SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: ADRIFT
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: www.heidistemple.com
CITY: Hatfield
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 279
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1966, in Hatfield, MA; daughter of David Stemple (a professor and ornithologist) and Jane Yolen (a writer and editor); children: Glendon, Maddison.
EDUCATION:Eckerd College, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Worked as a probation/parole officer in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, beginning 1990; also worked as a private investigator and a waitress.
AVOCATIONS:Traveling, cooking, reading, sewing, spending time with her daughters.
AWARDS:(With Jane Yolen) Quick Picks for Reluctant Young-Adult Readers selection, American Library Association, 2014, for Bad Girls.
WRITINGS
Contributor of recipes to How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies? by Jane Yolen, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2012. Work represented in anthologies, including Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jill M. Morgan, and Robert Weinberg, Random House (New York, NY), 1995, and Me, Myself, and I! Poems, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Sadlier-Oxford (New York, NY), 1998. Contributor of poems and short stories to periodicals, including American Girl, Baby Bug, Nick Jr., and Scope.
The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories was adapted for the stage by the Amherst, MA, Ballet.
SIDELIGHTS
UPDATE SUBMITTED IN SGML FORMAT
Born into a literary family, Heidi E.Y. Stemple often works in collaboration with her mother, Jane Yolen, an award-winning writer and editor for children. Together with Yolen, Stemple is the coauthor of such works as Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People, Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook, and Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves, and Other Female Villains. She also contributed her cooking talents to Yolen’s engaging “Fairy Tale Cookbooks” series.
Together with her two younger brothers, Stemple was raised on a former tobacco farm where one of the drying barns was converted into workshops housing silversmiths, potters, and leather workers. Her father David Stemple taught at the University of Massachusetts, while her mother wrote from home. Describing her upbringing as the child of a noted author, Stemple remarked to Cynsations interviewer with Cynthia Leitich Smith that “I honestly didn’t know any other life. Many of the adults around me were book people—Eric Carle, Trina Schart-Hyman, just to name-drop a few. I spent many of my summer vacations at conferences. I posed for book illustrations and covers—photographs and as an artist’s model. It was just how I grew up.”
Despite her mother’s celebrity, Stemple had no intentions of becoming a writer, and while a student at Eckerd College in Florida she volunteered her time working with illiterate adults, troubled youth, and emotionally disturbed children. After earning a bachelor’s degree in human resources and social work, she landed a job as a probation and parole office in Ft. Lauderdale, and work as a private investigator and a waitress also engaged Stemple before she tried her hand at writing.
Stemple and Yolen first combined their talents on “Daffodils,” a ghostly tale published in the 1995 anthology Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories. A year later, they released their first picture book, Meet the Monsters, an introduction to vampires, werewolves, golems, and other spooky creatures. “We actually work so well together because our processes are so much alike and, at the same time, very different,” Stemple later recalled to Smith. “We both just sit down and write, sometimes stumbling around for a plot. When it arrives (often very much unannounced) we are excited and surprised. And, we keep writing.”
Stemple and Yolen’s story The Mary Celeste became the first work in their critically acclaimed “Unsolved Mystery from History” series of true tales. In this work a young narrator—the daughter of a detective—investigates the bizarre case of an abandoned merchant ship, the Mary Celeste, which set sail from New York City on November 7, 1872, and was found less than a month later drifting off the coast of Gibraltar with no passengers on board. According to a contributor in Publishers Weekly, the coauthors “spin a suspenseful account and add further significance and factual detail through the clever informal format” they employ. In Booklist Carolyn Phelan described The Mary Celeste as “an intriguing book for history buffs, mystery buffs, and classroom discussion.”
In The Wolf Girls a budding detective/narrator examines the story of Kamala and Amala, two feral children who were discovered in rural India in 1920 by Christian missionary Joseph Singh. Believed to have been raised by wolves, the girls—who walked on all fours and howled like animals—were taken to Singh’s orphanage, where he attempted to reeducate them. The Wolf Girls serves as “tasty fodder for emerging detectives,” according to Anne Chapman Callaghan in her review of this “Unsolved Mystery from History” installment for School Library Journal.
As the ‘Unsolved Mystery from History’ series continues, Stemple and Yolen’s inquisitive narrator explores a travesty of justice in The Salem Witch Trials. During the summer and fall of 1692, nineteen men and women were convicted of witchcraft and executed in the village of Salem, Massachusetts. Here the coauthors offer five theories to explain the hysteria that gripped the region. Their book “effectively introduces an intriguing subject,” observed Ilene Cooper in Booklist, while School Library Journal reviewer Elaine Fort Weischedel asserted that the unusual narrative approach in The Salem Witch Trials “encourages readers to evaluate the evidence and draw their own conclusions.”
Stemple and Yolen profile twenty-six notorious figures from history in Bad Girls. Featuring illustrations by Rebecca Guay, the volume includes mini-biographies of biblical temptress Delilah, pirates Anne Bonney and Mary Read, espionage agent Mata Hari, and gangster Bonnie Parker, among others. The coauthors also engage in spirited debates about the guilt or innocence of each femme fatale, inviting readers to form their own conclusions. “Yolen and Stemple make an honest effort to lay out the life stories in as neutral terms as possible,” commented Elizabeth Bush in her Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books review, while in School Library Journal Paula Wiley stated of Bad Girls that “this book respects its readers as much as it does its subjects.”
Stemple and Yolen share their thoughts on subjects as diverse as body image, school safety, and loss in Dear Mother, Dear Daughter, a collection of seventeen poem pairs. On each double-page spread, Stemple presents a poem written in the voice of an adolescent and Yolen responds as a caring but firm parent on the facing page. The mother-and-daughter team discusses mundane subjects, including homework and ear piercing as well as a significant life events such as the death of a grandmother. According to Susan Scheps in School Library Journal, “Girls will feel a kinship with the younger poet’s words and feelings” in Dear Mother, Dear Daughter, while in Booklist Hazel Rochman suggested that the book may prompt readers “to write their own family conversations.”
