★Starred Reviews – Indie NEXT Pick, Kirkus, School Library Journal
PUBLISHER SUMMARY:
Where the stream twists and sparkles? That’s SUNGLITTER. Where the sunset touches the sky? That’s CLOUDBLOOM. Come take a walk full of the delight of real nature words—mayflies, sea snails, blackbirds, brambles—and full of the joy of new words just waiting to be discovered. Perfect as an inspiration before, during, or after a walk, WILDSPEAK invites readers into the wide possibilities of the natural world, and the wild landscapes of their own imaginations!
REVIEW:
This book made me want to go outside and head to the nearest beach, stream, or woods. Wildspeak: Exploring Nature Through Imagination and Creative Language, written by Sangma Francis and illustrated byLexi Vangsnes, is just the joyful book I needed as Earth Day 2026 approaches. I felt a cool breeze as I read it. I heard the splash of water and the excited voices of children playing and discovering our wonderful “wildspeak” inviting world. Whether scenes are by the water, in a meadow, or in a forest, this picture book showcases the best nature has to offer and celebrates it in every gorgeous spread.
This colorful and creative approach to nature will inspire even the most reluctant of readers to embrace the curiosity shared by two adventurous sisters. Cora and Ada take pleasure not only in discovering nature’s gifts but also in inventing new words to describe them (see illustrations). Look at all the fabulous ways there are to name “seeds caught up in a breeze.” What is your favorite? Mine is airdancers, but a giant’s sneeze is a close second. Not only are these words fun to say, but they’re also invitations for young readers to come up with their own. Their very own wildspeak!
Take readers outside to play in a field, a meadow, or at the beach, and ask them what words come to mind. It’s not just about what they see, but also what they feel and hear, because when nature embraces children, it speaks its own unique language, and no two people experience it quite the same way.
The scene above by the shoreline is one that resonated for me as a lover of lighthouses and tidepools. I imagined the creatures lurking beneath the water, the smell of saltwater, the roughness of the rocks, and the splashes as waves rolled in. My wildspeak words were jagged jumping, and ripply dipping. Why not join the Wildspeak excitement by celebrating “mayflies skimming the air, blackbirds calling from hedgerows, brambles tangling at the edges of hidden paths,” and then make time to take a walk today or any day. Every read offers a new perspective on the surroundings and immerses you in the wonder of our beautiful world no matter what words you choose to use.
Other Recommended Earth Day Reads:
IF THIS WERE THE WORLD
Written by Stephen Barr
Illustrated by AG Ford
(Neal Porter Books)
WE CAN HEAR WITHOUT EARS: And Other Things You Didn’t Know We Plants Could Do
Written by Lisa Westberg Peters Illustrated by Danielle Ridolfi
(Astra Young Readers)
How the Scientist, Writer, and Nature Lover Changed the Environmental Movement
Written by Kate Hannigan
Illustrated by Katie Hickey
(Calkins Creek; $18.99; Ages 7-10)
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
“This STEAM picture book biography highlights how scientist and writer Rachel
Carson became the author of the groundbreaking book Silent Spring and the mother of the modern
environmental movement.”
From Kirkus Reviews: “A soaring tribute to the perceptive naturalist and writer who jump-started the
modern environmental movement.”
REVIEW:
In the early 1960s, author and environmentalist Rachel Carson spurred readers to action in her book Silent Spring, which called out the deadliness of DDT and similar chemicals. But before writing that bestseller, Rachel loved exploring the outdoors with all her senses.
She shared her awe of the natural world through poetry and magazine stories before studying science in college. Though Carson did not finish school, she began writing for the Bureau of Fisheries, combining her poet’s eye with the science she learned in college.
In time, Carson began publishing books about the wonders of the natural world and sharing that love with her nephew. But after World War II, Carson’s wonder turned to worry. The suburban housing boom led to the loss of forests, and urbanization meant fewer people growing their own food. Farmers turned to chemical herbicides and pesticides to boost production. But were such chemicals safe for wildflowers, animals, and humans?
Again, Carson turned to her writing—this time with a warning for readers. And though she lived to see her book published, she would not live to see its impact. Because of Silent Spring, the US government ordered a review of pesticide policy, which ultimately led to the banning of some chemicals. And it inspired other efforts to protect the Earth, including Earth Day, which we continue to celebrate to this day.
I recommend this beautifully illustrated nonfiction biography by Kate Hannigan and Katie Hickey, which honors the “mother of the environmental movement.” Sprinkled with Carson’s own words, this book encourages readers to experience nature as Rachel Carson did—with each of their senses—while Hickey’s layered art effectively showcases the color and wonder of nature. A timely and important read for a new generation of caretakers for our planet. e
SKYBOUND!:
Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist
Written by Sue Ganz-Schmitt
Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
(Calkins Creek; $18.99, Ages 7-10)
★Starred Reviews – Kirkus, Foreward
I’m always happy to read nonfiction picture book biographies about lesser-known women who did extraordinary things. Mary Myers nee Mary Breed Hawley was one of those women so I’m glad that Sue Ganz-Schmitt and Iacopo Bruno have shined the spotlight on her fascinating story in Skybound. To be honest, I’m surprised that, considering the amazing feats of derring-do that she accomplished, we haven’t heard about her sooner.
