets a chance to check out This Again and share it with their favorite young readers.

Bio

ADAM BORBA is the author of three middle-grade novels, This Again?, Outside Nowhere, and The Midnight Brigade. When he’s not writing, he spends his time developing and producing movies, most of which have been based on beloved children’s books like Pete’s Dragon, Peter Pan & Wendy, and A Wrinkle in Time. He is a graduate of Palm Springs High School, the University of Southern California, and the William Morris Agency mailroom. Adam lives in California with his wife and two young children. Learn more about Adam on his website and follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Melissa Roske is a writer of middle-grade fiction. Before spending her days with imaginary people, she interviewed real ones as a journalist in Europe. In London she landed a job as an advice columnist for Just Seventeen magazine. Upon returning to her native New York, Melissa contributed to several books and magazines, selected jokes for Reader’s Digest (just the funny ones), and received certification as a life coach. In addition to her debut novel Kat Greene Comes Clean, Melissa’s short story “Grandma Merle’s Last Wish” appears in the Jewish middle-grade anthology, Coming of Age: 13 B’Nai Mitzvah Stories. Learn more about Melissa on her Website and follow her on  Twitter, and Instagram.

STEM Tuesday — Animal Perceptions– Interview with Author Stephanie Gibeault

 

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

Today we’re interviewing Stephanie Gibeault, author of Making Sense of Dog Senses: How Our Furry Friends Experience the World It’s a fascinating look at how dogs use their senses, often better than the people around them. The School and Library Journal said, “A fun, quirky book about dogs and their many abilities; great for animal lovers, young and old.

 

Christine Taylor-Butler: Welcome to STEM Tuesday, Stephanie. I’m always excited to talk to a woman with a STEM background. Were you a science person as a child?

Stephanie Gibeault: Yes, I was particularly interested in biology. I had all kinds of pets and loved observing animals in the wild. Catching them too. I would trap snakes and keep them in my tent or show my amphibian-fearing mother every frog and toad I could collect. I also loved fishing with my uncle. I remember after he had cleaned the pickerel, I would take the carcass and dissect what was left to learn how the fish’s body worked. But I did a lot of physics too, thanks to my dad. He helped me create some mind-blowing science fair projects like the time we built a set of elliptical gears.

Christine: You received an undergraduate degree in Ecology and Evolution and a Master of Science in animal behavior. Afterwards, you became a certified dog trainer. Did you have dogs as pets when you were a child? Do you have any now?

Chi stumpStephanie: My parents had a border collie named Sox when I was born, and he used to push me around in my baby carriage. Then came Snoopy who was supposed to be a beagle but must have been a mix of breeds because he was huge. He used to sleep in my bed at night and had a tendency to follow his nose and wander off. Now I have a six-pound chihuahua cross named Chi Chi Rodriguez (after a particularly funny episode of the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati). Believe it or not, when I had his DNA tested, I found out he’s part mastiff! We used to do agility and trick training together, but now that he’s over 17, his favorite activity is cuddling on the couch.

Christine: You’ve written more than 300 articles about dogs for the American Kennel Club. How do you decide what topics to include?

Stephanie: You would think I would have run out of topics by now, but dogs are endlessly fascinating to me. I also write about them for other sites, like Cottage Life and Reader’s Digest. Sometimes I’m assigned topics by editors, but often I pitch ideas I find interesting. I love reporting on the latest canine cognition research or explaining dog behavior to help people better train and understand their pets. Freelance writing is a bit like pitching agents or editors. You pick the topics you’re passionate about then try to convince them your ideas are worth publishing.

Christine: Making Sense of Dog Senses: How Our Furry Friends Experience The World is one of two books you are doing for OwlKids Books that talk about the ability of dogs to navigate the world. The other is Dogs Versus Humans: A Showdown of the Senses. Your book is packed with information and colorful illustrations. Where did you get the idea?

Stephanie: I’ve always been interested in how different animals sense their environment. Just as no two people perceive the world in exactly the same way, different species have evolved their own particular sensory experience or umwelt. Then, through my work as a dog trainer, I realized how many dog owners didn’t understand their dog’s point of view. They would interpret everything through a human lens rather than appreciating canine culture and their dog’s evolutionary heritage. That’s where the idea for the book came from. I wanted to help middle grade readers understand this animal we share our homes with and have evolved beside for thousands of years. After all, dogs may be humanity’s best friend, but we sure don’t have a lot in common.

Christine: You make great comparisons. For instance, that a dog’s sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive to humans and why they sniff everything. Dogs have far fewer taste buds than humans, so it’s no wonder they eat things we would never dream of, like garbage and dirty socks. There’s an enormous amount of research in this book.

Stephanie: This was a research-intense book because I didn’t just need to understand dog senses but human senses as well. I read a lot of books, both those for kids and those for adults, but most of my facts came from scientific studies in academic journals. Thanks to my background in biology, I felt comfortable digging into the latest canine science. I did my utmost to find the most up-to-date research, but dogs have only recently become a hot subject, so many of these topics, such as their color vision or olfactory capabilities, are still being studied. Scientists are discovering new things about dogs all the time.

Christine: And yet there are a few things that humans can do better than dogs. For instance, you discuss visual acuity which is how sharp and clear things look from a distance. Do you expand on those types of comparisons in your second book?

