Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,
where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.
This month’s question:
“How did you come up with the idea for your most recent book?”
Carrie Finison
“For my upcoming book, LULU & ZOEY: A SISTER STORY, I remember vividly the moment I came up with the idea. I was driving my son home from preschool and his sister was baby-singing—loudly—in her infant seat. He complained bitterly that she was “always too loud,” and I responded with some parental wisdom about how no one is ever “always” anything. Sometimes she was too loud. Sometimes she was quiet. Sometimes she liked playing with him. Sometimes she wanted to play on her own. By the time we got home the structure of a new sibling story had taken shape.”
—Carrie Finison, author of LULU & ZOEY: A Sister Story, illus. Brittany Jackson (Running Press Kids, June 2022)
Rajani LaRocca
“I was attending a children’s literature symposium with friends in the summer of 2013. While I was waiting in line for lunch, a story idea popped into my head in a visual way: I thought of a sari, and how the colors and designs from the body are reflected in the border, and vice versa. I quickly drew a sketch in my notebook (which is unusual for me!). I then took notes on a “mirror story” about a girl and her grandmother, and how they are each homesick and lonely while visiting each other, and how they help each other feel at home. I’LL GO AND COME BACK was born.”
—Rajani LaRocca, author of I’LL GO AND COME BACK, illus. Sara Palacios (Candlewick Press, March 2022)
Hope Lim
“Childhood memories of my hometown in Korea and the changes I witnessed every time I visited my parents were the inspirations for MOMMY’S HOMETOWN. I used to walk to the river and play there all day. Sharing that memory with my kids and taking them to the river inspired me to write a story that captures the passage of time in a place where old and new coexist.”
—Hope Lim, author of MOMMY’S HOMETOWN, illus. Jaime Kim (Candlewick Press, April 2022)
Elisa Boxer
“My agent and I had been discussing writing a book about ocean pollution, so I began internet searches to narrow down the topic. When I came across the viral video of the turtle who nearly died from swallowing a straw, and the marine biologists who rescued him, I knew I wanted to share this story with kids!”
—Elisa Boxer, author of ONE TURTLE’S LAST STRAW: The Real-Life Rescue That Sparked a Sea Change, illus. Marta Alvarez Miguens (Crown/Random House Kids, May 2022)
Kim Rogers
“The inspiration for my lyrical debut picture book, JUST LIKE GRANDMA, came from a book and a song: Sylvia Liu’s A MORNING WITH GRANDPA, which touched me deeply, and a gorgeous line in a favorite song by the Goo Goo Dolls called “Autumn Leaves.” After reading Sylvia’s book, I knew I wanted to write a story about a Wichita granddaughter’s relationship with her grandmother, as intergenerational relationships are important to us in our Wichita culture.”
—Kim Rogers (Wichita), author of JUST LIKE GRANDMA, illus. Julie Flett (Cree-Métis) (Heartdrum/HarperCollins, Winter 2023)
Anna Crowley Redding
“I couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night. So I grabbed my phone and was reading news headlines when I spotted an Associated Press headline. The Coast Guard was naming a new ship after a hero, Kate Moore, who began keeping a lighthouse and saving lives at age 12 … in the 1800s. I was completely blown away. I started to work on a book about her the very next morning.”
—Anna Crowley Redding, COURAGE LIKE KATE: The True Story of Girl Lighthouse Keeper, illus. Emily Sutton (Random House Studio, August 2022)