L is for Librarian: The ABCs of Los Angeles Central Library is an Amazing, Beautiful, Captivating, delightful, and Energizing tour of the Los Angeles Central Library. From Awesome Adventures to Zombies in the makerspace, readers of all ages will enjoy this alphabetical exploration of Los Angeles’s beloved icon.
Author Interview:
Welcome to the blog, Susan. It’s an exciting time at L.A.’s Central Library, so it’s wonderful you could join us!
GoodReadsWithRonna: Why did you write L Is for Librarian: The ABCs of Los Angeles Central Library?
Susan Lendroth: For the simple reason that library staff asked me to write it! I have been writing picture books for more than 20 years–this is my 10th book–so the organizers of Central Library’s 100th birthday celebration invited me to create an alphabet book for the centennial year. I wrote it as part of my job since I work for Los Angeles Public Library’s public relations department.
GRWR: How was it different writing a book as part of your “day job,” as opposed to writing one of your previous books?
SL: The first obvious difference is I worked on L Is for Librarian during my “day job” instead of squeezing my writing time into weekends or evenings. Plus, I knew from the start it would be published. What a wonderful feeling that was! I also worked with a small team on this book, who had the right of approval before it even went to the editor. I should add that they gave me free rein on structure, allowing me to make the Library itself the narrator of its story and to create dual-level text—a primary sentence or two for young readers for each letter, with additional facts in a smaller font below.
GRWR: With input from several sources, were there any lively discussions about which feature/aspect would be named for each letter?
SL: About 80% of my original letter subject choices made it to the finish line, with the other 20% being alternate suggestions from the team. I rewrote text for those letters. The “liveliest” discussion centered on the letter “O.” I discovered an octopus carved into a door lintel and fell in love. Others wanted O for Owls, which decorate the building in stone and metal. I won Octopus a place in the book, but the illustrator, Alexander Vidal, added multiple owls anyway, an “I Spy” game where the same stone owl is depicted as an earring or a book cover or one of the spots on a giraffe. The funny thing is, no one told him about the Owl versus Octopus debate!
GRWR: How did you decide on the approach of having Central Library itself narrate the book?
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SL:Whenever I begin a new book, somehow I simply know how I want to structure it; it only works for me if I write it that way. Very early on I felt like Central Library wanted to tell its own story, sharing the building’s attributes and all it had to offer, and that developed into first-person text.
GRWR: Some of the ideas and terms in the book seem a little sophisticated for young children. How did you handle that aspect?
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SL: Our goal was to present a full picture of Central Library, from its physical features to its history to how it serves the community. Whenever possible, I tried to find an angle that would appeal to young children, such as describing interesting animals in art, asking questions, or infusing action into the text: “D is for Down. Ride down, down, down to the bottom floor of the atrium …” Because I wrote the text at two levels, I tried to cover the more complicated elements in the secondary text. Also, I believe children are capable of learning more sophisticated words if those are explained, and pictures help younger readers/listeners grasp new concepts.
GRWR: Illustrators often add elements to a book that are not covered in the text. What are some of the elements added by Alexander Vidal that surprised and pleased you?
SL: The owls, definitely the owls. If you read a copy of the book and search carefully, you will find owls depicted in 18 different places, including a couple of duplicate illustrations on the endpapers. However, there are more actual owls than that because sometimes they repeat in a design!
GRWR: Your publisher, Angel City Press, is owned by Los Angeles Public Library. How did that relationship begin?
SL: A few years back, the couple who created and operated Angel City Press wanted to retire. They had worked for decades building a publishing house that celebrated stories connected to the Los Angeles area and wanted to keep that purpose, as well as the publishing house’s backlist, intact. So they donated Angel City Press to Los Angeles Public Library rather than trying to find a buyer.
GRWR:This is the first children’s book published by ACP. Did they take any special steps to add a children’s book to their list?
SL: Because it was a new endeavor for them, they hired a freelance, experienced children’s editor to review the text and illustrations.
GRWR:ACP released the book recently at Central Library’s Centennial Festival. How has it been received?
SL: The book definitely found a receptive audience with thousands of book and library fans! The publisher sold many copies of L Is for Librarianas well as several other titles. I enjoyed one of my best-ever encounters with a young fan there. A little girl named Evelyn approached the signing table. I complimented her sparkly jewelry and velvet dress, and she told me it was her “library outfit.” Ok, you’ve got my attention. Then, after I inscribed her book and said my writing might be a little hard to read, her father asked Evelyn to tell me what she calls cursive. “Fairy writing.” Awwwww. Definitely, that was one of the highlights of my day, especially when Evelyn ran back to the table a few minutes later and said, “I LOVE your book! It has a zombie in it.” Good old letter Z.
SL: As ever, I’m juggling multiple projects. I have a long list of ideas and a finite number of hours to write, so I’ll see where the road takes me. Though I have to say, writing an alphabet book was fun, and I’d definitely enjoy writing another.
Thank you for giving me the chance to talk about my new book. Proceeds benefit Los Angeles Public Library.
