Interviews
Granny Rex
Kurtis Scaletta is an experienced writer of middle grade and chapter books. Now his first picture book is out and we’re curious about his experience of writing in this format.
See the Author / See the Illustrator
Once in a while, a duo creates several books together and they get to know one another. We’re curious about how that works. Meet David LaRochelle, author, and Mike Wohnoutka, illustrator, of six books together (so far).
This Biographer and Her Living Subject
I wonder how often a picture book biographer has been friends with her subject for several decades and then worked closely with that person to get her manuscript just right.
Pamela S. Turner
I had several goals from the onset. The first was to make human evolution understandable. I have always been interested in the topic but found it very confusing
This is the Planet Where I Live
Illustrating a book written by K.L. Going, This is the Planet Where I Live, Debra Frasier works with collage that exuberantly celebrates our connections to everything on this earth.
Superheroes and Lost Things
The titles of J.S. Puller’s first two books intrigued me so much that I immediately checked them out of the library. Once I finished them, I asked her for an interview.
The Startup Squad
In which we interview Brian Weisfeld, one of the authors of The Startup Squad series, featuring a reluctant team of four girls who start their own business. I found them to be charming … and I mean that in both senses of the word: being appealing and casting a spell.
Gennifer Choldenko
I’m so pleased to have Gennifer Choldenko grant Bookology an interview about all the questions I’ve bottled up since reading Orphan Eleven, her newest novel. Each one of her novels is a page-turner from first to last, often introducing history we didn’t know but can’t wait to learn more about. Those are my favorite sorts of books.
Writing a Funny Book
One of my favorite books of Gennifer Choldenko’s is One-Third Nerd, in which a brother and two sisters attempt to solve the problem of their beloved dog being incontinent in their rented apartment, over which the landlord threatens to evict them. They’ve been told a vet could fix the problem, but surgery for their dog is low
When the Meteorologist Writes the Weather Books
It’s not often that we get to interview a subject expert about a series of books on that expert’s area of knowledge. We’re pleased to talk with the author of the Bel the Weather Girl books, six of them, each presenting a weather topic that kids will feel better about if they understand it: clouds, thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes,
When Sue Found Sue
Is there any museum exhibit more fascinating than Sue, the T. rex, at The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois? Now there’s a curiosity-raising, shyness-recognizing, discussion-worthy book about the other Sue, the woman who discovered the T. rex during a dig in South Dakota. For elementary school students and your dinosaur-inspired kids in the library and at home,
The Lost Forest
How many books can you name that are about surveying … and a mystery? I know. Right? And yet we see surveyors every day in fields, on busy street corners, and in our neighborhoods. What are they doing? Would it surprise you to know that nearly every acre of your state has been surveyed? That knowledge about
Eliza Wheeler
Eliza Wheeler is the fascinating illustrator of many books, including John Ronald’s Dragons: The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Pomegranate Witch, and Tell Me a Tattoo Story. You can read about her work on her Wheeler Studio blog. For this interview, we are focusing on a series she has illustrated for Candlewick Press, the Cody books by
Linda Sue Park
Melanie Heuiser Hill recently interviewed Linda Sue Park, curious about her daily work habits as a writer, and how Linda Sue balances life and work. Do you have specific writing goals that you formulate and work toward — a certain number of words/pages a day, a draft finished by a certain date, revision done in x number of weeks
Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award Committee
We’re in the midst of award season, when best of the year lists and speculation about award winners proliferate on the social media platforms swirling around children’s and teen books. In November, we attended the award ceremony at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute’s Children and Young Adult Literature Conference, which takes place at Northland College