Posts Tagged writing tips

STEM Tuesday– Plants– Interview with Rebecca Hirsch

By on July 22, 2025   /   Plants, STEM Tuesday  

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

Today we’re learning with Rebecca E. Hirsch, a science writer, educator, and author of more than 90 books for young people. Her 2024 book A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants: Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds is a delightful collection of science, folklore, true crime, quotes, and more, all about poisonous plants!

 

Andi Diehn: How did you get interested in poisonous plants? (Should we be worried?!)

Rebecca Hirsch: Great question! And there’s no need to worry, but now you’ve got me laughing! This book grew out of research I had done for a previous middle grade title, called When Plants Attack: Strange and Terrifying Plants. When I was researching that book and deciding what plants to feature in it,I came across a lot of poisonous plants. But poison wasn’t really the focus of that book, so I set most of those plants aside. Nevertheless, the seed had been planted. Several years later, I began to imagine writing a creepy, gothic book that looked at the science and history of poisonous plants.

 

AD: I love that you combine mythology, quotes, history, and science – why include all these elements?
RH: Poisonous plants have such fascinating back stories! People have long used these plants for medicine, as well as for darker acts like warfare and murder. As a science writer, I knew I wanted to share the science of these plants—facts about how and where they grow but also how they interact with and harm the human body.  But I made the decision to start each chapter with an intriguing historical quote and whatever dark and fascinating stories I could dig up. My goal was to entertain readers in addition to educating them. I wanted them to see how captivating and complex these plants are.
AD: Many poisonous plants are useful as well as deadly. Does this make botany even more interesting?

RH: Definitely! Most people think of plants as boring, kind of like green statuary. But plants are actively struggling to survive, like all living things. Plants have very effective ways of fighting back against anything or anyone that tries to eat them. In the botanical world, the most common self-defense tactic is poison. Plants are master chemists. They are very good at concocting nasty chemicals, and some of these chemicals can make animals and people very sick.

 

AD: The chemical explanation of how different poisons work is fascinating. Do you think poison loses some of its fear factor when we learn about why it does what it does?
RH: For me, learning about these poisons made them even more terrifying. It’s alarming to discover how the deadliest of nightshades—belladonna, for instance—can unleash havoc on our brains and bodies. Or how ricin from castor beans can act like a wrecking ball to our vital organs. Or the way cocaine or opium can hijack our brains and produce crippling addiction.
I do think the fear factor can be a good thing, because it can protect us. At least, that’s my hope. I repeatedly encourage readers to steer clear of nearly all of the plants in the book.

 

AD: In a way, this book redefined my definition of poison when I read about peppers. I eat peppers all the time and never thought of the hot ones as poisonous. How does this show that even things we encounter every day can be harmful in large quantities or if used wrong?

RH: Oh yes, chilies are definitely poisonous. These plants manufacture their poison—a chemical called capsaicin—as a way to prevent mammals, including humans, from eating their fruits (the peppers).

Here’s a personal anecdote about chilies: A number of years ago, my garden produced a bumper crop of jalapeños, and I decided to dice and freeze my harvest. One evening, I pulled out a sharp knife and a cutting board, and went to work on a pile of shiny green jalapeños. Foolishly, I did not wear rubber gloves. When I was finished, I had a heap of diced jalapeños—and poison all over my hands. My skin burned, especially under my fingernails. Then I rubbed my eye. Now my eye was stinging and watering. I soaked my hands in milk and yogurt—dairy products are a remedy—but it didn’t help. I ended up staying awake half the night, unable to sleep because of the pain.
By the way, jalapeños measure about 5,000 on the Scoville scale, a measure of chili hotness. One of the chilies mentioned in my book, a variety called Pepper X, has a Scoville rating of 2.7 million! Jalapeños are quite mild in comparison, but even they can be painful in large quantities!

 

AD:What is your research process like? How do you find all the great stories included in your book?

RH: I love the research process. I can get lost in it! My process is to start general and then get more specific. I usually begin with general internet searches, and I also track down books that are written for a general audience. I use the public library to find nonfiction books on my topic, and I use my library’s online research tools to track down magazine articles. When I’m reading a book, I’m flipping to the back pages constantly, studying the source notes and bibliography. I want to see what sources that author used in their own research, so I can follow up with any promising sources.

As I go deeper on my research, I start moving into more scholarly works. For A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants, those works included toxicology textbooks, scientific research on the action of poisons in the body, and scholarly books about the history of poisonous and medicinal plants. Google Scholar is my go-to place for tracking down scientific papers. My state university’s library system is where I find scholarly books. As I’m reading those scholarly papers and books, I’m also studying their bibliographies, and then I continue tracking down more sources.