Readers meet women in a parlor circa 1850 doing what women were expected to do in the 19th century, “land a husband, have children, and stay tethered to their homes.” Only Mary had other ideas and did not picture herself bound to traditional norms. She dreamed about flying, and found herself preoccupied with aeronauts; people who chose to reach great heights in the only way they knew how, in a hot air balloon.
Mary soon married a fellow aficionado, and together they read, planned, and even invented! “… she helped her husband, Carl Myers, invent a “groundbreaking” balloon fabric. I love the clever use of ballooning terms, often in colored font, when describing different aspects of Mary’s life. Bruno’s art, which I adored in Mesmerized, takes us back in time with attention to period clothing and other details that lift this illuminating story to another level.
Using their new material, Mary and Carl experimented with different balloon shapes and even hired a professional to try them out. But they also wanted their balloons to do more than just fly way up high. They wanted an aeronaut who’d be able to gather scientific data while also entertaining crowds.
Mary made the case for how she could do this and, after much thought, she transformed herself into Carlotta, an exotic name for a performer. She would take her aerial act aloft and remain there “for five miles or thirty minutes.” Even the rain did not stop her! Even the risks, and there were many! Mary’s intrepidness could not be denied. Ganz-Schmitt builds up the tension with her prose as does Bruno’s art. Would Mary, on her solo journey skybound, remain safe? Would the inclement weather prove detrimental? Would she gather the information she needed? I couldn’t wait to find out! And neither will readers.
Eight delightful pages of backmatter delve into more detail about Carlotta’s interesting life including tales of her many close calls while up in the air. I enjoyed the timeline, and seeing a hand-tinted postcard of the Balloon Farm in Frankfort, NY where it was “the only aeronautic institution of its kind in the world.” As a former New Yorker, I wondered why the Balloon Farm was not better known because I’d love to have visited it. Skybound and other picture books that highlight women’s achievements in the 19th and 20th centuries are great for children to read. There are many instances of women who were ahead of their time and these books serve as important reminders that perseverance and vision pay off in myriad ways.
Before writing up this review of my blog colleague,Roxanne Troup’s latest picture book, Reaching for the Stars illustrated by Amanda Lenz, I was curious to know if she’d always been interested in space exploration. I also wondered if there was any moment in particular that has left a lasting impact on her and may have influenced her choosing this topic to write about.
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“I’ve always loved looking at the stars and trying to find different constellations. The inspiration for this story came in late 2019, shortly after I learned about NASA’s new Artemis program. I thought it would be fun to celebrate all we’ve learned about space and commemorate a woman landing on the moon while we waited for NASA’s “countdown” to launch. (Originally, my title was Countdown to Space.)”
Children are fascinated by our solar system and it’s not uncommon to find books on space exploration geared for even younger children than the target audience of this picture book. Troup has taken this topic and turned it into a rhyming story accessible even to preschoolers. Kids meet four child-like astronauts as they prepare for a mission to the moon. And while the lunar landing Artemis program has been delayed, it doesn’t detract from the fact that it will put “the first woman and first person of color” on the moon.
Space enthusiasts will soar along with the astronauts as they introduce space concepts from take-off to reaching the outer limits while genuinely enjoying their time among the stars and planets.
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“Will we witness the birth of a hot, shiny star,
or spy icy comets zip by from afar?”
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Distant constellations such as Orion, the hunter, and Ursa, the bear are included and will likely invite the very same star-gazing that Troup mentioned above. I also loved learning about GOLDILOCKS ZONES in space: The “not too hot, not too cold, just right” distance from a star where water may exist on a planet’s surface. How cool is that? Space terminology that’s been taken from a fairy tale!”
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Between the lyrical text and the unique kid-friendly art that incorporates actual NASA images collaged with digital illustrations, almost every page turn provides a visual and cosmic surprise.
I asked illustrator Amanda Lenz if the main characters were purposely depicted as children to which she replied:
“Yes, they are all intended to be children—the story is so aspirational around the next generation of space exploration I felt like it was natural to see children exploring … and hopefully that choice makes space exploration feel attainable to young imaginations.” I love this idea and I think it does help children put themselves right into the astronauts’ space boots.
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Whether for home or classrooms, Reaching for the Stars is just the kind of book to spark new interest in this popular subject and invite further deep dives at the bookstore or library. The glossary of space terms is helpful to not only children but their parents and caregivers too. Get your copy today!