Turning to younger children in Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep, Stemple and Yolen describe the activities of a dozen cuddly creatures that prepare to hibernate as winter approaches. “Sweet and warmly comforting, this is the picture book equivalent of a cup of hot cocoa,” noted a Publishers Weekly critic, while in School Library Journal Susan Weitz dubbed Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep “soothing, soporific, and magnetic” as well as “a special winter bedtime book.”
In Not All Princesses Dress in Pink Stemple and Yolen “turn noblesse oblige on its head with this tribute to girl power,” in the words of a Publishers Weekly critic. Told in rhyming verse, the work discourages that notion that playing ball, splashing in puddles, and using tools is strictly reserved for boys. Instead, the coauthors demonstrate that girls can follow their interests, whether they choose to dig in the dirt or climb a tree, and still remain feminine. According to Lauralyn Persson in School Library Journal, the story’s “message is one worth hearing, and the whimsy is appealing.”
Stemple and Yolen retell seven classic tales from around the world in The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories, which includes “Swan Lake,” “The Nutcracker,” and “Daphnis and Chloe.” “Magic intermingles with movement in nearly every story here,” noted Booklist critic Abby Nolan, and in School Library Journal Carol Schene described the anthology as a “well-conceived and colorful look at some of the great classical ballets.” A companion volume, The Barefoot Book of Dance Stories, comes to life in illustrations by Helen Cann and includes dance-related tales from around the world.
Asked if she had any advice for young authors, Stemple told Smith: “Read and write every day. Study good books—if you want to write picture books, go to the library or book store and read dozens of picture books. Read what you write aloud. Write for yourself, your children, or the child you used to be. If it happens to get published, that is great, but it is not the only thing. Write for the love of writing.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 15, 1999, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Mary Celeste, p. 447; May 1, 2000, Donna Seaman, review of Mirror, Mirror: Forty Folktales for Mothers and Daughters to Share, p. 1632; March 15, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People, p. 1393; July, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of Roanoke, the Lost Colony, p. 1888; September 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of The Salem Witch Trials, p. 118; November 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories, p. 498; November 1, 2006, Gillian Engberg, review of Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters, p. 62; January 1, 2011, Abby Nolan, review of The Barefoot Book of Dance Stories, p. 78; February 15, 2013, Ilene Cooper, review of Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves, and Other Female Villains, p. 68.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, February, 2013, Elizabeth Bush, review of Bad Girls, p. 316.
Children’s Bookwatch, December, 2004, review of The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2003, review of Roanoke, the Lost Colony, p. 865; August 15, 2004, review of The Salem Witch Trials, p. 815; July 15, 2006, review of Fairy Tale Feasts, p. 731; January 15, 2013, review of Bad Girls.
Publishers Weekly, November 22, 1999, review of The Mary Celeste, p. 56; March 27, 2000, review of Mirror, Mirror, p. 61; September 20, 2004, review of The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories, p. 65; December 18, 2006, review of Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep, p. 61; May 24, 2010, review of Not All Princesses Dress in Pink, p. 50; January 7, 2013, review of Bad Girls, p. 63.
Resource Links, June, 2013, Victoria Pennell, review of Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook, p. 61.
School Librarian, spring, 2010, Louise Ellis-Barrett, review of The Barefoot Book of Dance Stories, p. 41; autumn, 2013, Janet Dowling, review of Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts, p. 166.
School Library Journal, March 1, 2000, Katherine K. Koenig, review of Mirror, Mirror, p. 102; May, 2001, Susan Scheps, review of Dear Mother, Dear Daughter, p. 174, and Cynthia J. Rieben, review of Mirror, Mirror, p. 178; August, 2001, Anne Chapman, review of The Wolf Girls, p. 174; October, 2003, Nancy Palmer, review of Roanoke, the Lost Colony, p. 157; November, 2004, Elaine Fort Weischedel, review of The Salem Witch Trials, p. 174; December, 2004, Carol Schene, review of The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories, p. 172; November, 2006, Lauralyn Persson, review of Fairy Tale Feasts, p. 126; February, 2007, Susan Weitz, review of Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep, p. 98; June, 2010, Lauralyn Persson, review of Not All Princesses Dress in Pink, p. 86; December, 2010, Carol Schene, review of The Barefoot Book of Dance Stories, p. 98; January, 2013, Rachel Kamin, review of Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts, p. 135; April, 2013, Paula Willey, review of Bad Girls, p. 181.
ONLINE
Cynsations Web log, http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ (July 10, 2006), Cynthia Leitich Smith, interview with Stemple.
Heidi E.Y. Stemple Home Page, http://www.heidieystemple.com (November 1, 2014).
Heidi didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published more than thirty-five books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
Heidi lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with one very large cat who lives inside, and a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs who live outside. Once a year she calls owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
Heidi E. Y. Stemple didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published more than twenty-five books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
Heidi lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with one very small cat who lives inside, and a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs who live outside.
Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple grew up in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and after 18 years of living elsewhere, she has returned. She has also returned to the family business—writing children’s books—after working as a probation/parole officer and a private investigator. Heidi is Jane Yolen’s daughter and sometimes writing partner. They’ve co-authored several books together, including their History Mystery series (S&S) and Not All Princesses Dress in Pink (S&S). They also worked together on the nonfiction middle-grade Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderers, Thieves, and Other Female Villains (Charlesbridge, 2013), and their most recent picture book, You Nest Here with Me illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Boyds Mills Press, 2015). Heidi "starred" in her mother's 1988 Caldecott-winning book, Owl Moon.