 

AD: I love the artwork and design of the book. Did you have input or was that entirely up to Eugenia Nobati?

RH: I’m so glad you like it! The design was a part of the book concept from the beginning. When I pitched the idea to editor Shaina Olmainson, who was formerly at Zest Books at Lerner Publishing, she immediately got on board with my vision for the book having a creepy gothic vibe. Lerner’s design team also got behind the idea in a big way.

The Lerner team brought on Eugenia Nobati to illustrate. She had previously illustrated picture books for Lerner, but Eugenia also had experience creating darker, creepier art. Eugenia dove enthusiastically into the project. Her illustrations look like they had come out of an ancient laboratory notebook, with coffee rings and dark stains marking the pages.

 

AD:Do you have a favorite poison? (Not to use, but to learn about!) What is it and why?

RH: Mandrake was a lot of fun to write about. I had to force myself to stop working on that chapter and move on because I was so enchanted by that plant. It has such a rich and twisted folklore. In ancient and medieval times, people thought mandrake root resembled a naked body. They associated the plant with sexual potency and imagined that it had all sorts of magical powers.

 

AD: Did you find yourself being more careful about what you ate while writing this book?

RH: Truthfully, I’ve long been careful about what I eat. When I was a kid, I played outside an awful lot, and my parents impressed upon me never to nibble anything unfamiliar outdoors. When I was a teenager, I developed terrible food allergies, so that made me even more cautious. Alas, the chapter on allergies was written with a lot of firsthand experience.
I tried to pass along a sense of caution to my readers. Just because a plant is pretty or its berries look inviting, that does not mean it is safe to eat.

Rebecca Hircsh is an award-winning author of more than 90 books for young readers. Her books have been honored with a Riverby Award for Excellence in Nature Writing, a Green Prize for Sustainable Literature, a Green Earth Book Honor, and spots on many state reading lists. She studied biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts and molecular & cellular biology at the University of Wisconsin. She’s a member of the National Association of Science Writers, SCBWI, and The Poet’s Garage, a collective of professional children’s poets. Rebecca lives in Pennsylvania, where she regularly visit schools, sharing my love of science and the craft of writing.

 

Andi Diehn has written over 20 children’s science books, plus a picture book on mental health called MAMA’S DAYS from Reycraft Books. She works as a children’s book editor and marketer at Nomad Press and visits schools and libraries around the country to talk about science, poetry, mental wellness, and anything else kids want to know! Andi also works as a bookseller at her local indie in Vermont – The Norwich Bookstore – and lives in rural New Hampshire with her husband, three sons, and too many pets.

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STEM Tuesday– Plants– Writing Tips & Resources

By on July 15, 2025   /   Plants, STEM Tuesday  

Hello, and welcome back to STEM Tuesday! I’m Stephanie.

My brain is still in April… I keep thinking about the mysterious intersection of nature and writing. Which identity comes first, the writer or the naturalist? Surely, not all naturalists are writers, and not all writers are naturalists. But where the intersection exists, what’s the cause? Do people first love nature, and that gives birth to their inner writers—or, because of and through their inborn writerly tendencies, do they appreciate nature? “Unanswerable” questions like this one are often very productive for young thinkers, bringing up concepts including correlation vs. causation and nature vs. nurture. If the admittedly dichotomous question isn’t flawed to begin with, the answers are personal anyway—and for me at least, maybe rooted in childhood exploring, reading, and writing. After all, exploring nature is not just something we do in a forest or park; it also happens on the page.

That said, if you haven’t yet, take a look at the books we’re featuring this month and, if you teach, classroom ideas. Today I’ll focus on writing tips and resources.

Writing Exercise: Invent a Cool Plant

One of my earliest memories of world-building was deciding that basketballs should grow on plants. As an adult, maybe that sounds like an impossible premise. But what if it weren’t impossible—what then? I imagined a forest with basketball-hoop trees and basketball bushes. I thought about what the insides of the balls contained (are they fruits?), and how they would have developed to self-inflate? Or maybe they grew deflated, like heavy-duty, rubbery balloons, and you had to pick them and blow them up? My 10-year-old mind was enthralled by the possibilities writing fiction offered.

Last week, Carla suggested the classroom activity of designing a deadly plant. This time, design a plant that sparks joy for you. It doesn’t have to be truly possible; it just has to be thinkable. If you can think of it, explore it.