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Read a review of Roxanne’s previous picture book here.
And in 1992, she became the first Black woman to “dance through space” when she traveled aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Lukidis’ own love of science and art shines as she shares this phenomenal woman’s story, as does the art bySawyer Cloud which illuminates Jemison’s determination to pursue her dreams.\
In Love, the Earth, by Frances Stickley, our beautiful blue planet promises to take care of us, if only we will take care of it. Scenes unfold showing us all the Earth has to offer: “Please share my food, my lakes, my land . . . / and try to lend a helping hand.” Yet, we also see that the Earth can’t do it without us.
The mixed-media illustrations by Tim Hopgood are lush and layered. The Earth is present throughout, either smiling benevolently or saddened when its land is covered in litter. The book concludes with the Earth signing off, “With All My Love, the Earth,” a heartfelt reminder of how the planet has sustained a truly vast amount of life.
In Beth Ferry’s rhyming picture book, Solar Bear, a magical solar bear gathers bears from around the globe to share stories about species extinction. By shining their glowing light “[on] otters, sloths, and manatees. / On coral reefs and chimpanzees,” they hope to foster a generation of “solar kids” who learn as much as possible about our animals, mindfully use resources, and talk to others to encourage environmental stewardship.
The art by Brendan Wenzel illuminates the animals. This is beautiful but also a preview of how close many of them are to becoming ghosts. When the solar animals interact with children worldwide, the love and hope come through in his illustrations rendered in “watercolor, pencil, acrylic, colored pencil, and pretty much everything else under the sun including an iMac.” While this blurb is funny, it’s also a great representation of pulling together to create. The heartwarming image on the cover sets the tone for this hopeful but urgent request for action.
Nicola Davies’s nonfiction picture book, Green: The Story of Plant Life on Our Planet, opens with a line about how the tree pictured doesn’t seem to be doing much, just standing around being big and green. However, we come to find the many fascinating things that trees do from the huge importance of photosynthesis to its opposite: respiration, which keeps our air in balance. We learn the history of how plants have trapped carbon dioxide, changing the air from toxic to inhabitable for all kinds of life forms.
Emily Sutton’s illustrations showcase the color green. One scene shows green existing only on a single rooftop apartment building in a city where industry is upsetting the world’s delicate balance. The story finishes with a heartwarming companion image to the opening one that sums up why green is the “most important color in the world.”
In Sona Sharma: Looking After Planet Earth (book two of the Sona series by Chitra Soundar), Sona Sharma’s personality continues to shine. This time, Sona and her friends Renu and Joy learn that the Earth is in trouble. Their teacher, Miss Rao, has them pledge to help look after the planet. Well-meaning Sona takes this to heart and starts making changes at home—without anyone’s consent. Who needs lights? Diapers—no more!
While the story is funny, the reality of this crisis comes through, showing ways we all can pitch in. The setting is vivid as are the characters. I particularly like how much of the plot is centered around the town’s annual kolam-making contest (“traditional designs that people draw in front of their homes to celebrate the winter months and the festival season”). Paatti (Grandma) uses rice flour to make the design but Sona’s other grandmother, the President, includes colored powders, glitter, and plastic decorations. Sona’s determined to stop participants from using artificial, bad-for-the-environment art supplies, but the contest is happening soon and it seems the rules allow these materials. Or do they . . .?
The black-and-white sketches by Jen Khatun throughout bring us right into Sona’s world showing her multigenerational family and the lovely kolam designs.
Fans of Peter Wohlleben’s best-selling books about trees will be glad to see he now has a hands-on guide for children in an easy-to-carry size to encourage exploration of nature, Be a Nature Explorer!: Outdoor Activities and Adventures. This illustrated 100-page book contains 52 activity ideas to keep kids busy for many outings, or even when they’re just in the backyard.
“Following Slugs and Snails” is one of my favorites because I find these creatures fascinating. I learned that snail shells almost always spiral to the right (clockwise) and sit on the right side of their bodies. If you find a snail whose pattern runs counterclockwise, they’re called “snail kings”—so exciting, like finding a four-leaf clover! You can even record a snail or slug’s slime trail imprint onto a piece of plastic wrap, then add that to your journal as part of your collection and for further observations.
This fun guide’s pages are enlivened with illustrations by Belle Wuthrich, and photos. This winning combo elevates this book to the top of my list for gift-giving. Pair this welcoming book with a blank journal and watch kids get their nature explorer groove on. Parents will thank you!
From the Publisher: “A spring storm brings the chance to build a rain garden in this charming, actionable picture book about protecting our waterways.”
From Publishers Weekly: “An upbeat problem-solving story…”
With rhyming verse and bright, colorful illustrations, Michelle Schaub and Blanca Gómez tell an upbeat story of rain
that gives kids a hands-on way to participate in conservation—rain gardens—in the newly released A Place for Rain!