Stephanie: The second book, Dogs Versus Humans: A Showdown of the Senses, is a picture book that pits the sensory abilities of pooches against people to see who comes out on top. There are comparisons between the species for each of the five main senses as well as a lesser-known sense known as magnetoreception. The book looks at dogs’ sensory abilities in general as not all dogs are the same. For example, those with upright ears may be able to hear better than those with droopy ears, and some dogs lose their sight or hearing as they age. Of course, the same is true for people – we aren’t all the same. But the point of the book is to appreciate the differences and see the world through a dog’s eyes (or nose would be more accurate).

Note: Dogs versus Humans is coming in 2025!

Christine: Skill and perseverance are key in publishing. Most people don’t know what authors go through. Can you tell our readers a bit about your journey?

Toby tootles coverStephanie: Although I wrote academic papers as a biologist, my journey into kidlit started in 2011 when my niece and nephew were picture book age. I wrote silly stories for them about animals and ninjas and whatever else I thought might make them laugh. I even made the embarrassing mistake of submitting one of those stories to publishers. Then, in 2015, I began writing freelance and realized how much I didn’t know. In 2016, I attended my first writing conference, joined my first critique group, and threw myself into learning the craft of writing. I started querying agents (too soon) in 2019, then signed with my incredible agent Jacqui Lipton in January of 2021. We sold my first manuscript, a picture book called Toby Tootles, a few months later. And not long after that I co-wrote my first nonfiction middle grade called Can’t Get Enough Dog Stuff for National Geographic Kids.

Christine: In your article for NF Ninjas, you point out that three of your books were sold on proposals. They weren’t written until after the contract was signed. You provide a list for others to follow when preparing their own. Was writing on proposal more difficult or was it freeing?

Stephanie: I wouldn’t say writing by proposal is more freeing because you need to plan the entire book and sell your idea to an editor even if you’ve only written a few chapters. You need to include a solid and enticing overview and outline in your proposal which means knowing exactly what you intend to do. But I also don’t find book proposals more difficult because I’m not a pantser. I’m an organization fanatic, so figuring out content, structure, and subject matter down to the last sidebar suits my brain. However, once you’re working with an editor the project can change, so you need to stay flexible and open to new ideas.

Calculating chimpanzeesChristine: You have also have a book coming out with MIT Kids Press/Candlewick Books. Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities. In it, you talk about how hyenas can count, and chimpanzees can do calculations, and many other animal examples. The chapters include interviews with researchers and activities the readers can try. Tell our readers a bit about how this book came about.

Stephanie: If you had told me when I was a teenager that I would write a book about math one day, I would never have believed you. But I love learning about how animals think, and I remember discussing animal number sense with my supervisor in graduate school. For example, I wondered if a bird knows how many babies are in her nest. This project was my chance to dive deep into this topic I had always been curious about. I was also able to use my biology background to look at why animals have evolved various number abilities and help bust the idea that math is a uniquely human domain.

Christine: Was there a particular animal or researcher that you enjoyed investigating for this book?

Irene and parrotStephanie: It was thrilling to speak to animal cognition scientists I had admired for years as well as to meet people doing cutting edge studies. I was particularly excited to learn more about Irene Pepperberg and her African grey parrot Alex. Through her studies with Alex, Dr. Pepperberg proved the term “bird brain” is the opposite of an insult. She taught Alex over 100 English labels for objects, including their color and shape, and discovered he could do simple math and use Arabic numerals. It was amazing to hear her stories about Alex’s personality including how he would have a temper tantrum when he got bored with repeating the same experiments too many times.

Christine: Before we go, I noted that you’ve been a movie extra! That’s a dream on my wishlist. How did that happen? Which movies?

Christine: We’re excited about your books and your passion for explaining science to children. Do you have anything else coming up we should be watching out for?

Stephanie: I have another nonfiction picture book scheduled for release in fall 2025. The Dog That Saved the Bees is about Cybil Preston, the Chief Apiary Inspector for the State of Maryland, and her rescue dog Mack. Thanks to Cybil, Mack went from a lonely life in a garage to becoming the only certified beehive disease detection dog in America. He is responsible for inspecting Maryland’s commercial beehives before they travel around the United States to pollinate crops like almonds and blueberries. Without Mack’s incredible nose, many foods would never make it to your table.

Editors note: Stephanie is a prolific children’s and freelance author. In addition to the American Kennel Association, she’s written for Readers Digest, Cottage Life, Pet Sitters International and the Old Farmers Almanac.

 

Stephanie headshotStephanie Gibeault is a children’s author and award-winning freelance writer. As a former biologist and certified professional dog trainer, she loves writing about dogs and other animals. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in ecology and evolution and a Master of Science in animal behavior. Her time in academia involved grunting with gorillas and stinking like marmoset monkeys. Years later, dog training meant being covered in fur and drool. Now she spends her days just outside of Toronto, Canada, convincing her clumsy cat Heton not to take over her keyboard. For more information, visit stephaniegibeault.com.

 

Author Christine Taylor-ButlerYour host is Christine Taylor-Butler, a graduate of MIT and author of The Oasis, Save the… Tigers, Save the . . . Blue Whales, and many other nonfiction books for kids. She is also the author of the STEM based middle grade sci-fi series The Lost Tribes. Follow @ChristineTB on Twitter and or @ChristineTaylorButler on Instagram. She lives in Missouri with a tank of fish and cats that think they are dogs.