Author Susan Lendroth at Los Angeles Central Library. Photo Credit: Gary Leonard
Bio:
Libraries have been Susan Lendroth’s second home for as long as she can remember, so joining the staff of Los Angeles Public Library a decade ago felt like docking with the mother ship. L Is for Librarian is her tenth picture book, following such titles as Here We Go Digging for Dinosaur Bones, Hey Ho, to Mars We’ll Go! and Maneki Neko: The Tale of the Beckoning Cat. Find Susan on social media here:https://www.instagram.com/susanlendroth/
THE TRAVELING TACO
Written by Mia Wenjen
Illustrated by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong
(Red Comet Press; $19.99, Ages 5 and up)
Let’s welcome today’s guest author, Mia Wenjen. Her most recent picture book, The Traveling Taco, takes readers around the world with some surprising food facts.
Did you know many well-known dishes are food immigrants? The Al Pastor Taco traveled from Lebanon to Puebla, Mexico… French fries originated in Belgium… And pasta arrived in Italy long before Marco Polo visited China. This fascinating nonfiction book featuring rhyming text takes the reader on travels around the world to celebrate foods, their history, and surprising origins. [picture book, ages 5 and up]
We are also giving away a signed copy of her book. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.
Now let’s learn more about The Traveling Taco!
What inspired you to write The Traveling Taco?
My husband and I like to watch food documentaries. We watched The Taco Chronicles on Netflix, which showcases a different type of taco on each episode. When I learned that the Al Pastor taco comes from Lebanese people who settled in Puebla, Mexico, and brought their shawarma tradition with them. They adapted it for what was available. Pork was swapped out for lamb. Spices were changed. Flatbread was switched to corn tortillas. I was fascinated by “food that traveled” and started researching food that you think is iconic to a country, but was actually introduced by immigrants. Like fish and chips!
What is your favorite spread in the book?
The Jerk Chicken spread is probably the one that we worked on the longest to get it right. Jamaica is portrayed in such a lovely way with the plants and trees, and the setting ended up being contemporary.
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I heard there is a song about The Traveling Taco! How did that happen?
Daria World Music created this song for my book. She wrote the lyrics, sang the song, and hired an animator to create the video. I thought it would be nice to have if a teacher or librarian is using the book in the classroom. A song is a nice warm-up to storytime!
What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
I hope readers realize that many of the foods we know and love would not be available if not for immigrants who so generously and graciously shared their food cultures. It is also fun to learn about other cultures through food, so I hope this encourages kids to be adventurous at the dinner table and be curious enough to want to learn more.
What’s next for you?
I have a few more picture books coming out:
Fortune Cookies for Everyone, illustrated by College Kong-Savage, comes out in October. It’s the story of who invented the fortune cookie, an American invention! It takes us back to WWII and Japanese Concentration Camps (also known as Internment Camps). It’s co-published with the Smithsonian and Red Comet Press.
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Green Homes, Happy Planet: Sustainable Houses Around the World, illustrated by Mary Atwood and published by Sleeping Bear Press, comes out in February of 2026.
Barbed Wire Between Us, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación and published by Red Comet Press, comes out in March of 2026.
To Market, To Market … Around the World, illustrated by Peng Wu and published by Barefoot Books, comes out in the Fall of 2026.
Postcards by Malcolm X, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown and published by Red Comet Press, comes out in January of 2027.
BUY THE BOOK:
You can purchase a copy of The Traveling Taco and support a local independent bookseller
Mia Wenjen blogs at PragmaticMom.com. She is the President and Co-FounderReadYourWorld.org, a nonprofit that puts diverse children’s books into the hands of readers. Her picture books include The Traveling Taco, We Sing From the Heart, and Fortune Cookies for Everyone published by Red Comet Press; Food for the Future, published by Barefoot Books; and Sumo Joe, published by Lee and Low.
Honors for her books include: ALSC Notable Children’s Book, Carter G. Woodson Book Award Honoree, Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, Massachusetts Book Award Long List, Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner, California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner, Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year, and Junior Library Guild Gold Selection.
To learn more, check out her website, MiaWenjen.com, and follow her on social media (see below).
Can You Hear the Plants Speak? written by Nicholas Hummingbird with Julia Wassonand illustrated by Madelyn Goodnightis a lyrical picture book worth putting on your radar. After finishing it I immediately headed into my backyard to contemplate what I’d just read with a heightened appreciation of the often overlooked nature outside my doors. I hope that children will have the same experience; not just thinking about the stunning beauty of all the flowers and plants but the miracle of their survival throughout time.
What works so well in this memoir is how the voice of the storyteller takes readers back to his youth to show how nature has always been tightly woven into the everyday life of Native Americans. We’re pulled into the story when invited to come along on a walk. From an early age, the child learns from his great-grandparents, “Our people believe spirit lives in everything.” The influence of his elders and ancestors plays an important role in his life.
Goodnight’s illustrations serenely convey the respect and appreciation of every encounter. “We listened as our plant relatives spoke.” While I’ve been known to talk to my plants, I’ve never considered listening to them so these words deeply touched me.
When the main character describes how his ancestral land was “flattened to concrete” by those more interested in profit than plants and spirit, I grew angry. I imagined his hurt. The art shows how cities replaced countryside, decimating what stood in their way. The stark reality of how damaging this was to nature is powerfully conveyed in a four-word spread where an uprooted plant lay torn from the earth. “The land was silenced.” A gut punch.
