Author Interviews – Page 11

Not Done Yet: An Interview with Author Tameka Fryer Brown and Illustrator Nina Crews

Today is election day and no one believed more in the power of voting than activist and politician Shirley Chisholm. Not Done Yet: Shirley Chisholm’s Fight for Change chronicles Shirley’s journey from teaching to entering politics, eventually becoming the first Black woman ever elected to Congress—and, in 1972, the first woman of any race to seriously run for president. Through poetry and digital illustration, author Tameka Fryer Brown and artist Nina Crews celebrate Chisholm’s determination and her commitment to working for rights for all. Although Chisholm is gone, her legacy lives on, continuing to inspire those who fight for fairness and change.

Today Tameka Fryer Brown and Nina Crews join us to discuss this stunning picture book biography. Read on to find a video from the author and information about how you can go vote!

Author Interviews

Torch: An Interview with Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Set in 1969 Prague, Torch explores the devastating impact of a totalitarian regime and the different ways young people carve out futures for themselves against impossible odds. The story is told from the perspective of three characters after 17-year-old Pavol fatally sets himself on fire to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann had her work cut out for her when writing this historical fiction. Today she joins us to give us the details. Read on to hear about her research and to download the free educator materials.

Author Interviews

Ice Cycle: An Interview with Author Maria Gianferrari

Pancake ice, floebergs, glaciers, icicles . . . cold temperatures create an astonishing variety of ice forms! Welcome winter with a poetic exploration of ice on land and at sea in Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice by Maria Gianferrari and Jieting Chen.

Please help us in welcoming author Maria Gianferrari to the Lerner blog to share her adventures and research writing this evocative and atmospheric picture book. Don’t forget to download the free activity guide!

Author Interviews

A Long Way from Home: An Interview with Author Laura Schaefer

There’s a lot to worry about in the current day, and twelve-year-old Abby holds it all in her head. In A Long Way from Home, Abby meets two boys from the future who need her help, so she decides to escape the depressing present by traveling to their time with them. But that’s not as simple as it seems.

Today author Laura Schaefer joins us to reveal her inspiration and how she explored her own style while writing the book. Read on to download the free educator resources!

Author Interviews

Yuck, You Suck!: An Interview with Authors Heidi E. Y. Stemple and Jane Yolen

Prepare to get sucked into a hilarious poetry collection in Yuck, You Suck!: Poems about Animals That Sip, Slurp, Suck. Sixteen slurpy poems introduce a suction-filled selection of animals, and spectacularly sticky illustrations from Eugenia Nobati spotlight these stupendous suckers.

Today we’re joined by the incredible author team Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple to hear about their writing journey! Read on to read about their experience and watch a fun read aloud video.

Author Interviews

The Lady and the Octopus: An Interview with Author Danna Staaf

Jeanne Villepreux-Power was never expected to be a scientist. In the early 1800s she took up natural history and solved the two-thousand-year-old mystery of how of the argonaut octopus gets its shell. Follow her story in the new nonfiction The Lady and the Octopus: How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology.

Today author and marine biologist Danna Staaf joins us to share her journey writing this inspiring title. Read on to hear about her research and to watch an introductory video!

Author Interviews

Funeral Girl: An Interview with Author Emma K. Ohland

Sixteen-year-old Georgia Richter feels conflicted about the funeral home her parents run—especially because she has the ability to summon ghosts. Funeral Girl follows Georgia as she reckons with her relationship to grief and mortality.

Today author Emma K. Ohland joins us on the blog to answer some questions about her writing process and her hopes for the book. Don’t forget to download the free discussion guide!

Author Interviews

Hear Me: An Interview with Author Kerry O’Malley Cerra

The new middle-grade novel Hear Me is a sensitive and authentic portrayal of a girl experiencing progressive hearing loss written by Kerry O’Malley Cerra who has also experienced progressive hearing loss. The story follows Rayne, who resists her parents’ efforts to “fix” her and rethinks her own assumptions about what her condition means for her.

Today Kerry joins us to share some of her inspiration for the book and her personal connections to the story. Don’t forget to download the free discussion guide and watch the official book trailer!

Author Interviews

A River’s Gifts: An Interview with Author Patricia Newman

The story of the Elwha River in Washington State is one of both environmental harm and restoration involving advocacy, persistence, cooperation, and hope. Author Patricia Newman and illustrator Natasha Donovan tell this story in the new nonfiction picture book A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn.

Patricia Newman joins us today to share how she discovered the Elwha River Restoration Project, her research process, and her hopes for young readers. Read on to download the free teaching guide.