Heidi E.Y. Stemple didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published almost 40 books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
Heidi lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with one very large cat who lives inside, and a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs who live outside. Once a year, she calls and counts owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
Author Interview: Heidi E.Y. Stemple
ON JANUARY 13, 2020 BY ONLY PICTURE BOOKSIN AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
OPB’s first author interview of 2020 is with Heidi E.Y. Stemple. Over the years, I’d had three personal picture-book-related interactions with her. The first was a paid critique at an SCBWI regional event in Miami a few years back. The next was me participating in the famous Picture Book Boot Camp at Jane Yolen’s super-cool farmhouse back in 2017, where Heidi both cooked (OMG and YUM!) and helped out with feedback and discussions, plus she took a bunch of us owling! The most recent was last month at a Highlights Foundation workshop where Heidi served as a faculty member (she’s the one in the front on the right–I’m just above her to the right, though since all the rest of the people there were women, I’m pretty hard to miss!)
Let’s put it plainly: Heidi knows her stuff. I know that firsthand, which is why I’ve asked her to help kick off the year with an interview that’s designed to get all picture book writers—from the newbies to the done-it-forever folks—inspired to make 2020 a great picture book year for us all.
But I know readers always want a bit of biographical goodness before getting into the Qs and the As and the Ins and Outs, so here are seven things about Heidi.
Lives next to her mom…by choice!
Barred owl hoot is 100% authentic.
Undergraduate degree was in psychology.
Worked as a private investigator.
Author of 25+ books (as well as oodles of short stories and poems).
Is the little girl in Owl Moon.
Grandfather Will was International Kite Flying Champion (and the inspiration for Heidi’s co-authored book A Kite for Moon).
With that, let’s zip right along to the interview. Let’s go!
website: www.heidieystemple.com
Twitter: @heidieys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/heidieystemple
Facebook: Owl Count
RVC: Let’s deal with the dinosaur in the room—your incredibly awesome mom, Jane Yolen (whose own OPB interview is here!). At what point did you realize the type of impact writing in general—and her writing, in specific—had on young readers?
HEYS: How do dinosaurs impact readers? (Bad joke?)
I grew up with a mom-writer and a father who was a bird watcher. Both those things are so intertwined into my upbringing that I cannot imagine a life without books and nature. As you can imagine, I have always been privy to people telling us what my mom’s writing has contributed to their and their children’s lives. But, I think that the full impact of this has really come in more recent times—when she and I began to work together so closely. When I started writing (I guess my “recent times” means in the last 25 years—ha!) and when I really took a deep dive into picture books—keeping up with the market and teaching—that is when I started paying attention to the real impact.
There is a moment any time writers are together that we say “and THAT is why we do this.” It’s often a reaction to something a kid reader, or a parent or teacher said. One kid, after a school visit, wrote to me and said “reading Bad Girls made me want to be a great writer.” Another couldn’t believe I had written about being a bird watcher because he thought he was the only person who loved owls so much and it was exciting to know there were more of us. But, there are bigger stories, too. The kid who, after being burned in an accident, wanted to share How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? with every kid in the burn unit. The girl who wrote to say she had been an awful sister to her twin brother until she read Mapping the Bones and she was going to make a real effort to be better.
I have been talking about Owl Moon for so many years. I take the responsibility of being that little girl (my mom’s book is based on my father and my—as well as my brothers’—nighttime owling adventures) quite seriously. The fact is, many kids don’t have nature outside their backdoor, or a trusted adult to take them out at night. All too often, their first time out in the woods—or the only time– is within those pages.
RVC: You avoided going into the “Family business” for a long time. What did you do along the way, and what skills/habits did those non-writing things give you that serve you well as an author?
HEYS: Every part of my journey to now impacts my writing—what I write about, how I write, why I write. After college, I worked as a probation/parole officer and a private investigator. I worked in and around law enforcement with victims and offenders for years. You can still find bits of this in my writing. Bad Girls is about women who committed all sorts of crimes. The Unsolved Mysteries from History are about investigation. My forthcoming graphic novel called (tentatively) Maddi Mouse and the Private Spies is about solving a crime. On the flip side of this is my love of birds from my dad. You Nest Here With Me, Fly with Me, and Counting Birds come directly from the way he raised me.
RVC: Your first publication was in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. What’s the story of how that came to happen?
HEYS: I had just interviewed for a new job as a counselor at a battered woman’s shelter. I discovered I was pregnant on the same day I got the call saying I got the job. Problem was, I was so sick in my early pregnancy, I could barely leave the house. No way I could start a new job. I was bored. So, I accepted a co-authorship opportunity for a story with my mom.
During the writing, I discovered some things about myself. Mainly, that I could write fiction. I knew I was a good writer, but that had been primarily report and legal writing (at the Department of Corrections, I wrote a lot of really great PSIs—Pre-Sentence Investigations). But, also, I learned that I could write an ending. I had written lots of stories without endings. That was always what scared me about fiction. Not finding ideas, or the writing, or the revision. But, endings are intimidating.
Funny story—it wasn’t until years later that I realized that so many pieces of my life had wound up in that story. In fact, it was about solving a ghost mystery. Turns out (spoiler alert) the woman who became the ghost had been killed by her abusive husband. How did I not connect those dots?
RVC: Tell me why the majority of your books are picture books. What’s so special about them versus, say, MG or YA?
HEYS: I actually just love picture books. They are the perfect size. You are constrained by your 32 pages and there is very little wiggle room. You really have to boil down your story to its essence without losing the beauty of it. It is often a puzzle how to have enough and not too much—detail, texture, beautiful (or pithy or funny or lyrical) language. That economy of language is a challenge. And picture books are meant for sharing. Just last night, I read two of my children’s books aloud to a group of adults at my bird club. Many of them came up to me after and said how moving it was to be read to—that no one had read aloud to them in ages, if ever.
I do love a middle grade length, and I’m working on a couple longer-form manuscripts right now. YA isn’t for me. Too much angst.