As the boy becomes a man, he still feels the loss profoundly. Who can he listen to? But a sprout emerging from concrete offers hope. “Don’t give up,” it says to him. He listens. And plants. And gives back to the land he loves. The land that always provided for his relatives would now provide for his new family. He teaches his son, Tuhui, the importance of continuing to listen to what the plants tell him. Readers are then asked to listen. “Can you hear it?”
This beautifully written and illustrated book provides a subtle yet meaningful message that lets children know we are all the stewards of our world, and that we should not take our flora and fauna for granted. Respecting nature and our “plant relatives” is at the heart of this recommended read. Two pages of backmatter round out the book including suggestions on what young readers can do to help preserve the flora and flora that surround them.
THE FABULOUS FANNIE FARMER:
Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook
Written by Emma Bland Smith
Illustrated by Susan Reagan
(Calkins Creek; $18.99, Ages 7-10)
Starred Review – School Library Journal
Written by Emma Bland Smith and illustrated bySusan Reagan, The Fabulous Fannie Farmeris a humorous and fascinating story of a quiet, kitchen revolutionist who transformed the notion of home cooking from “meaningless” work to a serious business.
Interior spread from The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook written by Emma Bland Smith and illustrated by Susan Reagan, Calkins Creek Ⓒ2024.
Like many girls during the late 1800s, Fannie Farmer most likely grew up learning how to cook in her home kitchen, using recipes that had been in her family for generations. Yet recipes in Fannie’s day were more poetic than precise. Phrases like “a suspicion of,” “a good lump,” and “as many as may be necessary” not only hindered consistent results but perpetuated the myth that cooking was “all about feminine instincts.” I love how author Emma Smith emphasizes the strangeness and silliness of this misguided belief by adding humor to her storytelling. Sentences like, “instructions were often cloudier than clam chowder” and “… who needs standard measurements when you’ve got your trusty feminine instincts, right?” create a light-hearted, conversational tone that brings Smith’s retelling of culinary history to life. Susan Reagan’s period-perfect illustrations add whimsy and authenticity, allowing readers to see what life was like at the turn of the last century.
Despite suffering the aftereffects of (what many believe was) polio, Fannie continued to cook and bake in her kitchen, testing out recipes with precision by using measuring cups and spoons. When she enrolled in the Boston Cooking School at age thirty-one, Fannie truly excelled. As a student, then assistant, and finally a principal, she taught her students to think like “kitchen scientists.”
Interior art from The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook written by Emma Bland Smith and illustrated by Susan Reagan, Calkins Creek Ⓒ2024.
When she fulfilled her wish to rewrite the school’s old cookbook, she and her students tested every recipe, transforming the school’s kitchen into a chemistry lab. Fannie paved the way for cooks and bakers everywhere to finally have access to clear and precise recipes with reliable results. But more than that, Fannie created a cultural shift in the way people thought about home cooking. Since it involved “planning and budgeting, health and nutrition,” she insisted the work deserved serious recognition.
The Fabulous Fannie Farmer opens readers’ eyes to the importance of Fannie’s impact on our everyday lives. A great resource for teachers, this book can also be fun for readers at home, learning a bit of culinary history while snacking on a treat. Two recipes from Fannie’s book and extensive back matter are included.
THE ABCs OF QUEER HISTORY Written by Dr. Seema Yasmin Illustrated by Lucy Kirk (Workman Kids; $18.99, Ages 5 and up)
Author and poet Dr. Seema Yasmin and illustrator Lucy Kirk’s ambitious The ABCs of Queer History is a nonfiction picture book that makes queer history accessible to young readers. With its vibrant illustrations and excellent examples, the book will open children’s eyes to the struggles and the rewards that constitute the queer experience in the United States.
“This is a book of people, of ideas, of accomplishments and events.” The first vibrantly illustrated spread is a great introduction. Readers learn in the art above that “A is for abundant, because we are many: our histories show we are diverse and plenty.” The letter E aptly explores equality while G is for groundbreaking where trailblazers like Barbara Jordan, the first queer congresswoman, or inspiring athlete Michael Sam are cited. I particularly enjoyed the colorful and cheerful spread for Q. “Q is for queens, of our hearts, of the light – a glorious tradition. Oh, what a sight!” Drag artists, including RuPaul, are getting dressed for a performance, some having make-up applied, some blowing their hair, and others bushing wigs, or simply strutting their stuff.
Marriage equality is covered under M and N is a nod to notable figures in queer history who spoke up for transgender rights. Naturally, Stonewall is addressed when we reach S. It’s a tribute to the powerful movement that ultimately led to the uprising from which there was no turning back. Children will learn about old and new aspects of queer history in this hopeful approach, “… tales of hope and activism, tales of legends and glory.”
Familiar and unfamiliar names are featured throughout adding to the scope of engaging content this book covers. Whether it’s art, science, medicine, or fashion, queer people’s continued contribution to our society is one to celebrate. In some parts of the book, the rhymes were near rhymes or slant rhymes but overall they still worked to convey the importance of understanding queer history and its positive, and lasting impact on our country. Rhyme appeals to so many kids but I also like the ABC format because the book can easily be read letter by letter. A parent or caregiver can read two or three letters at a time followed by a meaningful discussion. In addition to the alphabet, eight pages of invaluable Queer History Terms and Figures included in the back matter are fascinating to read. From Josephine Baker to Tennessee Williams, from Gender and Sex to Z is for Zero Tolerance, all aspects of queerness are explained. I recommend this informative book and hope it lands in kids’ hands across the U.S.A.