A unique concept in the picture book space, this book would make a great classroom read-aloud for Earth Day or throughout Earth Month to promote environmental awareness.
Backmatter offers a step-by-step guide to help families create their own rain gardens at home, additional conservation resources, as well as a cautionary line to call your utility company before you start digging. A recommended for all who care about our planet.
★Starred Review – Publishers Weekly A Junior Library Guild Selection
An ALA 2024 Notable Picture Book
Before even opening up A River of Dustwritten byJilanne Hoffmann and illustrated by Eugenia Mello, I was dazzled by the dusting of gold on the title that I hadn’t noticed in photos.
Told from an engaging personified point of view, this picture book’s narrator introduces itself in the third spread. “I am dust, the dust of North Africa.” Readers are told that this dust connects continents and I, for one, was eager to find out how. The concept fascinated me; dust describing what an important role it plays in the ecosystem as it makes its way from “a ribbon of land spread between the Sahara Desert, to the north, and tropical savanna, to the south. Land that stretches from the Red Sea, in the east, to the Atlantic Ocean, in the west.” Wow! I never thought about dust this way before.
The flow of Hoffmann’s lyrical prose shares just the right amount of information for young readers to absorb. The warm muted desert tones of Mello’s illustrations rendered digitally and filled with flora and fauna, combine with the text to convey the importance of dust in our world. Each spread shows movement as the dust is carried across the pages. Older kids will pick up details that may not necessarily resonate with Kindergartners yet there is still so much for them to glean.
While all readers learn that much of the dust disappears in myriad ways along the journey from North Africa to the Amazon, they’ll also find out how crucial the remaining dust is. Its cargo, precious phosphorus, is vital for the “rain-washed, depleted soil.” It will nourish the trees and help maintain the ecosystem.
I wanted to know more about this layered, lush, and poetic picture book because of the wide age range. I asked Hoffmann how she feels the book can meet the differing needs and interests of the youngest to oldest audience members. What she told me would be helpful for parents, caregivers, teachers, and librarians to incorporate into any reading. Its broad reach is what makes the book so appealing.
“I think that kindergarten through 5th grade can get things out of the book, at different levels of comprehension. When I read it to younger kids, I focus on how we’re all connected, and how two continents maintain their connections, despite being separated for a LONG time, something that littles understand, because they miss people in their lives who may live far away, or they remember what it was like to be left by a parent on their first day of school. And how they stay connected through phone calls, or letters, or even Zoom calls. I also talk simply about phosphorus, and how dust carries it, and how it’s a mineral like calcium and iron, things that their bodies need to grow and be healthy (and how every living thing on this planet requires those things).”
Info-packed pages of backmatter complete A River of Dust with facts for the oldest and most curious of readers. Even if you’re not scientifically minded, there is something in these six pages for everyone. Hoffmann explained this to me.
“The older kids get more info about how scientists figured this out through satellites, info about plate tectonics, how scientific understanding continues to change/evolve, etc. So the book can be understood simply or in a more complex way. My educator guide provides a ton of different activities across the curriculum for K-5, including a PE game.”
Be sure to check out the helpful and detailed learning resourcesavailable on Hoffman’s website to access the impressive educator’s guides, activities, and more. Pick up a copy today and let your kids be armchair travelers on this illuminating journey alongside dust that never ceases to amaze as it educates.
Bold, gold, the chrysalis gleams. And deep down inside . . . the butterfly dreams.
Every year, monarch butterflies migrate to warmer climates for overwintering months. However, changing environments make it continually more difficult to find food and places to lay eggs. In this nonfiction picture book, the monarch’s life cycle is detailed in lyrical verse as stunning art accompanies each stage in the butterfly’s life.
The most recognizable butterfly, monarchs are classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN, and face drastic challenges when it comes to locating food sources–milkweed.Milkweed for Monarchs is the perfect resource for young readers to learn more about these beautiful insects and how they can foster monarch-friendly environments in their own backyard. Backmatter includes actionable ways for readers to help this vulnerable species.
INTERVIEW:
GoodReadsWithRonna: How did you decide to write about butterflies in your new nonfiction picture book, Milkweed for Monarchs?
Christine Van Zandt:During the pandemic, we bought a milkweed plant with the vague idea that we were helping butterflies in some way. Little did we know that our plant was loaded with eggs and soon we had a bunch of very cute caterpillars. Sadly, they were eaten by various predators in our garden, but that set me out on this journey, wondering about monarchs.
GRWR:What eats monarchs? I thought they were poisonous.
