Interview with Julie Downing: Illustrating The Firekeeper’s Son
interview by Vicki Palmquist and Marsha Qualey The illustrations in The Firekeeper’s Son are all double-page spreads. How did that design decision affect your choices and work? I decided on the format because the landscape is an important part of the story. The original dummy I made had fewer pages so I split many spreads […]
Interview with Linda Sue Park: Writing The Firekeeper’s Son
How do you begin the research for a story set long ago? I go to the library. I live in New York state, which has a wonderful interlibrary loan system. My local library can get me books from anywhere in the state. Many of my sources have come from the East Asian collections of university […]
Beautiful Books: an interview with designer Marty Ittner
For young writers who aspire to write information books of their own, or readers who will enjoy the experience of reading more, we’d like to help them understand how a book designer works. Marty Ittner designed Untamed: the Wild Life of Jane Goodall and graciously agreed to answer bookologist Vicki Palmquist’s questions. When you start the process […]
Interview with Anita Silvey: Writing about Dr. Jane Goodall
For young writers who aspire to write information books of their own, we’d like to help them understand how a writer works. When do you remember becoming aware of Dr. Jane Goodall? I worked at Houghton Mifflin when many of her books were being published and knew her editor well. The first time I […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]