LOST WORDS: An Armenian Story of Survival and Hope
Written by Leila Boukarim
Illustrated by Sona Avedikian
(Chronicle Kids; $18.99, Ages 5-8)
On a seemingly ordinary day, a little boy helps Mama prepare mante dumplings. His life is suddenly and dreadfully interrupted when he receives a knock at the door. “‘You must leave with the others,’” his mother pleads while getting him and his sisters ready for the long journey ahead. She stuffs their pockets with dried fruit and nuts and sews gold coins into the lining of their coats just “in case.”
The little boy has “so much … to say” to Mama, but his words are “lost”—a repeated sentence expressing devastation and shock over his new reality. He and his siblings must leave their parents behind to escape persecution. Along with hundreds of thousands of other Armenians, he is forced to walk through the Syrian desert “for days. For weeks. For months”—phrases also repeated throughout the book illustrating his heartache and longing for wholeness.
Like the sparse words of Boukarim’s refrains, simple and soft illustrations carry deep emotional weight. The gentle, almond-shaped eyes of Avedikian’s characters convey much grief and worry. Their facial expressions are often at the center of the pages.
As the boy becomes a man and starts a family of his own, “love and laughter” begin to heal the “dark space[s]” of his heart, though the question of family history remains unanswered. That is, until, years later, his grandchild asks, “Where are we from …?” Suddenly and wonderfully, his words return to tell the story of loss, love, and resilience. The story of Armenia.
For teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, and anyone interested in stories about survival and hope, Lost Words which is based on a true story, sensitively and beautifully illustrates the courage to speak one’s truth. An author and illustrator’s note, a brief history of the 1915 Genocide, facts about Armenia, and a glossary are included in the backmatter
Find out more at the Chronicle website here.
Find out more about the author, Leila,here.
Find out more about the illustrator, Sona, here.
★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.
Who Ate What? A Historical Guessing Game for Food Lovers by Rachel Levinis such an engaging book kids may forget they’re learning! The book is organized chronologically from cavepeople through what food of the future may be. In each of the ten historical groups, there are 15 food objects that kids will have fun looking for, especially when they realize three of these items are “off the menu.” I couldn’t help but play along—and I missed at least one in each section! For example, I guessed that cavepeople drank milk but then, when I turned the page, found that early humans couldn’t digest animal milk. One of my favorite “on the menu” items was hedgehog. These prickly critters were eaten by ancient Egyptians, and baked in a manner (thankfully) that removed the spines.
Each section has interesting edge-to-edge illustrations showing life during that period masterfully rendered by Natalia Rojas Castro. I especially like how she handles silly items such as delivered pizza or “ew” things like human eyes.
This nonfiction picture book educates, entertains, and (best of all) is enjoyable. Kids will gravitate to the pages about Vikings, ninjas, and pirates, but if you want to know which group ate snakes and which one ate flamingos, you’ll have to read the book.
Written by mother-daughter duo Mojdeh Hassani and Samira Iravani and illustrated by Maya Fidawi, Mama Shamsi At The Bazaar shares the loving bond between grandmother and granddaughter as they venture out to share a new experience together.
Getting ready to go to the bazaar with her grandmother for the very first time, Samira is afraid she’ll get lost in the crowd. Again and again, she tries to coax Mama Shams into letting her hide under the protection of her veil. “‘Let’s get in line, under your chador, you in front, me behind!’” But each time, Mama Shams responds with a resounding “Na, na, na” followed by an exaggerated explanation of how silly they might look to passersby. “‘I’d look like a fool with four legs below me just like a mule!”
Textually, this lovely rhyming interchange between grandmother and granddaughter adds much humor and whimsy, while also providing a place for young readers of all backgrounds to stay grounded in the story as Mama Shamsi suggests the different types of animals she may be mistaken for if she acquiesces to Samira’s wish.
Visually, their conversation introduces readers to the bustling capital of Iran, Tehran. Fidawi’s expressive illustrations are wonderfully and thoughtfully detailed from home to city life during the 1960s/’70s, reflecting the time period author Hassani grew up there. My personal favorites include the seated vendor on the street, prayer beads in hand, and chai brewing on a portable burner next to him, a grandmother on the balcony of a nearby apartment hanging clothes to dry, and another vendor selling my favorite Iranian street food: steamed beets. When they finally arrive at the bazaar, Samira feels assured that with Mama Shamsi by her side, she is safe to enjoy and explore her new world.
For those seeking an intergenerational, diverse, sweet, and/or humorous story with a touch of social-emotional learning, this picture book ticks off all of the boxes. A recommended read for National Grandparents Day and year-round.
Long before there was email, there was V-mail. Short for “Victory mail” it was a system used during World War II as a way to save space for delivering other items, such as military supplies and equipment. This is just one of the many fascinating bits of information presented inLinda Barrett Osborne’slatest offering,Who’s Got Mail?: The History of Mail in America.
