20 questions: Drawing from real life versus making things up

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.

(Note that we enjoy the series so much we’ve decided to just keep the questions coming!)

This month’s question:

What in your latest book is drawn from real life, and what, if anything, is made up?

Valerie Bolling

“In my RAINBOW DAYS early reader series, Zoya and her puppy, Coco, love to create art together. In THE ORANGE WALL, Zoya paints her room. When she finishes painting, she decides to… (spoiler alert) paint a mural on one of the walls. The idea for what she paints on that wall was inspired by my own experience. I enjoy walking in the woods, and so Zoya paints a scene of herself, walking in the woods with her dad and Coco.” 

– Valerie Bolling, author of RAINBOW DAYS: THE ORANGE WALL, illustrated by Kai Robinson (Scholastic, 2024)

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Candy Wellins

“A GEODUCK IS NOT A DUCK examines the very real geoduck, the world’s largest species of burrowing clams. Pronounced “gooey duck,” a made-up news crew (comprised of a talking Sea Star, giant Pacific Octopus, and Otter) is on a mission to find an actual gooey duck. A knowledgeable crab is full of real facts about geoducks that are misunderstood again and again.”

–Candy Wellins, author of A GEODUCK IS NOT A DUCK, illustraded by Ellie Peterson (Little Bigfoot, 2024)

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Margaret Chiu Greanias

In HOW THIS BOOK GOT RED, Red, a red panda, recognizes that none of the books are about her kind of panda, so she decides to write her own. In the midst of struggling with writing her story, she sees a town where red panda representation is missing: in books, in merchandise, all the way down to the doll a baby red panda holds. The idea behind this story came from my childhood growing up with very little positive Asian representation in media and books. Like the baby red panda holding the giant panda doll, the dolls I played with looked nothing like me. 

– Margaret Chiu Greanias, author of HOW THIS BOOK GOT RED, illustrated by Melissa Iwai (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2023)

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Hope Lim

“In Sourgrass, when Sofia and May venture out into the wild field, they nibble the stems of sourgrass and giggle. This scene came straight out of my kids’ preschool years. I chaperoned a field trip to a community garden located up on a grassy hill, and watching them smile under the bright sunshine in a field of sourgrass is one of my favorite memories from my kids’ preschool era. The two characters, Sofia and May, and the resolution of their story are made up. However, all the fun things Sofia and May enjoy in their yards and beyond come from real life. As a child, I played outside all the time, running through the fields and climbing mountains, and my kids also loved being in nature, always finding ways to have fun. I used these real-life memories of being outside in SOURGRASS.”

– Hope Lim, author of SOURGRASS, illustrated by Shahrzad Maydani (Beach Lane Books, 2024)

20 Questions: Things We Are Grateful for

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.

(Note that we enjoy the series so much we’ve reset for a second round of 20.)

This month’s question:

What’s one thing you’re grateful for in your creative or personal life?

Isabella Kung

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity and privilege to explore and express myself in a creative way. Not only does the act of writing and illustrating fulfill me to no end, it allows me to connect with others in a way very few can–especially kids! Just seeing the little ones light up and fill with joy when they read my books warms my heart.” 

– Isabella Kung, author-illustrator of NO SNOWBALL! (Orchard Books, 2022)

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Angela Burke Kunkel

“There’s a lot of overlap between what I’m grateful for in my personal life and my creative life. I’m grateful to live in a place full of natural beauty that inspires me daily. I’m grateful that my family, especially my husband, is supportive of my writing and celebrates all sorts of book-related milestones with me, large and small. I’m grateful that the words I’ve worked so hard on are then turned into beautiful art by illustrations whose talents I can’t even begin to comprehend. And I’m grateful to work in partnership with my editor, who so very carefully guides these books into existence!”

– Angela Burke Kunkel, author of MAKE WAY: THE STORY OF ROBERT McCLOSKEY, NANCY SCHÖN, AND SOME VERY FAMOUS DUCKLINGS (Random House Studio, 2023) and WORLD MORE BEAUTIFUL: THE LIFE AND ART OF BARBARA COONEY (Random House Studio, 2024)

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Kim Rogers

“When I was growing up, I never saw a kid like me in a book. I am so grateful that I get to publish books that allow Native kids, specifically Wichita kids, to see themselves centered as heroes in stories.”

– Kim Rogers, author of JUST LIKE GRANDMA and A LETTER FOR BOB (Heartdrum, 2023)

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“As newbie authors, we’re all tempted to seek relationships with editors and agents in pursuit of a contract. While those relationships are important, my friendships with local writers or writers I”ve met at conferences have sustained me through the tough times, motivated me, opened my eyes to new ideas and experiences, and made me a better writer. With love to all my writer-pals out there. You know who you are!”

– The Soaring 20s “collective unconscious”

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Valerie Bolling

“Seeing my words matched with gorgeous art to produce a book, meeting and inspiring young readers and writers, connecting with other creators who are also passionate about writing/illustrating stories for children are all things I’m grateful for. I’m also thrilled that I get to determine and manage my own schedule, which means I can make time for what’s important to me besides writing – like walking/exercising, reading, and spending time with my husband and our friends.”

– Valerie Bolling, author of BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!, illus. Sabrena Khadija (Abrams Appleseed, 2023)

20 Questions: Our First Stories

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.

(Note that we enjoy the series so much we’ve reset for a second round of 20.)

This month’s question:

What’s the first thing you remember writing or drawing, and how old were you?

Kirsten W. Larson

“I still have my first books from first grade, a book about snowy owls and the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria, complete with probably the best illustrations I’ve ever drawn (and that’s not saying much). Even as a kid, I was intrigued by true stories.”

—Kirsten W. Larson, author of THE FIRE OF STARS: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of, illus. Katherine Roy (Chronicle Books, 2023)

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Lindsay H. Metcalf

“I recently came across a treasure trove of stories that first-grade me wrote in 1988. Although there is some fiction (a romance about a waltzing ostrich), the most prevalent genre is personal essay, with such titles as ‘My Pet,’ ‘Teeth,’ and ‘I Like Baby Ducklings.’ I always thought I was a good speller, but, well . . . see for yourself.”

—Lindsay H. Metcalf, co-editor with Keila V. Dawson and Jeanette Bradley of NO WORLD TOO BIG: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change, illus. Jeanette Bradley (Charlesbridge, 2023)

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Kim Rogers

“I wrote my first poem in the first grade. It was raining that day, and I was filled with so much emotion that I had to put it down on paper. I wrote it on one of our worksheets and drew a picture of a girl under an umbrella next to it. When I got it back, my teacher told me that she really liked what I’d written.”

—Kim Rogers, author of A LETTER FOR BOB, illus. Jonathan Nelson (Heartdrum, 2023) 

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Valerie Bolling

“I wrote ‘poems’ in a bland, white marble composition book when I was six years old. Using the daily phonics lessons I’d learned, I created simple rhymes, like: There is a cat. It sat on a mat. It caught a rat.”

—Valerie Bolling, author of TOGETHER WE SWIM, illus. Kaylani Juanita (Chronicle, 2023)

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Abi Cushman

“My parents bought me a blank book when I was in elementary school. I was very excited because I could make my story look like a REAL book. While this wasn’t the first thing I ever wrote, it was the first book I remember writing and illustrating. Here’s the logline: When Mr. Johnson falls ill with a disease no one knew of, Petunia the cat and Wilber the dog travel to Italy and starve on the street, until… Okay, there was no ending.”

—Abi Cushman, author-illustrator of WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD: A [Not So] Serious Guide (Greenwillow Books, 2023)