    • What purpose does the plant serve in its environment?
    • How did the plant evolve, and what are its defense mechanisms?
    • What are its ideal soil conditions—or is it epiphytic (an “air plant”)?
    • If this plant were to really exist one day, maybe 2,000 years from now, which existing plants might contribute genetics?
    • What does it look like, smell like, taste like, and how have these factors impacted its evolution?

To read more about facts as fantasy seeds, revisit this post.

Writing Exercise: Making Facts Sticky!

For this non-fiction exercise, pick a plant to gather information about. Write down at least five things you already know about the plant, especially the most basic, common things. Got it? Great! Now it’s time to make those facts memorable—what Chip and Dan Heath call “sticky.” If you haven’t read their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, this will be a brief introduction.

What goes into memorability? The Heath brothers say there are six main components: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. For example, keeping your facts simple means depending on things that readers already know, rather than overexplaining. Unexpectedness is important generally, even more so for kidlit audiences. Concreteness is physicality, something immediately evocative.

I’ve chosen roses as my example. Here’s one fact that’s not very memorable or interesting: “Mini roses can be as small as ¼ of an inch in diameter.” That’s great—but how small is that, in real life? Using comparisons can help by depending on ratios that readers already know. Here are some rewritten versions of the same fact:

  • Mini roses can be as small around as #2 pencil erasers.
  • Mini roses can be as small around as shirt buttons.
  • Mini rose buds can be smaller than a dime.
  • Mini rose buds can be smaller than an earbud.
  • Mini rose buds can be smaller than a piece of O-shaped cereal.

Each of them is better than the original, but the best version depends on your intended audience, down to whether it’s a grade school kid or a teenager. I like the last option the best. The cereal seems the most accurate, most immediately evocative, most familiar to kids, and maybe even somewhat emotional—kids love food! My second favorite is the earbud comparison.

For your own exercise, which plant did you choose, and what comparisons did you come up with? Whether you’re writing with kids, or for kids, I hope this has been productive for you. You may also like this origami plants book I came across for kids. Adding a kinesthetic element to lessons always seems to help with stickiness, in my opinion.

Thanks for reading. See you soon.

A nature-loving creative, Stephanie Jackson writes poems, articles, picture books, and middle-grade novels. Her nonfiction has been published in Cricket magazine and her poems have been published in various literary journals including Dirigible Balloon, Tiny Seed, Cosmic Daffodil, and Touchstones, where she’s been a contributing poetry editor. Professional affiliations include the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and The Authors Guild. She graduated from Utah Valley University in April 2025 with an undergraduate English creative writing degree. You can find her online at StephanieWritesforKids.com and on Goodreads.

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Author-Illustrator Spotlight: Jessixa Bagley

By on July 14, 2025   /   Author Interviews  

In today’s Author Spotlight, Landra Jennings chats with author-illustrator Jessixa Bagley about her new middle-grade graphic novel, Jazzy the Witch in Broom Doom (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, July 15). She’ll share her inspiration behind writing it, her creative process and a few hints about the next Jazzy book!

Book Summary:

“Whimsy abounds in this playful” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade graphic novel about a young witch who struggles to fit in—perfect for fans of The Okay Witch and Hooky!

In her town full of witches, Jazzy’s always been a little bit different. She’s not excited about magic. She forgets the steps to spells. And even though her parents run the town’s broom shop, she doesn’t want to fly.

Then, one day, she discovers what she was born to do: cycling! Now she just has to find a way to get a bicycle…and learn how to ride it. But will her new passion come between her and her best friend—and possibly get her in big trouble?

Interview with Jessixa Bagley

LJ: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Jessixa! Thanks for joining us today.

JB: Thank you so much for having me.

LJ:  First off, I want to tell you how much I enjoyed this novel. Your characters’ expressions—those nuances—really take us into the heads of the characters and into the story. There are so many laughs and so much heart. Can you tell us about your inspiration for writing this book?

JB: It’s a funny thing how the idea came about. I had a dream, and when I woke up in the morning, I drew a picture of a little witch that looked kind-of like me as a kid. It made me think of a lemonade stand or Lucy’s advice booth in Peanuts, but the kid in my dream was selling bicycle seats for broomsticks to witches. I posted it on Instagram and the feedback was: This needs to be a book!

Around that time, my son was learning how to ride a bike and I was reflecting on how I had a really hard time learning how to ride a bike myself. As I began developing my little witch character, I found myself putting more of “me” into her. I also added some snark and sass because I love characters with some texture. So, my inspiration was a mix of the unconscious, my childhood, and some bits from real life.