Divided into ten chapters, the pages are cleverly designed to look like stamps themselves, with perforated borders. With photographs punctuating almost every page, it is very easy for middle-grade readers to remain interested in this nonfiction book and want to learn about the history of America and its postal service.
Although there is much to praise the USPS for throughout its long history, the author herself is to be praised for not shying away from addressing their treatment of African Americans and women, who each have a chapter dedicated just to them. Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans are grouped together in their own chapter as well, depicting clearly the discrimination that these minorities faced within the hierarchy of employment.
But it is not just the large issues that are written up so vividly. The small details are just as noteworthy. For example, this Canadian reviewer was truly surprised to learn that mail is delivered six times a week in America (as opposed to five times a week in Canada.)
Back matter includes a timeline beginning in 1753 with the British government appointing Benjamin Franklin as the deputy postmaster general of its colonies, to the present day, with the delivery of free in-home COVID-19 tests, and the signing of the Postal Service Reform Act into law by President Joe Biden thereby canceling USPS’s large debt.
In keeping with the subject matter of the book, both the jacket and the front and back covers are decorated with a variety of images of stamps courtesy of the National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution’s, 4000+ collection adding much information and interest. One celebrates abolitionist Harriet Tubman; another pays tribute to the Pony Express, which lasted for nineteen months beginning in 1860, using relays of riders on horses to deliver the mail.
A selected bibliography and index round out this must-read for both young (and old) history buffs who want to read about a unique and captivating subject.
Wombats might be pretty weird, but they’re pretty awesome, too! Wombats Are Pretty Weird is funny, kid-friendly, and informative, and features sidebars, comic panels, extensive backmatter, and a map. Acclaimed author-illustrator Abi Cushman’s nonfiction debut contains everything anyone could ever possibly want to know about wombats!
INTERVIEW:
Vicky Fang: Abi, WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD is such a funny and informative book! I love how you use humorous dialog and illustrations to introduce so much fascinating information about wombats! How did you come up with the idea for this book?
Abi Cushman:Thank you, Vicky! I’ve been obsessed with wombats ever since I studied abroad at the University of Melbourne in Australia in 2001. I learned on a guided hike that wombats are the only animals in the world that have cube-shaped poop. This very odd tidbit of information along with the fact that wombats are adorable quickly made them one of my favorite animals.
But it didn’t occur to me to write about them in a book until 2018 after I’d written several other fiction picture books. I was thinking about the cube poop fact, and I thought it would be funny to make a little comic where a wombat makes a tower out of its cubes of poop (similar to how a kid would make a tower out of blocks) and then is just really proud of how tall it was. I wasn’t sure at that point if there was enough there for a book, so I did more research, gathered more weird facts about wombats, and gained momentum.
VF:I love that scene in the book with the cube poop tower! Hilarious. Could you tell us about your process in writing this book?
AC:I started with a lot of research about wombats. I listened to podcasts, watched videos, and read everything I could about them. Then I compiled the weirdest, most interesting facts. The next step was to see if I could make a joke about each fact. I have pages and pages in my sketchbook of facts plus doodles. I tried to come up with as many jokes as possible, and then and then really hone in on the funniest dialogue, facial expressions, and scenes.
Once I was satisfied with the jokes, I worked on putting them together in a dummy (a rough mockup of the book) in a way that made sense and that would also build to a final scene with all the wombats together.
Wombats are Pretty Weird Dummy Sample
VF:I love the addition of the snake adding color and commentary throughout the book. What made you decide to include the snake in a book about wombats?
AC: Adding the snake was a way for me to put a stand-in for the audience in the book. He could react and make comments that the reader was thinking when learning about these very weird animals. And this animal character had to be something other than a wombat. After all, the wombats wouldn’t consider themselves weird at all. In their world, it’s strange when poop is round. I chose a snake specifically because I wanted an animal that could technically live in the same area as a wombat, but was vastly different from them.
VF:Your illustrations do such a wonderful job of balancing humor and information. You’ve written funny books before (SOAKED! and ANIMALS GO VROOM! are so good!), but what was it like writing and illustrating non-fiction for the first time?
AC: Writing and illustrating non-fiction for the first time was a wonderful challenge. For this book, which includes factual information but also talking animals and other silly stuff, it was very important to me that kids didn’t think the facts were made up. One of the things I was very careful about was to ensure the narration was factual and accurate, and then have the wombats and snake react to those facts in the illustrations and speech bubbles. That way there was a clear separation.
For research, I consulted science journals and talked to wombat experts to verify and ensure the way I phrased things was correct. It was pretty wild to me that my work entailed being knee-deep in these dense scientific papers, trying to distill the information and make sense of them, and then using that to make the best poop joke I could.
For the illustrations, I wanted them to be very accessible and fun, but I also wanted them to show a decent resemblance to actual wombats and to clearly convey scientific information where appropriate. So I used a lot of references. I looked at photos of wombats’ feet, watched videos of them moving, and really studied the differences between three species. Then I drew them using hair dryers and wearing party hats.
VF:Can you talk about how you approach humor? Do you have any tips for writers who want to write funny books?
AC:The books I find funniest always contain a bit of absurdity. So that’s something I like to play with a lot in my books. For this book with weird animal facts, it was a chance to push the absurdity in the actual facts to a higher level.