My real love is picture books.
RVC: Many of your books are collaborations of one type or another, with Jane Yolen being a frequent partner. Talk about some of the Best Practices you’ve learned along the way in terms of effectively working with other creatives.
HEYS: Be open, be honest, be flexible, be organized, and be kind. I’m super bossy and opinionated, so not all these things are easy all of the time. But, if you are working with someone else, it’s really important to have a balance with that partner (or all of your collaborators, as in Fly with Me and Animal Stories, both of which I wrote with my mother and both brothers). If you don’t agree, stepping back and looking again with an open mind is one of my best pieces of advice. I am working with a non-family member on a new book right now and I have to remember that she and I don’t have shorthand yet. My mom and I work so closely on so many projects, we can just jump in without the niceties. In critiquing, the rule is always “say something nice first.” But, when you work more closely, and have no fear of hurting any feelings, the process is easier—more direct.
RVC: Your jointly created book with your mom, You Nest Here With Me, has a unique story from idea to publication. What happened?
HEYS: You Nest Here With Me was written and sold more than 11 years before it was published. We sold the manuscript to the amazing Liz Van Doren when she worked at Harcourt. We were working with her when the publishing house was purchased by a bigger house and Liz was let go. Our book was orphaned. The new editor who inherited it didn’t love it as much. It got shuffled around and eventually we got the rights back. That was just about the time that Liz Van Doren arrived at Boyds Mills Press. Turns out, she had been watching to see if and when the book come out and she asked after it. We sent it immediately back to her and she, for the second time, purchased it. Melissa Sweet agreed to illustrate (we were thrilled!) and we got on her 3‑year wait list (she is very much in demand). We had already waited 8 years, what was another 3? But, she got to it in early, 2 years later, and the book finally came out—11 years after that first sale.
The moral of this story—never give up.
RVC: I think some people have the misconception that every book idea created by a successful writer like you somehow readily translates into a publication deal. Care to dispel that belief?
HEYS: That is hilarious! I have drawers and files of unsold manuscripts. Some are no good (what was I thinking??) and some are quite wonderful and it baffles me why they don’t sell. But, at the risk of repeating myself, I will say again, never give up. I have a picture book manuscript that I sent around and it got a bunch of rejections. The common theme of the comments was “would she consider writing a longer book about this character?” Why yes! I would absolutely consider it. I, too, love the character. So, I am working on converting the rhyming picture book manuscript into a chapter book. That, too, may not sell. But, you never know until you try.
I have lots of ideas. I just keep writing and sending them out. Eventually some of them will sell, but not all of them. You never know what will happen when, maybe years from now, I pull them out—maybe the market will have changed. Maybe I will be a better writer by then and will give them a new life. Maybe I will look at them and know why they were rejected. But, I will keep writing and growing and, hopefully, selling books!
RVC: How vital is it for picture book authors to have literary agents, and what do you appreciate most about yours?
HEYS: Frankly, my agent (the amazing Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown, Ltd. [see here OPB interview here!]) does all the stuff I have no desire to do. She (and her fab assistants and the legal team and the financial team, etc.) take care of contracts and submissions, make sure I’m paid, deal with issues in the market, chase down books promised in contracts that we haven’t received. All the stuff. Also, she is on top of the market in a way I am not. If I send her a manuscript, she knows where to send it—who is looking for quirky character-driven stories vs. who is looking for girl STEM books or quiet lyrical texts. And, her name opens doors, or more accurately, allows my stuff to be seen without hitting the slush pile. It is much harder to work as an unagented writer or illustrator in today’s market.
That being said, it is not impossible. Many people are happily unagented.
RVC: Let’s talk craft issues. What’s most often the difference between a really good picture book manuscript that doesn’t get accepted, and a manuscript that DOES get snapped up? What’s the secret sauce that even good writers sometimes forget or don’t use often enough?
HEYS: There is no secret sauce. There is no magic. Well, there is a little magic, but mostly it’s pretty feet-on-the-ground, fingers-on-the-keypad work. For me, the difference between a brilliant and a blah manuscript is the language. The problem with this question is that the language isn’t the same for every book. Each book is unique, but that story voice is what sends it up and over the top. For You Nest Here With Me, it’s the combination of the brevity of text and a spot-on rhyme paired with the nonfictional element. It’s the pairing of themes—birds and home—that works. In Counting Birds, I took a nonfiction subject and boiled it down (fewer details, more heart) to a read aloud, making it accessible to the very youngest readers. I like to think the alliteration I use sparingly and gently helps. And the fact that the arc of the book begins with one point and grows exponentially, just like the subject matter, bringing it back to the beginning only on the last page. In A Kite for Moon, we collapsed time to show the growth of the character to adulthood in a way that excites me every time I read it aloud and, in my humble opinion, we lay out an ahhhh-worthy ending without telling the reader how to feel.
Here are some other books that I think have been written perfectly:
Water Is Water (Miranda Paul, Jason Chin)
Circus Train (Jennifer Cole Judd, Melanie Matthews)
Always Remember (Cece Meng, Jago)
P. Zonka Lays An Egg (Julie Paschkis)
The Dress and the Girl (Camille Andros, Julie Morstad)
RVC: You’re a well-known fan of backmatter. What’s your secret to making it a meaningful part of the book versus just an info dump of extra research the author did?
HEYS: Remembering who you are writing for is key–you are either writing the backmatter for the same kid who is reading the book or for the adult who will need scaffolding for questions after. I prefer to write it for the child reader. Make sure it’s organized. And, I like to answer 2 questions:
Why me?
Why this story?
Answering these questions give the child reader a deeper connection to the book because they have a connection to why I wanted to write it.
RVC: What’s the most unusual-but-still-effective backmatter you’ve run across?