CVZ:When the monarch caterpillars eat milkweed leaves, they do retain some of the plant’s toxins. And they have the bright “stay away” body markings consisting of yellow, white, and black stripes. But they still end up being dinner for other insects, spiders, birds, lizards, and mammals. In our garden, we’ve seen ants carrying little caterpillars away; raccoons and birds pluck them off.
GRWR:Did you encounter any obstacles trying to sell this book?
CVZ: It took me a while to figure out how to write it. I tried it in prose and verse, in fiction and nonfiction. The version that ended up working best was a short rhyming poem with facts in sidebars and in the backmatter.
An earlier version of this manuscript won first place at SCBWI-LA’s 2021 Writers Day and also earned me the annual Sue Alexander Grant. Even so, when the manuscript went out on submissions, some publishers passed stating they already had a monarch book on their list and they didn’t want to compete against their own products.
GRWR: So it sounds like butterfly books are considered evergreens like dinosaur, alphabet, or things-that-go books?
CVZ: Yes they are, so both my area of focus for the story and how I presented the text had to come from a fresh angle. I’m passionate about trying to help the monarchs. The western monarch’s population went from 4.5 million in the 1980s to fewer than 2000 butterflies in 2020. The just-in 2023 count shows the population is still ~95% down.
Monarchs need milkweed because that’s the only plant their caterpillars can eat; that became my focus, how the milkweed plant is essential for this insect’s survival. Milkweed plants are also amazing: they get eaten down to nothing and keep regrowing. I welcome munched-on plants in my yard because that means insects are being sustained through their life cycle which, in turn, benefits the larger food web.
GRWR: As picture book writers we’re often told not to write in rhyme unless it is extremely well executed. Was that a problem you encountered?
CVZ:I actually didn’t but I also feel my rhyme was solid by the time we sent it out on submissions because I’d applied the various checks such as scansion. However, writing in rhyme makes revisions much harder because each round with the publisher meant not just updating the text but also redoing the rhyme. Sometimes I had to scrap stanzas and write new ones.
And rhyming books have limitations because they are not as likely to be translated into a foreign language since so much more is involved in translating poetry, though it does happen. With my first book, A Brief History of Underpants—which was written in prose—a Korean-language translation came out not long after it was published. I’d love for Milkweed for Monarchs to be translated, especially into Spanish since many monarch butterflies overwinter in Mexico’s mountains and the butterflies have been part of Mexican culture for generations. Also because the gorgeous illustrations are by Alejandra Barajas who is from Mexico.
GRWR: While the main text of the book is a short poem, the facts in the sidebar and backmatter are in prose, right?
CVZ:Yes, and that meant switching my brain back and forth as we worked through the various drafts!
GRWR:How did you do that?
CVZ: I would read through one pass focusing only on the poem, then on another pass, I’d work on the facts.
GRWR: Beyond being a gardener, are you involved with monarchs in other ways?
CVZ: We’ve had our garden designated a sanctuary which basically means that we promise to garden without pesticides, providing a certain number and variety of different kinds of milkweed plants including native ones, and also providing nectaring plants for the butterflies and other pollinators.
Beyond that, I’ve applied for and been granted free plants for a local LAUSD inner-city school and started their butterfly garden. I’ve also volunteered forXerces for several years now, helping count the butterflies overwintering along the Southern California coast, and uploading that data to their central database.
GRWR: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
CVZ: I hope my book imparts a sense of wonder and a feeling of hopefulness. It doesn’t take much to make a difference whether for the monarchs or for other creatures in our world.
GRWR:Thank you, Christine, for sharing your amazing experience with us today. I’ve learned so much!
BUY THE BOOK:
Support independent booksellers by purchasing a copy of Milkweed for Monarchshere.
Author Christine Van Zandt Photo Credit: Marlena Van Zandt
AUTHOR BIO:
Christine Van Zandt is an editor, writer, and award-winning author. Her nonfiction picture books include A Brief History of Underpants (becker&mayer! kids, 2021) and, Milkweed for Monarchs (Beaming Books, 2024). She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her family. You can find her at www.ChristineVanZandt.com.
PUBLISHER SUMMARY: A lyrical introduction to the many wonders of the human heart, from award-winning author and practicing doctor, Dr. Rajani LaRocca
In this stunning non-fiction picture book, poetry and science come together with playful cut-paper illustrations to create a moving ode to the human heart and all that it does. Complete with illustrative diagrams and copious backmatter, this is a one-of-a-kind non-fiction picture book that gently guides readers through the various systems make up our most vital organ.
INTERVIEW:
Darshana Khiani: YOUR ONE AND ONLY HEART is amazing in how it takes a complex organ and breaks it down into chunks. What inspired you to write about the heart?
Rajani LaRocca: Ever since medical school, when I learned about the heart and how it works, I’ve been fascinated by this most vital organ. I wrote a first draft of this book way back in 2013 (!), and it was called “The Hardest Working Muscle.” It was written in prose and was over 800 words long. But it didn’t have a unifying theme or a hook.