For example, one of the facts in the book is that there are three species of wombats: the southern hairy-nosed wombat, the northern hairy-nosed wombat, and the bare-nosed wombat. And I just thought the names were pretty silly. So I wanted to play with that idea of hairy (or unhairy) noses and push it further into absurdity by having two of them talk about nose hair styling to the annoyance of the bare-nosed wombat.
I think with humor, you have to let yourself be pretty vulnerable. I put everything I think is funny into a story and then show it to people with the full knowledge that a lot of the jokes will absolutely not land. But I have NO IDEA which ones those are. The trick is to put the weirdest, totally out-there jokes into your story and then see how many you can get away with.
VF: That’s such great advice, and it has clearly paid off for you. What do you hope young readers take away from this book?
AC: I hope this book will get kids excited about wombats and animals in general. There is so much in the natural world that is bizarre and captivating. Kids have a natural curiosity so I think it’s our job as authors to foster and encourage it. I also hope kids come away with the idea that being weird is a good thing. It’s what makes all of us special and unique. And finally, I just hope kids laugh and find this enjoyable to read.
VF:I love that. I feel like you’ve definitely accomplished those goals with this book and kids are going to love it. So what’s next for you?
AC: I am currently polishing up the next book in the “[Not So] Serious Guide” series. This follow-up to WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD is all about the very strange, very tough FLAMINGO! And I’m happy to report that Joey the snake is back to experience it all with the reader. This book is scheduled to release in the summer of 2024.
I also recently finished illustrating a wonderfully clever book written by Charlotte Offsay called THE QUIET FOREST. This book will be released in March 2024 from Paula Wiseman Books. It’s about a very mischievous mouse who starts a chain of chaos in a formerly quiet forest, and it involves a lot of very disgruntled forest animals. It’s a ton of fun, and I’m really excited about it. This was the first time I illustrated a book I didn’t write, and it was fun to see how Charlotte’s words and my pictures came together.
VF:Those both sound fantastic! I look forward to seeing them next year. Thank you so much for sharing your journey for WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD with us. I’ve learned so much from chatting with you and from getting a peek at this hilarious book!
AC: Thanks so much for the interview, Vicky! This was fun. And I’m looking forward to chatting with you again later this summer about your upcoming book, THE BOO CREW NEEDS YOU!
VF:Looking forward to it too! Thank you again for sharing your insights with us today, Abi!
Author-Illustrator Abi Cushman Photo credit: P.A. Smith
AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR BIO:
Abi Cushman is the author-illustrator of SOAKED! (Viking, 2020), ANIMALS GO VROOM! (Viking, 2021) and WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD (Greenwillow, 2023).
She has also worked as a web designer for over 15 years. She runs two popular websites of her own: My House Rabbit, a pet rabbit care site, and Animal Fact Guide, which was named a “Great Website for Kids” by the American Library Association. Did you know that wombat poop is cube-shaped? You do now! (And no, you’ll never un-know that.)
Abi lives in a small Connecticut beach town with her family. In her spare time, she enjoys running, playing tennis, and eating nachos. (Yes, at the same time.)
She is represented by BookStop Literary Agency and is a proud member of the Soaring 20s, a group of picture book authors and illustrators who debuted in 2020/21.
INTERVIEW BIO:
Vicky Fang is a product designer who spent 5 years designing kids’ technology experiences for both Google and Intel, often to inspire and empower kids in coding and technology. She started writing to support the growing need for early coding education, particularly for girls and kids of color. She is the author, and sometimes illustrator, of nineteen new and upcoming books for kids, including the Layla and the Bots series, Invent-a-Pet, I Can Code board books, Friendbots series, and the forthcoming Ava Lin series, Best Buddies series, AlphaBot, and The Boo Crew Needs You!. You can visit Vicky at vickyfang.com.
There’s a timeless, feel-good quality to Roxanne Troup’sdebut fiction picture book My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me, illustrated by Kendra Binney. After finishing it, I wanted to sit back and imagine myself in the bucolic surroundings where the story takes place.
Binney’s appealing artwork transported me to a pecan orchard for the first time where the action unfolds as a little girl spends time with her grandfather and narrates, “My grandpa planted a tree for me on the day I was born.” She also tells us that, despite having an orchard full of pecan trees, Grandpa’s favorite tree is that particular one, thus establishing the strong bond these two characters share.
Through changing seasons starting in winter when it’s pruning time, and the annual growth cycle of the orchard, we learn how pecans mature and are harvested. At the same time, the special relationship between the child and her grandpa exudes from the warm, muted illustrations coupled with Trout’s lyrical prose. I especially felt that each time I read the lovely repeating phrase “But not my tree.” In spread after spread the young girl describes how the other pecan trees are treated en masse as part of the commercial harvesting process, while hers receives individualized care from her grandpa. Together the two tend to her tree with love and respect which also serves as a metaphor for their relationship.
At last, when the husks open, it’s harvest time. The joy is palpable on the page. Then “Grandpa attaches a padded arm to his tractor. It hugs the trees’ trunks and shakes until leaves and twigs and pecans rain down.” When it’s her turn and with Grandpa there to savor the experience, the girl uses a long pole to make the pecans drop. The orchard’s pecans will be collected by the harvester for sale but the girl’s pecans will be baked into a scrumptious pecan pie. And, not to spoil the beautiful ending, suffice it to say that Troup and Mother Nature’s miraculous cycle of growth delivers a delightful and very satisfying dénouement in this touching layered tale.