HEYS: I love all backmatter. I love writing backmatter. One of my favorite things I’ve written is the backmatter in Eek, You Reek! in which I got to write a list of stinking words and then define them. Of course, they all mean “stink” (in some form) so I used humor to differentiate them. For example, “Bouquet: This should refer to the lovely smell of flowers, but in this case, it means the wafting smell of ick.”
I love backmatter that connects fictional elements of a story to real life subjects. A new fun one I just discovered is in a book about a girl who is teleported different places because of shoes. The backmatter tells you nonfictional information about women who wore that type of shoe in history. Brilliant! Melissa Sweet’s use of endpages as star maps in Tupelo Rides the Rails is a brilliant way to add in supplemental information. Or the amazing diagram of the squid’s parts in Giant Squid. I love silly backmatter like in Some Pets that points out all the pets in the book (and gives them names as well as species) for very young readers. I am always fascinated with timelines that tie the book’s subject into historical context. Good backmatter almost always invites the reader back into the book–and what is better than having a kid read your book?
Having that kid read it twice!
RVC: Here’s the last question for the first part of the interview. What does writing success look like to you?
HEYS: I am not trying to be a bestseller or an award winner. I just want to keep writing. I am not dismissing those things—they are great. Every sale means I can pay my bills and eat. Every award means my book will be discovered by more schools and libraries and, therefore, read by more children. And, I love stickers on my books! Counting Birds has 5 now and I delight in putting them all on the cover. But, really, it’s just being able to continue working that is my idea of success.
RVC: Here it comes—the much-ballyhooed and never-quite-equaled OPB LIGHTNING ROUND! Speed-of-sound questions followed by speed-of-light answers, please! Ready?
HEYS: Let’s do this!
RVC: What secret talent do you have that nobody would suspect?
HEYS: Most people sing in the shower—I practice owl calls in the shower.
RVC: Most underappreciated bird?
HEYS: Blue-footed booby. People get stuck at its name and don’t see how amazing this little show off is. Go Google its amazing courtship walk.
RVC: The one food you could eat every day for the rest of your life?
HEYS: Cheese. Also pancakes.
RVC: Your favorite three indie bookstores?
HEYS: I’m going to choose my locals: the Eric Carle Museum Bookstore, Odyssey Bookshop, and we have a new one I’d like to give a shout out to, even though I haven’t been there yet: High Five Books. But, I could make a very, very long list here.
RVC: The best non-Yolen picture book of 2019?
HEYS: Zero percent chance of me being able to answer this! But, I am heading to Carle Museum Bookstore to buy a copy of Moth (a gorgeous new nonfiction about natural selection) and Margarita Engle’s new Dancing Hands because it looks so gorgeous.
RVC: Three words that sum up your picture book philosophy?
HEYS: Language, compression, readers.
RVC: Thanks so much, Heidi!
Guest Blogger: Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
January 13, 2020 in Guest Author Blog Posts 0
TeachingBooks is delighted to welcome authors Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple as our featured guest bloggers this month.
Each month, we ask distinguished authors or illustrators to write an original post that reveals insights about their process and craft. Enjoy!
Eek, You Reek!
by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Book Cover for Eek, You Reek!: Poems about Animals That Stink, Stank, Stunk
We are book nerds. We are word nerds. Yup. We admit it.
We are authors, poets, and also mother and daughter.
Heidi: While this book was my mom’s idea, I am the co-author, or, more specifically, co-poet. Initially, I thought the idea for a poetry book about stinky animals was a bit flimsy. But, as soon as Lerner bought it, I knew I’d better get on board quickly. And, I did. The project came to me half done with a deadline. My mom smugly told me “I told you so,” and announced that I had better get to work. Oh, I should have added, I’m a deadline nerd. I work much better under pressure. There was much research to be done. Each poem, no matter how short, is backed by tons of research. Once the poems were written, we switched poems and I read hers and she read mine.
Jane: Heidi and I have been working together for years. Our first project was a short story for a book called Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories (Random House 1998). Not only was it the start of some 25+ books together (of which I believe Eek, You Reek! is the 26th) but we began the process of learning how to put aside the mother-daughter relationship when working on books. Especially revisions. In the book process, we become two professional writers hammering out problems together. Each of us gets the chance to be heard. Neither of us has final say.
In that first story, Heidi deferred a lot to me. (She is NOT a deferring sort of woman.) But quickly she began to understand that I make mistakes, too. Sometimes we work so closely together, we can’t even remember who wrote which line. In the case of Eek, You Reek! (Lerner 2019), we have also argued about who really wrote which poem. (She is thirty years younger than I am, has a better memory, and takes better notes!)
Heidi: OK, to be clear, we haven’t argued. You thought I had written the stinkpot turtle poem, but you wrote it. I know because I sent you the research for it and said, “write this poem.” You called to read it to me—having amused yourself with the rhyme of the scientific name odoratus. I’m happy that you took that assignment, but you’re doing a lousy job on this one. I sent you a note saying “talk about the revision process here.” Can I nudge you back in that direction? (You can see how we work together—I make lists and outlines and my mom flies off into the mist until I reign her back in.)
Jane: Hauled or keelhauled, I am reprogrammable. When Heidi and I revise, we do it both individually and aloud to one another. If we are both at my house, we sit at the dining room table across from one another and one of us reads a poem (or a picture book) aloud. The other takes notes, and then we discuss the poem or picture book, line by line, syllable by syllable. These are books meant to be read aloud.
But these are also books that do not come along with the actual poet reading to the child. So Heidi and I change and I read her poem aloud, she reads mine. Nothing gives a poet more information about what is wrong with a piece than having it read aloud by somebody else because that reader almost always stumbles over awkward lines, or puts the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLABle.