Developing Ideas

LJ: I’m always curious about how author-illustrators work. How do you develop your ideas?

JB: My process has changed over the years. Before I was published, I was looking everywhere for a story, trying really hard. I didn’t feel the ideas were coming to me very easily; the stories didn’t feel interesting or personal and I didn’t have much of a connection.

These days, as I’ve tuned more into my own experiences and my childhood, I might be inspired by something in a dream, I might get ideas while I’m meditating, or something in the world might catch my eye. I try to capture these moments. During school visits, I show the students the place in my sketchbook where I do just that—I jot down words or phrases or an animal that I like, because there’s something inside of those that was inspiring.

Writing and Illustrating

LJ: What’s your creative process like? Does the writing come first, or the pictures?

JB: These things are usually happening simultaneously. I jot down some ideas and then I’ll sketch a little and go back and forth.

For illustrations for Jazzy, I had my stylistic approach from that initial sketch. I was also inspired by Adrienne Adams’ The Woggle of Witches, which has a beautiful and moody quality to the artwork, and Norman Bridwell’s The Witch Next Door series, with those minimal illustrations and simple colors. I wasn’t intentionally creating something retro or vintage, but I was picking up on the things that I liked.

As far as the writing, my process is that after I get the initial concept, I outline the novel, considering total word count and what I plan to happen. Then I’ll reverse-engineer, writing the whole manuscript before I start sketching. My years of creating picture books (those page-turn moments!) and making comics really informs my work. For this project, I was focused on dialogue, because graphic novels are all dialogue.

Overall, making graphic novels is fun because there’s that sense of the unexpected that comes through during the process. I just try to go with the flow and stay loose and let things happen.

Creative Tools

LJ: What’s your medium? Do illustrators still use pen and paper or is everything software-driven now?

JB: I used to be much more of a traditionalist. Thumbnail, then pencil, ink, color. That’s how I did my comics. For most of my picture books there was very minimal involvement of digital tools. I created everything by hand and with watercolor. I loved doing that.

But making picture books the traditional way creates so much pressure because if you don’t get it right, you’re starting over. And an entire graphic novel done in traditional fashion can also take a real physical toll.

The newer tools allow for moving things around, changing things. They make the process easier and more fun. I’m trying to be freer with how I make art. For me, that’s allowing for the opportunity to work smarter. I enjoyed using Photoshop for iPad for this project, my first attempt to do an entire book digitally.

Character Expressions

JB: You mentioned the facial expressions that you loved. I created this postcard, as part of my pre-order goodies, reflecting Jazzy’s different moods.

LJ: Thank you so much for sharing the postcard! It really nails Jazzy’s feelings. For those interested in obtaining a copy, Books of Wonder may still have some of the pre-order goodies available with purchase.

Deep relationships

LJ: I love how you handled relationships, with Jazzy and her family, with her best friend Aggie, with her mentor Madame Melcha (even the bickering familiars got a relationship arc!). How did you balance all those threads?

JB: Collaborating on graphic novels for upper elementary with my husband Aaron had me thinking on character arcs for that slightly older reader. So, I was used to keeping an eye on what was happening with the different characters, building that muscle memory, like, “When’s the last time we saw Aggie or Madame Melcha?” And making sure that the characters all evolved a little bit differently.

One of the relationships I loved the most was that minimal arc that Aggie’s familiar, Cassie has with Jazzy’s familiar, Fiona. Cassie hates Fiona. Fiona likes to needle her. I enjoyed having a moment where they come together. So even though this novel is for a middle grade audience that’s a bit younger than the books I did with Aaron and the relationship arcs are simpler and more straightforward, I still wanted to make sure that they were there.

Favorite Scene(s)

LJ: There were so many scenes that were hilarious with a lot of fun details. There were also others like the “I found it” scene (where Jazzy stares into the television) that were simpler, but impactful. What was your favorite scene to create?

JB: There’s three that come to mind. I really love the conversation that Granny Titch has with Jazzy where she’s telling the family history over the course of a few pages. It was an opportunity for me to go outside the panels and do more of a flowy composition. I also liked being able to tuck in bits about the history of witches.

A similar moment occurs with Madame Melcha where she’s telling Jazzy about her past. Witches have a complicated history and I really liked the opportunity to acknowledge some of the things we know about witches and witchcraft, like, for instance, that relationship to nature and to the harvest, while also keeping the story sweet and joyful and age-appropriate

My other favorite scene is when Jazzy and Aggie go to the junkyard and they make the bike. We see Aggie coming prepared. She has her spell and Spellopedia and she’s very confident. But Jazzy has to bring her own magic to it too. And she’s a little unsure, but she makes it work because she really wants this and she really loves this. I loved that element—that when we really want something, we can bring a lot more of ourselves to it and we can actually make it happen.