Troup, who is not a newcomer to writing, knows how to tell an engaging and tender story while infusing interesting information into it, clearly owing to her extensive nonfiction background. The pacing of My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me moves forward easily like the seasons in the orchard. There’s a soothing rhythm to the language that makes the book an ideal read any time of the day, including bedtime. Did you know that pecans are considered a native nut to North America? Find an All About Pecans note detailing the history of the commercial pecan industry along with a helpful glossary in the back matter.
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
Vicky Fang: Elisa, HIDDEN HOPE is such an inspiring book. I love that you’re able to share a story that is so historically rich in such a compelling way. How did you come up with the idea for this book?
Elisa Boxer: Vicky, thank you so much. Great to be here with you. The idea for this book began when I first saw this photoon Yad Vashem’s website:
Wooden Toy Duck Credit Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Yad Vashem is the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel, and this hollowed-out wooden duck is part of the artifacts collection. When I learned that this duck was made with a secret compartment to hide documents from the Nazis during World War Two, and that the French Resistance worker who used it to smuggle those documents was a teenager, I knew this was a story I wanted to tell.
VF:It’s such a fascinating story! In addition to writing children’s books, you’re also a journalist. How does your background as a journalist affect your work as a children’s book author?
EB: I definitely combine the two on a daily basis. Whether it’s doing research, conducting interviews, writing a narrative, distilling complex issues down to manageable bits of information, or zeroing in on areas of emotional resonance with the audience, the processes with journalism and book writing are very similar. And the result, telling a (hopefully) compelling story with a strong emotional takeaway, is always my goal.
VF: I would say you’d definitely succeeded withHIDDEN HOPE. In the backmatter, you also talk about your personal connection to this topic … could you share a bit about that?
EB: My personal connection is two-fold: Both sides of my family are of Eastern European descent, and relatives on each side were killed during the Holocaust. As both a journalist and an author, I definitely feel compelled to help shine a light on these atrocities. But also, growing up, I often felt like I had to hide my Jewish voice because my childhood was filled with so many personal and hurtful incidents of Antisemitism. I wasn’t strong enough back then to stand up to hate; to expose injustice. So in a way, I suppose I’m making up for lost time. When I first saw that picture of the duck, it struck me that here is this artifact, in an international museum, on display for all to see. And yet it was never supposed to be there, according to Hitler’s plan. If anything, it was supposed to be in his intended “museum of an extinct race.” As were all Jewish artifacts and all Jewish signs of life. So on a personal level, as I mention in my Author’s Note, I want to help bring more and more stories like this out of the darkness and into the light.
VF:Could you talk about your experience in writing this book? Was it hard to spend so much time on such a difficult topic?
EB:It’s so interesting, this question has come up quite a bit. People ask whether it’s been hard to write about such a dark topic. And while there’s no question that this was an unimaginably devastating time in history, the whole point of the Holocaust was to create a master race and erase the Jewish people from the face of the earth. And yet so many of us are here writing about it. We’re bringing these stories to light. We’re the descendants that were never supposed to be here. And not only are we here, we’re raising our voices to tell the stories that the Nazis never wanted told. There is something incredibly uplifting and empowering about that. I never want to stop doing it.
VF:What a wonderful message, thank you. Amy June Bates’ illustrations also do such a good job of highlighting the mood and the action of HIDDEN HOPE and I love that there’s an Artist’s Note in the end from her. What did you think when you first saw her illustrations?
EB:Oh I love Amy’s Artist’s Note too! And exactly about highlighting the mood and the action. I have been researching the French Resistance for years, and have so many images in my mind. But Amy has an incredibly unique gift for creating old-world style art that takes you back and makes you feel like you’re right there, in the middle of it all, riding along with Judith and the duck on the streets of Paris. I was in awe of her work from the time I first saw her preliminary sketches. Her art is so authentic that it makes the whole book feel like an artifact in itself. One of the most powerful details to me is the contrast of vibrant, saturated color from Judith’s beret with the more muted, cloudy, shadowy watercolor illustrations that so perfectly capture the somber feel of what was happening. A recent Booklist review highlighted one of my favorite spreads: “One particularly haunting spread casts the reader’s gaze through a jagged, broken windowpane to bear witness to soldiers’ cruelties.” I mean, the art on every page is extraordinary, but that scene really stands out.
VF:What do you hope young readers take away from this story?
EB: Initially, I wanted to tell this story because it’s so full of hope and intrigue and I wanted young readers to find inspiration in this little-known hero who was filled with determination in such a dark time. And I wanted this book to take its place alongside others that are opening up wider conversations about Antisemitism. But as I began really feeling into the deeper layers, which for me comes during the writing process, I began to realize that this is, ultimately, a story about the importance of never having to hide the truth of who you are. Although certainly nothing can be directly compared to the horrors of the Holocaust, I do think many of us have aspects of ourselves that maybe we feel unsafe showing to the world. I actually found myself asking some uncomfortable questions, like: “Where and with whom do I feel like I have to hide the full truth of who I am?” These aren’t always conscious questions. But I do hope one of the takeaways for young readers (and older ones too) is deciding to show up in any given situation as the most authentic version of who they are. Not hiding. Bringing their fullest selves into the world.