Heidi: So, the poems had been written and revised. But, the fun had just begun. Since we had so much extra information from our research, and you can never get all the facts into a poem (or, more accurately, if you try to get all the facts into a poem, it ruins the poem), we had written informational marginalia for each animal. Marginalia just means supplemental (usually nonfiction) information that is in the margins instead of in the main text. When we first envisioned it, these marginalia were not only right on the page with the poems, but it was also encyclopedia-esque straight facts. Our editor was the one who asked if it could all be moved to the back and at some point we all decided it would be hilarious if the backmatter (the same stuff that had originally been marginalia) matched the silly tone of the poems. What resulted was a cohesiveness that is my favorite part of the book. When I am researching for a poem, I also pull out lists of fun words associated with my subject. I submitted all the words we used that meant “stinky” and those got used in the backmatter, too. Which is hilarious. Somewhere along the way someone had the brilliant idea to define those words which, as you can imagine, was a challenge since they all mean the same thing.
Jane: The book is now out, but we so much enjoyed working on it, we pitched a companion book to the editor: Yuck, You Suck: Animals Who Eat by Sucking. [Publisher’s note: look for it in a few years!] Yes, vampire bats are there of course. Possible vampire finches, too. (Really? Really!) Leeches and other creatures. When you are a writer, you have to be three, four, or five steps ahead. And we always, always keep our fingers crossed. Nothing is real until the book is in the hand.
Heidi: The sum of its parts. For a book I wasn’t sure about, this absolutely came together in ways neither of us would have imagined. I love that the organizing theme is not only the stinky animals, but also the consistency of the wordplay and humor. And, can we talk about the art? Most times, and this book isn’t an exception, the author (or in our case authors) doesn’t get to see the art before it’s sketched out. Our editor did let us get a vote in choosing the artist. We were sent 4 ideas and we unanimously all chose Eugenia Nobati’s quirky style for this book. She brought the humor out in a perfectly odd color palette. And, she managed to draw stench! I just love the wafting odors that, thankfully you can only see and not really smell.
Jane: Speak for yourself, kiddo. When I first opened the pages of the book and saw the final full color work, I smelled it all—skunk, musk ox, weasel, bombardier beetles and the rest. Eugenia’s particular genius made it all happen. She deepened and broadened the text, not simply decorated it. She made the poems even funnier than they are on their own. And we haven’t even gotten to meet her yet, except through the pages of the book.
Not all of every book process is face-to-face or even pixel-to-pixel. In this case, the conversation was poem-to-paint. Editor and Art Director were the midwives.
In book terms, we were all partners in the best senses of the word. And the book was made better because of that.
When a Publication Date is ADRIFT by Heidi E.Y. Stemple (plus a giveaway)
October 26, 2021 in Picture Books | Tags: ADRIFT, Anastasia Suvorova, Heidi E. Y. Stemple | 84 comments
by Heidi E.Y. Stemple
This is the dedication from my new book ADRIFT, available September 7, 2021 Oct. 26, 2021 November 9, 2021*:
For my mother Jane and my daughter Maddison—in their own boats in this same storm. And the two beautiful friends who helped make this a book: Nina before the story and Hannah after.
OK, I know that’s a weird way to begin a blog post. And, frankly, this might be a totally different (weird?) way to introduce a book. But, stick with me.
In the early days of 2020, just as I was about to get on a plane and teach writing in Alabama with my mother (author Jane Yolen) then visit my daughter Maddison in Georgia on the way home, the world ground to a halt. We were locked down. I was alone and scared. I am not ashamed to admit, I spent many days pacing and crying. I know my experience isn’t unique. We were all, in our own ways, struggling. Families were stuck inside together or kept apart from each other. Educators were scrambling. Creatives were trying to figure out how to create through the stress and uncertainty.
In a conversation one evening, my friend Nina—the one from the dedication (Nina Victor Crittenden, a talented author/illustrator) said to me “we may be in our own boats, but we are all in the same storm.” I know she didn’t make it up, but the metaphor stuck with me. I went to bed thinking about that storm. And, I woke thinking about it. After being an author for 26 years, I knew that was my brain telling me to write that story. I opened my computer and typed, “One tiny mouse on one tiny boat pitched back and forth, adrift on the churning seas…”
I often write just for the sake of writing. Clearing out what is in my head. I wrote a lot of poems about my fears during the pandemic. They were never meant to be published—a deep cleansing breath of words onto the page. When I couldn’t stand the sadness of being so far away from my daughter, I wrote about doing yoga with her over Zoom. I still can’t read this without crying.
Gratitude
The best part
of my day,
is filled with
pain.
One thousand miles away,
my daughter opens a room
on the internet
and I enter.
She instructs me to breathe,
in and out.
In and out.
And I do.
But, my breathing
is not for centering myself.
Oceanic breath
means nothing to me.
My pranayama
is a long sigh
of relief.
One more day she is healthy,
even if too far away
from me.
I do all the poses
and stretches
and impossible bends.
In truth,
they are getting easier
for these old bones.
But, I would walk across
hot coals
if that’s what it took
to see her face,
hear her voice,
know she is safe.
Close your eyes,
she instructs. Think
of something you are
grateful for.
I should be thinking
inward.
I should be one with
the intention.
But, I am bad
at yoga rules.
I look across those
one thousand miles
into those
oceanic blue eyes
and I know exactly what
I am grateful for.
©2020 Heidi E.Y. Stemple
That first morning, writing ADRIFT was like that. The purging of anxiety onto the page. In that white hot writing—the first draft when you are madly chasing along after the plot without having any idea where your character is taking you—there is just story, not yet book. I think I read it to friends over Zoom that night. I remember tears. Mine. Maybe theirs, too. Who knows. There were so many tears in those early days. We all needed that deep cleansing breath. It probably wasn’t particularly good, yet. But, it resonated. Like Little Mouse in my story, the contact with my own community was so necessary. So healing. My friends encouraged me to try to sell it. First, of course—revision.