I worked on this book on and off (mainly off) for years, but I couldn’t figure out how to write it. Then one day in 2018, I had a breakthrough: I discovered the theme I wanted to carry through the book. I realized I wanted to write about contrasting characteristics of the heart! Then I immediately decided to write about these characteristics in poetry—with several sets of paired poems. This made sense because to me, the beauty of poetry reflects the beauty of the human body.
DK: Well, you are one of the hardest-working writers I know. You do an amazing job at getting the main ideas across without getting bogged down in details. How did you master that balance? Also, the nerd in me wants to know why larger organisms have slower heart rates. I was surprised to learn that a mouse’s heart beats 310-840 beats/min while an elephant is only 30!
RL: I tried to focus on keeping the poetry simple enough for young kids to understand, yet interesting enough to capture their attention. There are plenty of facts that I reserved for the back matter so that the poetry could shine.
In terms of the answer to your question, are you ready to nerd out a bit? Smaller animals have higher surface area to volume ratio than larger ones. Because of this, smaller animals (especially warm-blooded animals like mammals and birds) lose heat much more quickly than their larger counterparts. So their hearts (which are smaller, too) need to beat faster to circulate more blood to offset the heat loss and maintain their body temperatures.
DK: Wow! Thank you for geeking out with me. Surface area … never would’ve guessed that. The book is divided into 15 poems, 7 pairs of antonym poems (yup, I made that up), and then a final stand-alone one. It is a unique structure, one I can’t say I’ve seen before. At what point in the writing process did you decide to organize the poems in this way?
RL: I designed those first 14 poems as “antonyms” or paired poems from the moment of that epiphany in 2018! When the book got acquired and my editor contacted illustrator Lauren Paige Conrad, Lauren came back with the incredible idea of using shades of different colors for each pair of poems. For example, “Singular” and “Cooperative” are in shades of red; “Simple” and “Complex” are in shades of orange; “Energetic” and “Relaxed” are in shades of yellow, and so on, resulting in a rainbow of colors! The back matter is also “color coded” to link back to the appropriate pages! Lauren works in cut paper collage, and it blows my mind how beautifully and precisely she depicted so many aspects of the heart with her art.
There are two poems at the end, and the very last poem brings everything together by restating the contrasting characteristics of the heart and noting that kids share the same characteristics themselves!
DK: I must admit the last poem took me by surprise since it is so matter-of-fact. I could almost hear the EKG flatline as I read the last words. Did you always know you wanted to end the story with this poem?
RL: Years ago, when I was at a writing retreat, I shared this manuscript with renowned nonfiction author Elizabeth Partridge. She loved it and advised me that I absolutely needed to include what happens when the heart stops beating. She said that death is something that children are curious about, and that by including it in a nonfiction book about the heart, I could demystify it and put it in perspective for kids from a scientific point of view. It took me a while to figure out how to write that poem; Lauren Paige Conrad’s illustration on that spread is absolutely perfect.
DK: Smart suggestion, and you presented it in such a matter-of-fact way. You’ve authored two novels-in-verse, MIRROR-TO-MIRROR and RED, WHITE, and WHOLE, and a rhyming non-fiction picture book, The SECRET CODE INSIDE YOU. Do you have any tips for writers who want to write lyrically?
RL: My first tip would be to understand what you want to say—for novels in verse, that means knowing at the very least the broad outlines of the plot and emotional arcs. And for nonfiction, that means compiling all the information you want to convey.
Next, I recommend getting in a “poetic mindset” by going out into nature, reading poetry, and/or listening to music.
And then you should just try writing the poems! Don’t worry too much about whether they’re any good.
When it’s time to edit: avoid cliches, use powerful words, condense and eliminate as much as possible, and endeavor to convey your message in a fresh or different way. I always read my poetry aloud in revision, because sometimes our ears are better than our eyes at noting when something isn’t quite right.
RL: YOUR ONE AND ONLY HEART is my fourth out of six books releasing this year!
Next up is THE SECRET OF THE DRAGON GEMS, an epistolary novel that I co-wrote with my friend Chris Baron. It’s about Tripti and Sam, two kids who meet at summer camp and find some unusual silvery rocks, which they each take home to California and Massachusetts. Then they start communicating via letter, email, texts, and video chats, because strange things keep happening, and they begin to wonder whether the rocks are more than just rocks. THE SECRET OF THE DRAGON GEMS releases on August 29!
My picture book MASALA CHAI, FAST AND SLOW, beautifully illustrated by Neha Rawat, releases on September 5. This is a story about a boy who likes to go fast and his grandfather, who likes to take things slow. Every day, they make masala chai together. One day, the grandfather sprains his ankle and can’t make masala chai, and the grandson decides to make some to cheer up his beloved grandfather . . . and hilarity ensues. This story is about learning to slow down and enjoy moments with those we love.