EB: With nonfiction picture books, I’m looking for that “YES!” in my gut that keeps drawing me back to the topic. I’m initially looking for inspirational people, places, or events that I find intriguing enough to spark my curiosity and make me want to dig deeper. And then there has to be something more. For example, with SPLASH! Ethelda Bleibtrey Makes Waves of Change, it was impressive that Ethelda was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming. But when I learned that she used swimming to help heal from polio, and that she got arrested for standing up to sexist laws that said all women had to swim with socks, I knew this story had the potential to inspire young readers to break barriers in their own lives.
With COVERED IN COLOR: Christo & Jeanne-Claude’s Fabrics of Freedom, I knew that Christo and Jeanne-Claude were a dynamic duo who created massive displays of public art like wrapped buildings and islands. But when I researched more about Christo’s background, I learned he grew up under Nazi rule and then under Communism. This fascinated me, how someone whose childhood was filled with so much suppression could dream up and generate these wild, large-scale, outside-the-box creations. And so this became a story about courage, and pushing the limits of what appears to be possible, and creativity that refuses to be contained. So with each topic, in order to pursue it as a book, there has to be the potential for a strong inspirational theme and emotional takeaway.
VF:So what’s next for you?
EB:Right now I’m looking forward to this book launching into the world on March 14th! I’m so happy to have heard from teachers around the country who will be incorporating it into their Holocaust education curriculum, and am looking forward to virtual author visits to support that.
Next year, I have four more books on the way: DEAR YOUNGER ME: What 35 Trailblazing Women Wish They’d Known as Girls (Rowman & Littlefield), THE TREE OF LIFE: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World (illustrated by Alianna Rozentsveig, published by Penguin/Rocky Pond Books), BEAM OF LIGHT: The Story of the First White House Menorah (illustrated by Sophia Moore, published by Penguin/Rocky Pond Books) and one that hasn’t been announced yet. 2024 is going to be a busy year! Meanwhile, I’m working on more picture books, as well as a middle-grade novel and a middle-grade collective biography that I’m really excited about.
EB: Thank you so much for this interview, Vicky. And to Ronna, for hosting us. And to everyone who supports our books!
VF:Thank you, Elisa, for sharing your personal story behind this beautiful book, HIDDEN HOPE: HOW A TOY AND A HERO SAVED LIVES DURING THE HOLOCAUST. It’s been an inspiring conversation!
Elisa Boxer is an Emmy and Murrow award-winning journalist whose work has been featured in publications including TheNew York Times and Fast Company. She has reported for newspapers, magazines and TV stations, and has a passion for telling stories about people finding the courage to create change. She is the author of several nonfiction picture books including The Voice That Won the Vote, A Seat at the Table, One Turtle’s Last Straw, SPLASH! (a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection), Covered in Color (called “compelling from cover to cover” in a Kirkus starred review) and Hidden Hope (called “an important true account to add to all collections” in a School Library Journal starred review). Elisa lives in Maine, and has more children’s books on the way. Visit her at https://www.elisaboxer.com/
Vicky Fang is a product designer who spent 5 years designing kids’ technology experiences for both Google and Intel, often to inspire and empower kids in coding and technology. She started writing to support the growing need for early coding education, particularly for girls and kids of color. She is the author, and sometimes illustrator, of nineteen new and upcoming books for kids, including the Layla and the Bots series, Invent-a-Pet, I Can Code board books, Friendbots series, and the forthcoming Ava Lin series, Best Buddies series, AlphaBot, and The Boo Crew Needs You! You can visit Vicky at vickyfang.com.
Inspired by the true-life events of the author’s mother, The Moon from Dehradun written by Shirin Shamsiand illustrated by Tarun Lakis a powerful and poignant story of the 1947 Partition of India.
Azra can hear the anger on the street just outside her home. “‘[People] are afraid,’” her Ammi says, “‘because our home has been divided ….’” Azra and her family have been living in Dehradun for generations. She tells her doll, Gurya, they will have to leave “‘in five days,’” but when Abba comes home frantic and distressed, it’s clear staying any longer will be far too dangerous.
The book gracefully manages complex and difficult topics such as displacement and political unrest by filtering them through young Azra’s perspective. The focus is on her feelings: feelings of fear in not knowing what’s to come, heartbrokenness for leaving Gurya behind in the rush to depart, and anger at her baby brother for “making” her forget to grab her beloved doll before leaving home forever. “My heart sinks like a stone in a well.” Azra expresses her grief in beautiful, lyrical language. The finality of the move and loss of home and place is gently emphasized by the refrain, “We cannot go back.” Lak’s use of muted colors in browns, pinks, and blues and sweeping scenes amplifies the sadness and confusion underway during the mass uprooting caused by the Partition.
The long train ride leads Azra and her family to Lahore where friendly neighbors, familiar spaces, and a surprise discovery provide hope for a new home and new beginnings.
Educational and inspirational, this book is a moving story of courage, hope, and resilience.
Back matter includes a glossary, author’s note, and information about the Partition.