Revision, my mother will tell you, is the opportunity to re-imagine, re-envision your work. When I am grumpy about revising—and I am always grumpy about revising—I remember that.
Then a funny thing happened—one of those things that, if you wrote it in a novel, your editor would tell you it’s not believable. But, it happened nonetheless. Michel Moushabek, the publisher of Interlink/Crocodile Books either posted on social media or emailed my mother (these stories get murky as they get further in the past) and mentioned the quote that Nina had said to me. He asked if she would consider writing a picture book based on it. She said, funny you should ask, I have just read that manuscript! My agent sent it right away.
Hannah Moushabek is a marketing genius. This isn’t my opinion. Look her up. She is presently working for Simon & Schuster (who did not publish ADRIFT but did publish my other 2 books that came out this year, TOUCAN WITH TWO CANS and PEOPLE SHAPES). In her (very) spare time, she acquires and edits picture books for Interlink/Crocodile. She is the Hannah in my dedication—who helped me after the story. Hannah found Anastasia Suvorova who created evocative, deeply moody, hope-filled illustrations. Anastasia created a color arc to the story that made visual what I had written. Blue-gray to peachy pink—fear to hope. Hannah took my words and Anastasia’s illustrations and created a book.
That should be the end of the story, right? Today my book comes out and people get to read it! Yeah!
Ha!
Nope.
* As we know now, 2021 had its own ideas of how it would unfold. Enter a new storm—global supply chain issues. ADRIFT was supposed to come out September 7 when the pandemic was over and we were hip-deep in our long-awaited joyous celebrations of togetherness! None of that happened. We are still in the middle of the pandemic and we are not fully back together. Also, you may have noticed, September 7 has come and gone. And, if you check Amazon today, you will notice that the pub date is now November 9, 2021. This change happened just one week ago. I am lucky—we saw this coming and moved the pub date, the first time, back in July. And, I am a patient sort (who has been in the book business a LONG time), so while this last-minute change is inconvenient, I have decided it just means I will celebrate ADRIFT’s book birthday for the full two weeks between today and November 9th. Others, friends with books tied to anniversaries and holidays, specific days meaningful to their stories, have not been so lucky—in their case, ‘late books’ translates to substantial loss of sales. I mention this because I want to honor how hard it has been for everyone launching a book. And, I want to encourage you to not overlook books that are on backorder. We can all wait a little, right We book creators are trying to all keep our heads and spirits up and keep bringing you beautiful, hopeful, empowering, funny, gorgeous, silly, and thoughtful books. Sometimes it is hard. On days like today, or maybe November 9th, when my book is finally out in the world, on shelves, and in small hands, it’s much nicer.
This past year and a half has been so difficult on so many levels. But it also helped me slow down and reprioritize my life. It made me look at community, including the 4 amazing women in the dedication of ADRIFT, in new and important ways—those moments where I, like Little Mouse, have held my loved ones “close enough to feel them near, but not close enough to crash.” Honestly, ADRIFT is my hope for our future—for every kid to know that alone and afraid may be part of life, but there is always something wonderful to look forward to after the storm—metaphoric or real.
Have I not told you enough about the book itself? Probably not. Sorry. Here’s the elevator pitch:
Finding himself alone and scared in the middle of a storm, a small mouse finds comfort and strength when he sees another boat and is joined by others. They ride out the storm together―close enough to see each other, but not close enough to crash. In a gentle metaphor for the global pandemic, ADRIFT is a way to start conversations with young readers about fear, hope and being together even from afar.
I hope you love ADRIFT. I hope you share it with the children in your life. And, I hope my words and the magnificent art by Anastasia Suvorova give you hope and joy even when times are stormy.
Thanks for reading!
Thank you for sharing, Heidi!
Blog readers, don’t go drifting off! You can win a signed copy of ADRIFT!
Leave one comment below to enter.
A random winner will be selected soon.
Good luck!
Heidi didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published more than thirty-five books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
Heidi lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with one very large cat who lives inside, and a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs who live outside. Once a year she calls owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
Co-piloting the Story: PW Talks with Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
By Sally Lodge | Apr 05, 2019
Comments Click Here
Yolen (l.) and Stemple.
When a boy flying a kite notices that the moon looks sad, he sends up kites to comfort her and promises he will visit someday. The premise of A Kite for Moon (Zonderkidz, Apr.) by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple, illustrated by Matt Phelan and dedicated to Neil Armstrong, has particular resonance this year. In a conversation with PW, the mother-daughter authors explained how their book went through several phases before lift-off.
What sparked A Kite for Moon?
JY: I’m a space travel junkie, and I’ve written space-themed books for early readers, YA readers, and adults, so writing a space-travel picture book wasn’t that much of a stretch. However, when I started this book, it was more of a kite-flying book. My father was a champion kite flyer, and I’d written a number of books about kites early in my career, but A Kite for Moon morphed into space travel as it went along.
When did Heidi become involved in the project?
JY: After I wrote the first drafts, my agent and I liked the story enough to send it out to editors, but nobody bought it.
HS: Eventually, it went in the “rejected” drawer. After a few years, my mom asked me to get it out and send it back out for consideration. But I thought it needed some work. I mean a lot of work. So I asked her if I could take a whack at it. The bones of the story were good, but it was too long and overly sentimental. It promised a great ending but didn’t deliver. With her permission, I lopped off sections, tightened up the storyline, and compressed the text. I played around with the language and gave it the ending it deserved.
JY: Heidi is one smart editor and critic. When she finished with the story, I said, “This is sensational. Now it’s not just my book, but our book.” It sold to the first editor who saw it, Margot Wallace at Zonderkidz.
In what way did Neil Armstrong inspire your story, and what do you hope children will take away from it?
HS: The paired themes of the kite and the moon and astronaut were there before I stepped into the project. But as I read it that first time, I kept thinking of Neil Armstrong’s moon landing, with the whole world watching and listening in. That was the emotional ending I wanted.
