children’s non-fiction – Katie L. Carroll

I’m very excited to welcome fellow New England SCBWI member Meg Thacher to the blog to celebrate the release of her STEM non-fiction children’s book STAR GAZING: A GUIDE TO THE MOON, SUN, PLANETS, STARS, ECLIPSES, AND CONSTELLATIONS. I was very lucky to get an early copy (and the boys were super excited to check it out) and you can read my 5-star review on Goodreads.

Star Gazing: A Guide to the Moon, Sun, Planets, Stars, Eclipses, and Constellations had a bit of an unusual path to publication. What were the circumstances of how you came to write the book?

One day I got an email from Deb Burns, an acquiring editor at Storey Publishing, asking if I’d be interested in writing a book about astronomy for kids. It seemed completely out of the blue, but Storey’s model is to find experts to write books about what they’re experts in. I teach astronomy at Smith College, and by that time I’d written 19 articles for kids’ magazines. So I also had a track record of writing for kids, working to spec, and (mostly) meeting deadlines. Deb and I wrote the book proposal together, she pitched it to her editorial team, and we got the green light. So I highly recommend writing for magazines—it’s a great way to break into the business!

The design of the book is beautiful and it’s filled with so many fun little tidbits. How collaborative was the process of making the book?

Very collaborative. Along with my manuscript, I provided Storey with a list of suggested illustrations—photos, figures from the internet, and little sketches I’d made by hand or (I’m totally serious here) with Powerpoint. After Deb and a copy editor spiffed up my manuscript, my amazing book designer (Jessica Burns) took over. Storey hired an illustrator (Hannah Bailey) to do the diagrams, pictures, and amazing graphic novel sequences. It took three draft layouts and two in-person meetings to get to the final product (this was BC, before COVID). My main job during this process was making sure everything was scientifically accurate. Hannah’s illustrations look SO much better than my sketches, and Jess is just a wizard of putting text and illustrations on a page so that they make sense.

What is your favorite part of the writing process? What is your least favorite part?

I love everything about the writing process except actually writing! I’m a plotter, so I outline like crazy—the only way I can write nonfiction is to know where I’m going at all times. I am a research nerd, of course. And I really like to revise: it’s so satisfying when I find the perfect word or turn of phrase. But my first drafts? Blech.

What is next for you in your writing career? Do you have an upcoming releases or a favorite project you’re working on right now?

No upcoming releases yet. I’m working on a middle grade informational fiction book about a 5^th grade girl who loves astronomy. And like all children’s writers, I have a computer folder full of picture book manuscripts that are slowly making the rounds.

And finally, what is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

I’m a really good swimmer. I was never on a swim team, but I lifeguarded and taught swimming from age 18 to 24. I can keep up with people who are in much better shape than I am because I have good form and an efficient stroke. (Just don’t ask me to do the butterfly!)

STAR GAZING blurb:

Sky Gazing is a guide to observing the sky from wherever you are, day or night—no telescope required. Kids aged 9–14 will learn how to find objects in the sky and delve into the science behind what they see, whether they live in a dark rural setting or under the bright lights of the city. Star charts will guide them in spotting constellations throughout the seasons and in both hemispheres while they learn about constellation myths from cultures around the world. Each chapter has guides to special events and binocular observing. Activities engage kids and their grown-ups in hands-on science.

Buy the book on Amazon, IndieBound, Better World Books, or Barnes & Noble.

About the Author:

Meg Thacher has been writing for children’s magazines since 2013, publishing thirty nonfiction features, infographics, scientist profiles, current events, DIY experiments, and a reader’s-theatre-style retelling of a Welsh folktale. Her debut book, Sky Gazing, comes out on October 13. She’s an active member of SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and two critique groups. She is now in her twenty-second year teaching astronomy at Smith College, where she has also taught writing. She enjoys singing, knitting, and swimming, and lives in a partially empty nest in western Massachusetts.

Website: megthacher.com

Twitter: @MegTWrites

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/MegTWrites

Today I have a great guest post from Julie Murphy, author of the picture book GILLY’S TREASURES. I always love seeing how people’s day jobs or passions influence what they write, and Julie’s post is full of wonderful pictures. Let’s give her a big welcome!

Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Katie, and helping me to celebrate the October 11 release of my new fiction picture book for children (4-8), Gilly’s Treasures.

Some writers say they always wanted to be an author, but my journey to Gilly’s Treasures was a little more roundabout. I always loved animals, so after finishing school I went to university and studied to become a zoologist – a scientist who studies animals.

The mornings were cold, but living close to a seal colony for a couple of weeks was a wonderful experience. (There’s a baby seal on the rock behind/between us.)

I was especially drawn to animal behavior, and studied how guide dog trainers assess the temperament of their trainee guide dogs for my Masters thesis. It was a great project, but city-based, so I made a point of helping friends with their projects in the field which got me out into nature from time to time. Among other things, I helped to collect sea cucumbers (which, despite their name, are actually animals!), and sea stars, and observed a population of fur seals on a restricted stretch of shoreline for ten precious days. That last project was especially amazing – and liberating. Can you imagine? Three young women on our own, camping along the coastline next to a colony of hundreds of seals. Our only outside contact was a radio call to the local ranger every afternoon to say we were okay. It was fantastic!

With a baby wombat in my zookeeper days. Wombats are still one of my favorite animals.

Later on, I worked as a zookeeper for ten years. But even then I couldn’t resist doing voluntary research projects in my spare time. One project involved rigging up time-lapse cameras to film the nocturnal behavior of native Australian mammals. I wanted to find out when they were active, what they did, and how they got along with each other in their mixed-species enclosures. Of course, doing the research is only half the job; the other half is sharing the results with others who could benefit from them. So I wrote my results into an article for a zoo journal, and presented them at a conference. This is how my published writing list began.

I view science as having a healthy curiosity about the world and trying to answer some of the questions we have about it. I believe that curiosity is something we should actively encourage in our kids, which is one reason why I love writing for children. It’s my chance to encourage children to be excited by nature, and life in general. Not only is it enriching for the child, but the more that children learn about animals and the environment, the more they will care about conservation.

My daughter (3) has always enjoyed exploring nature, and I’m sure she benefits from it in many ways.

It wasn’t until I became a stay-at-home mom that I focussed on writing for children. Reading picture books every day to my daughter taught me about the kinds of books that were being published, and through which publishers. I was able to use my science training to get a foot in the door with some publishers with work-for-hire, which involved writing non-fiction books about animals and the environment to specific briefs provided by the publisher.

It was a steep learning curve, but doing writing courses (some on-line), joining organizations such as the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and finding some trusted critique partners to provide honestfeedback all helped me to improve – and still do! And it turns out that the skills I learnt from working in science – objective observation, critical thinking, research, and concise writing – have all come in handy too.

Some of my non-fiction books about animals.

I am extra excited to welcome Gilly’s Treasures into the world because it is my first fiction picture book that began as my own idea (as opposed to from a publisher’s brief). Here’s the blurb: While out fishing, Gilly the seagull finds a beautiful, shiny treasure. He loves it so much he can’t help searching for more…and more. Will he ever be satisfied with what he has? The story has the feel of a traditional fable, which illustrator Jay Fontano has done a wonderful job balancing with fun, friendly illustrations. I especially love the new character he introduced – an adorable little crab. I am sure children will love spotting him (or her!) on each page.

I hope that readers of Gilly’s Treasures will be inspired to visit the beach for themselves, and maybe find a treasure or two of their own. (I for one can never leave a beachcombing session without a pretty shell or two in my pocket!) And it might even spawn a conversation about what they hold most important in their own lives.

A “family portrait” from one of my beach holidays.

About the Author:

Julie Murphy is a children’s writer of both fiction and non fiction. She trained as a zoologist and zookeeper, and is never far from animals and nature. Her favorite place to be is at the beach. She lives in Melbourne, Australia – a country surrounded by beach – with her husband and daughter.

Julie Murphy’s web site – (not working) www.juliemurphybooks.com

P.S. On a sad note, my website host has gone missing in action. True! I have set up an interim web site, in case anyone is interested. You will find it at http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~julieamurphy/

Twitter: @juliekidsbooks

Facebook page with book preview: www.facebook.com/GILLYSTREASURES

Gilly’s Treasures is available from many on-line book stores, including Cedar Fort’s sales site, Books & Things (free postage to most states in the US): www.booksandthings.com