Interviews
Interview: Candace Fleming
Bulldozer’s Big Day is a perfect read-aloud, with wonderful sound and action opportunities on most pages. Did those moments affect your decision about what verbs to use? How lovely you think it’s a perfect read aloud. I worked hard at the story’s readability. Not only did I strive for a pace and cadence, but I
Interview: Eric Rohmann
Bulldozer’s Big Day written by Candace Fleming illustrated by Eric Rohmann Atheneum, 2015 interview by Vicki Palmquist What’s the illustration tool you turn to more than any other? Graphite pencil. Simple, efficient, erasable, feels good in the hand, makes a lovely line with infinite possibilities for line variation. Did I mention that it’s erasable? Always
Interview: Ann Bausum
With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman’s Right to Vote Ann Bausum National Geographic, 2004 interview by Vicki Palmquist You state that you weren’t taught women’s history in school. (Neither was I. I remember reading and re-reading the few biographies in the library about Molly Pitcher, Clara Barton, and Florence Nightingale.) When you went
Interview: Rita Williams-Garcia
Interview by Vicki Palmquist When you wrote One Crazy Summer, did you already know you had a longer story to tell? And if you didn’t know then, when did you know? I was so focused on telling the one story of children’s involvement in the Black Panther Movement. As I dug into my characters’ backstories
Nikki Grimes: Researching and Writing Chasing Freedom
Interview by Vicki Palmquist Chasing Freedom written by Nikki Grimes illustrated by Michelle Wood Orchard Books, 2014 Did you know more about one of your two characters when you conceived of the book? Yes. I knew a fair amount about Harriet Tubman. Hers was one of the few stories about African Americans brought out every
Kekla Magoon: Writing Historical Fiction
interview by Ricki Thompson RICKI: Kekla, thanks so much for joining me and your other fans (old and new) on Bookology! Your novels have been described as “well-paced,” “deeply-layered,” and “elegantly crafted.” I especially admire the uncomfortable issues you confront and the risks you take in your stories. You’ve authored a number of engaging books, but today
A Conversation Between Avi and Gary D. Schmidt
When Avi published his 1950s’ era novel, Catch You Later, Traitor, he dedicated the book to Gary D. Schmidt, fellow author, fellow reader, fellow connoisseur of noir detective novels and history. The Bookologist is privileged to listen in on this conversation between two authors who are so greatly admired for the depth and texture within
Interview with Sonny Liew
The Shadow Hero written by Gene Luen Yang illustrated by Sonny Liew First Second, 2014 Growing up in Malaysia and Singapore, what were the popular comic books? Well in terms of what you’d see at the newsstands , there was Old Master Q or Lao Fu Zhi from Hong Kong. In schools, there’d always be someone
Interview with Gene Luen Yang
The Shadow Hero written by Gene Luen Yang illustrated by Sonny Liew First Second, 2014 What qualifies a comics character as a superhero? You’ve asked a question that lies at the very heart of geekdom. I don’t know if there’s a solid answer. Most superheroes have superhuman abilities, but not all. Most superheroes wear colorful costumes,
Catherine Thimmesh: Researching Paleoartistry
How did you learn about paleoartists? While I was working on my book Lucy Long Ago, part of that research revealed the work of a paleoartist who reconstructed living creatures from paleo times based on fossil evidence, including the hominid, Lucy. How did you decide which paleoartists to contact? I researched the world’s top paleoartists — as
Ellen Oh: Researching and Writing the Prophecy Trilogy
Bookologist’s note: Last month we featured Catherine, Called Birdy and an interview with the author, Karen Cushman. In that interview, nonfiction writer Claire Rudolf Murphy asked Cushman about her research and incorporation of historical fact into her fiction. Continuing that exploration, this month Bookology visits with novelist Ellen Oh. King, the final volume of
Cathy Camper: Writing Lowriders in Space
Lowriders in Spacewritten by Cathy Camper illustrated by Raul the Third Chronicle Books, 2014 When did you first become aware of (or involved in) lowrider culture? Probably in the early 1980’s, when I visited a friend of mine who lived in the Mission District of San Francisco. There were a lot of lowriders in the
Raul the Third: Illustrating Lowriders in Space
Lowriders in Space written by Cathy Camperillustrated by Raul the ThirdChronicle Books, 2014 When did you first become aware of (or involved in) lowrider culture? I feel like I’ve been aware of lowrider culture for my entire life. When I was in high school I would draw the type of imagery you might see used
Karen Cushman: Researching and Writing
interview by Claire Rudolf Murphy Congratulations, Karen. Your first novel and Newbery Honor book Catherine Called Birdy is 20 years old and still going strong. The story still resonates with teen readers, especially girls, and is remembered fondly and reread by many readers who are grown up now. One such fan is actress Lena Dunham,
Chris Van Dusen: Illustrating Leroy Ninker Saddles Up
Leroy Ninker first appeared in Mercy Watson Fights Crime as the criminal. Did you consciously change his appearance for Leroy Ninker Saddles Up to make him a more sympathetic character? I’m not sure that I consciously changed his appearance. I tried to make him look like the same character. In the original series he