And next year on March 12 comes the release of my first middle grade fantasy, SONA AND THE GOLDEN BEASTS! Set in an Indian-inspired fantasy world, this story involves music and magic, and animals, but also contends with colonialism and who gets to tell history. I can’t wait to share it with the world!
DK: Yay for more books! We’ll be keeping a look out for them.
Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor-winning middle grade novel in verse, Red, White, and Whole. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She finds inspiration in her family, her childhood, the natural world, math, science, and just about everywhere she looks. Learn more about Rajani and her books at www.RajaniLaRocca.com. She also co-hosts the STEM Women in KidLit Podcast.
Darshana Khiani is an author, engineer, and advocate for South Asian children’s literature. She is infinitely curious about the world and enjoys sharing her findings with young readers. If she can make a child laugh even better. Her debut picture book, How to Wear a Sari (Versify), was an Amazon Editors’ Pick. She enjoys hiking, solving jigsaw puzzles, and traveling. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and a furry pup. You can visit Darshana here.
Christine Layton’s spare, poetic text leaves plenty of room for illustrator, Luciana Navarro Powell’s luminous art to shine in this nonfiction concept book. Young listeners will pour over Powells’ beautiful art as they listen to Layton’s lyrical, mysterious text while older readers delight in unraveling its mystery. (And for those who just can’t wait, Layton provides a more detailed, scientific look at some of the abstract concepts in the book like the way light “echoes off planets and moons” or “tells lies.”
Light Speaks would make an excellent science and ELA text for the classroom—especially when paired with more straightforward nonfiction like Light Waves by David Adler and Anna Raff (Holiday House, 2018)—as it would lend itself to cross-curricular discussions about science and poetry.
I’m honored to have been invited to host this NorthSouth Books interview exclusively in the U.S. Elena Rittinghausen, Zurich-based editor of NordSüd Verlag/NorthSouth Books recently spoke with Ishita Jain, debut illustrator of The Forest Keeper written by Rina Singh, (on sale April 18 and available for preorder now), and the timing couldn’t be better as we approach Earth Day 2023.
INTERVIEW:
Elena Rittinghausen:What part does nature play in your life? How would you describe your relationship with nature? For you personally, what is the main lesson we can learn from this true story?
Ishita Jain: I consider myself a part of nature, all humans are, even though it’s easy to forget it in our fast-paced lives. I grew up in New Delhi and now live in New York, both of which are big, urban cities, yet I have been fortunate to spend a lot of my childhood and my present days in the midst of greenery.
When I moved to NY, I was often homesick, and trees and parks became a source of comfort to me. I love going on long walks and it is fascinating to watch the seasons turn in my neighborhood. The same tree that is lush green turns to a fiery red in the fall and is then almost unrecognizable in the winter. Watching all these visceral changes in natural things around me has made me far more open to change and evolution within myself.
I am often told that individual acts matter very little when it comes to changing the world- that it all comes down to corporations and government policies. I don’t entirely agree, and this story is a reminder that no matter how small you are, you matter and even if you can’t change the world, you can change your world around you.
ER:You’ve lived in the US for some years now. Did it feel special to go back to illustrating a story set in India?
IJ:It’s interesting, the longer I live in the U.S., my sense of identity of being Indian and thinking of India as my home only grows stronger. So, in some ways, it didn’t matter where I was when I illustrated this book. Though I did illustrate some of the trees for the endpapers while I was in India, and to be drawing a neem tree when there is one right outside your window makes the process so fun!
ER:What was your first thought when you received our e-mail asking if you wanted to illustrate for a Swiss publisher?
IJ:This is my first picture book and when I got the email from you, I thought it was wild that someone was asking me to do this because I have very few drawings of kids, or even people in my portfolio! I am so grateful that you took that chance because I enjoyed the process, and it was a huge learning curve for me.
Funnily, the first time when I traveled outside of India was to Switzerland. I was 10 or 11 and my grandparents took me with them to Lucerne and I have very vivid memories of that trip. I used to spend all the loose change from the day on ice creams and for years, if anyone I knew went to Switzerland, I would jokingly ask them to bring me an ice cream. I was very close to my grandfather and I think he would have been thrilled to know that I got to work with a Swiss publisher!
ER:How did you approach the illustrations? Which technique did you use? Did you look for specific references for your images?
IJ: I love working analog and all the pictures are done in ink and watercolor. For this book, I also did my thumbnails as loose little paintings. It was important for me to get a sense of the color, texture, and mood in the sketch phase to be able to proceed to finals. I also made a tiny dummy to flip through to get a sense of the page turns and the visual pacing of the story.