On Learning How to Ride a Bike

LJ: There are actually quite a few panels about riding a bike after that scene. What was your thinking there?

JB: I mentioned that I was a very late learner to riding a bike and I fell a lot. I was very much like: Why can’t I just do this thing? Well, it takes practice. You have to form this energy force effectively between yourself and this object. You have to find your balance.

So, after Jazzy created a bike for herself, I found a really fun opportunity to have all that in there. What are the things you need to think about when riding a bike? Because maybe some of the kids who are going to read this novel don’t know how to ride a bike yet. I wanted that little tutorial and also the message: You’re going to fall and that’s part of it. It’s okay.

To the heart of Jazzy

LJ: The theme of being your own person is meaningful for so many. Can you share with us what drew you to that theme?

JB: If I were to have had a theme in mind from the beginning, I don’t think the book would’ve worked. I didn’t want to make a self-help book for kids or beat anyone over the head with theme. I wanted to create this as much from a “kid feeling” as I possibly could. So, I really just set out to create this little book about this witch and her world.

It was only when it was done that I realized this book actually speaks to larger themes that could apply to kids in so many different ways: You don’t have to be what others expect you to be. Jazzy perceives that she’s supposed to be a certain kind of witch. And her family just assumes she’ll be into witchcraft because it’s their whole world. These sorts of expectations come in so many forms in real life for kids, be it academic, athletic, religious, cultural, or community. And that can be very hard when you don’t feel those things are your identity.

What I absolutely love about making books, about making art in general, is that people will look at it and reflect and bring their own feelings to it. I don’t get to decide what this book means to somebody, the same way I don’t get to decide what a painting means.

On Creating

LJ: Anything else you want to share?

JB: I hope I’ve set a tone for Jazzy’s world. That it can feel real in people’s minds and these characters feel big and rich. Making graphic novels is not for the faint of heart, for sure. But I have loved every second of this, even the hard parts, because it was just so much fun. I would encourage anybody that has an interest in it to give it a try. I know that it can be daunting. But kids love graphic novels so much. I feel like I’m trying to make up for all the books that I didn’t get to have when I was a kid.

More Jazzy

LJ: What will the next Jazzy book be like?

JB: I have so many more of those big, full-page moments that really add emotional heft to the book. This next book is even more expressive, even more yelling, more faces.

LJ: I already know we’ll love it!

Lightning Round

No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so. . . .

Coffee or tea?

I drink tea, but I like the idea of coffee way better. Like, I love the ritual and the idea. My body just doesn’t love coffee as much.

Sunrise or sunset?

Oh, that’s really hard. I’ll say sunsets. But what I have learned in living in a place where I get to see the sunrise, is that it does give you a sense of hope.

Favorite city besides the one you live in?

I have two. I’m a bit of a Francophile. I love Paris. And I do really love New York. My dad was from there.

Favorite childhood television show?

Pee Wee’s Playhouse. I’m staring at things from the show right now!

Favorite ice cream.

I like inclusions. So, I’ll say Mint chocolate chip.

If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation, hands down.

Favorite book from childhood?

Beatrix Potter books. I was really steeped in those when I was a kid. And that definitely led me as an adult to making books that featured animals. They were “delicate,” those books, with whimsy before I knew what whimsy was.

LJ: How can readers obtain a copy of the book?

JB: The book can be ordered at your local independent bookstores, Books of Wonder, Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, or any place books are sold.

About the Author 

Jessixa Bagley is a children’s book author-illustrator with a background in fine art and comics. She has had work featured in publications such as New American Paintings, Highlights Magazine, The Stranger, and Illustoria Magazine. She’s also the author of the middle grade graphic novels Duel and Dear Jackie (illustrated by Aaron Bagley) and the author-illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel series Jazzy the Witch. Jessixa is a two-time Washington State Book Award recipient; first in 2016 for her debut picture book, Boats for Papa, and again in 2024 for her graphic novel, Duel. Jessixa also received a 2018 Ezra Jack Keats Honor Award for picture book Laundry Day. Many of her books are Junior Library Guild Selections. In her work, she’s drawn to animals and emotional themes often inspired by her own experiences. Jessixa also teaches and speaks about writing and illustration. She often illustrates for other writers and artistically collaborates with her husband, Aaron Bagley. Jessixa lives in Seattle with her husband and son.

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