In some illustrations, all the elements are painted separately and then stitched together digitally. This gives me the flexibility to make changes without having to start from scratch. Other times I just go for it and love embracing the unpredictability that comes with watercolor.
India is huge and very diverse in terms of its people, its culture, and its geographies. I am from Delhi, which is quite far, and different, from Majuli. I did extensive research and referenced movies, news, documentaries, and the work of photographers from Assam and the northeast to make sure that I understood the flora and fauna, the physical features of the locals, their attire, and the visual geography of the region. I also looked for videos about the Brahmaputra floods, time lapses of bamboo growing, and travelers’ videos of Majuli to get a sense of the overall environment.
Studio of The Forest Keeper illustrator Ishita Jain
ER:Would you like to illustrate picture books in the future?
IJ:Without a doubt, yes!
Thank you Elena Rittinghausen and NorthSouth Books for this exciting opportunity to introduce Ishita Jain and her artwork to readers here in the U.S.
Click hereto order a copy ofThe Forest Keepertoday
Click hereto read an interview with The Forest Keeperauthor Rina Singh
Ishita Jain is an illustrator from Delhi, India, though she is now based in New York. She is an alumnus of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India, and the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Program at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Ishita loves to draw on location and enjoys documenting the people, places, and stories that surround her. Her work is inspired by day-to-day moments and the wonder that comes from being around nature. The Forest Keeper is Ishita’s first picture book. Find her on social media here: @ishitajain24
“An iceberg shears from a glacier and begins a journey through Antarctica’s seasons. In the spring, penguins trek across the ice while krill stir beneath. With summer comes more life…the sun softens its edges and undersea currents wash it from below. When autumn arrives with cooling temperatures, the sea changes and the iceberg is trapped in the ice for the winter freeze. Then spring returns and the iceberg drifts into a sheltered bay and falls, at the end of its life cycle. But if you think this is the end of the journey, look closer ― out in the ocean, an iceberg shears from a glacier and settles to the sea, beginning the process anew.”
Review:
Claire Saxby’s beautiful, poetic language and Jess Racklyeft’s luminous art bring this nonfiction concept to life for young readers who’ll never see this ecosystem with their own eyes. Here, “ocean, sky, snow and ice dance a delicate dance.”
Though most people think of Antarctica as a cold, barren icescape, ICEBERG proves otherwise. Racklyeft even includes an amazing center gatefold highlighting the beauty and life thriving just below the ocean surrounding Antarctica.
Originally published in Australia by Allen & Unwin, Groundwood Books adds an author’s note and a glossary explaining the effects of climate change (without being moralistic) and positioning ICEBERG for use in the classroom. *Highly recommended!
An astronomer at heart, Jordie “even name[s] her dog Neptune.” When a literal out-of-this-world incident happens in her class one day, she is more than excited to explore it. A little black hole, “churning in [her] desk” is eating anything and everything around it and is hungry for more.
Like finding a pet, Jordie decides to keep the black hole, bringing it along with her on the bus ride home. After devouring belongings in her backpack, the black hole starts gobbling items in the closet where Jordie has put it to hide from her parents. The black hole doesn’t discriminate; all items are fair game–with one humorous exception.
Readers will love this zany concept of a black hole that appears out of nowhere and causes problems of cosmic proportions. Adding to the delightful absurdity is its disdain for Jordie’s unicorn underwear that it spits out on more than one occasion. Like Boyle’s language, Melmon’s adorable and vivid illustrations add personality and pizazz to the antics of this one-of-a-kind character.
When Jordie discovers Neptune’s empty collar, she finally decides enough is enough and finds a clever way to reclaim her possessions including her beloved dog. She sends the black hole back to where it belongs–in a galaxy far, far away.
A fun, early elementary-grade-level read, this STEM picture book includes intriguing facts about black holes and a link for further study.
Stand up and roar for Lily Williams’sIf Tigers Disappeared, the fifth book in her award-winning series. If Tigers Disappeared follows the familiar pattern: we learn where the animals live, some history about them, and why their populations have declined. Tigers have been around for more than two million years, yet in the past 100 years, humans have nearly wiped out their population. When an animal becomes extinct, the ripple effect (also called the trophic cascade) has far-reaching effects on our ecosystem.
Since tigers are apex predators, the animals they eat flourish when no longer hunted by the big cats. These population booms then cause changes to the forest, waterways, and landscapes. This immense concept is conveyed simply, inviting kids to think about our world’s interconnectedness and demonstrating how indigenous people should continue to be involved in tiger conservation. Though the topic is quite sad, the overall feeling is of hope, emphasizing the importance of knowledge and advocacy for these amazing animals.
Williams’s tigers are magnificently drawn in many stages of action, including a couple of curious cubs. Back matter includes a glossary, recap of the tigers’ endangered status, and information on how we can help. This important book educates while charming us with lively images of six remaining subspecies of tigers.