JY: I remember watching the moon landing as it happened—on a very, very, very small TV set. Heidi was about two at the time. I hope kids are inspired by the book enough to study the moon and stars.
HS: We also hope readers relate to the boy in this book making his dream a reality through hard work. Then, hopefully, they will see themselves in the child pictured on the last page, watching Neil Armstrong’s achievement and planning her own journey—be it a literal journey or a metaphoric one.
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: HEIDI E.Y. STEMPLE
We are delighted to introduce author Heidi E.Y. Stemple to the KIDLIT411 community! Heidi E.Y. Stemple is the author of 18 books for childrens and numerous poems and short stories.
What were you like at school? Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background? Were you good at English?
Unlike lots of people who work in children’s literature, I did not aspire to be a writer. I was always a reader, but, didn’t much like writing. In fact, though I was asked all the time if I wanted to be an author like my mom (author Jane Yolen), my answer was always an emphatic “no.” My college degree is in psychology, not English. After I graduated, I became a Probation/Parole officer in Florida and then a private investigator. All the writing I did was in reports for the Judge. Even though I was always good at writing, I had no intention of doing it for a living. But, life is a bit like writing—you can plot out a strict outline in a perfect story arc with rising tensions, a satisfying resolution, and a happily-ever-after ending, but generally the cast of characters are too stubborn to listen and take you in directions you didn’t plan.
It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my daughter Maddison (now 19), that I gave in and joined my younger brothers, who were already in the family business. In writing that first story (that had a bit of a crime-solving element to it), I realized that I wanted to write more. It’s been 20 years and I keep writing.
Do you write full-time or part-time?
I would consider myself a part-time writer. My “day job” is as a literary assistant. So, even when I am not working, I am working with books. I also speak at schools about writing and growing up in the book business.
Until this year, I have had at least one kid at home. And, being a mom is a full-time job, too. I would like to tell you that with an empty house (my youngest is now off at college), I have more time to write, but that’s not true. In fact, I recently came to the realization that without a daughter home who needs to be driven around, there are no long gaps of time when I am waiting (sometimes in coffee shops) to pick her up and drive to the next thing. Those gaps were often my best writing times.
I have 3 projects on my my computer right now that need my attention. Maybe I should go home and work on those right now…
What genre are your books? What draws you to this genre?
Most of my books are picture books. I love picture books. I think, when done well, a picture book is the perfect story form. No wasted words, no extra words. Every word (because there are so few) has to count. Telling a long drawn out story is easier than boiling it down to that short form. (Not that I am saying writing a novel is easy—far from it!) I may be a grown up, but I read picture books all the time. I do read novels, too, but, for me, my first love is always the picture book.
Don’t believe me? When I built my house, I brought the carpenter three books: a novel, a picture book, and an oversized picture book. I told him to make sure there were two shelves at the top of each built-in bookcase (there are eleven) for novels, three for picture books, and one at the bottom that could fit the oversized picture books.
Interior from Mary Celeste
Do you ever get writer’s block?
Yes. I have it right now. But not perhaps in the way one would think. I have a manuscript I am working on that has a pretty good (I think) beginning. I know exactly where it is going. I even know, pretty much, how I intend to get there. But there is a section about ¾ of the way through that I can’t figure out. So I set it aside. I keep coming back to it and rereading the beginning. I get stumped each time in the same place. It’s as if there is a river between me and the ending. Eventually I will figure out how to build a bridge, but until then, I will keep walking up to the bank and looking longingly at the other side.
I have no doubt I will figure it out. I am not worried or anxious. It’s just a puzzle I have to figure out. In the meantime, there are other things to write and other projects to work on.
Have you written anything in collaboration with other writers?
My whole family is writers. Much of what I write is in collaboration with one family member or another. I have several books that I wrote on my own, a whole bunch with my mom, a handful of projects I am working on with my brother Jason who is a photographer, and, some time later this year, a book I wrote with my mother and both brothers is coming out. It’s called NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S BOOK OF ANIMAL STORIES. It is true stories about animals in history. My mom is found of saying that writing isn’t a lonely business because she has so many characters running around in her head, but I think that even solo writing is a collaboration. After all, there are beta readers, illustrators, art directors, editors, and finally, the most important collaborator of all for any writer—the reader.
Do you like anchovies on your pizza?
I have two rules about food. The first is, If it came out of the water and it’s not a duck, I won’t eat it. So, anchovies being fish, the answer is NO. Not anchovies on my pizza. (The second rule is If it looks like I blew it out of my nose, I won’t eat it. Just FYI)
Heidi EY Stemple
Heidi didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published almost 20 books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children. Her two more recent titles are Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts (a literary cookbook) and Bad Girls. Her website is www.heidieystemple.com.
Heidi, her mom, a couple cats, and occasionally her two daughters, live in western Massachusetts on a big old farm with
two houses.
A note from Heidi:
We support out local indie bookstores. Jess and her crew at the World Eye can get books that we will sign for you.
Just give them a call.
World Eye Bookstore, Greenfield, MA
413-772-2186
INTERVIEW OF TALENTED AUTHOR, HEIDI E. Y. STEMPLE
May 22, 2015 Kirsti Call Interviews - Authors & Illustrators 10 comments
heidi and kirst
As the daughter of Jane Yolen, Heidi E. Y. Stemple has big shoes to fill; and she does it wonderfully. I spent 4 days with Heidi at Jane Yolen’s picture book boot camp. Her humor and wit are rivaled only by her gourmet cooking skills. And owling with her is an experience I’ll never forget! I’m thrilled to interview Heidi on Writer’s Rumpus.
Kirsti Call: You took a circuitous route to writing. You were a private investigator, and a probation officer first. How did you finally decide to join the family business and how have you used your work experience in your writing?
Heidi E. Y. Stemple: I had no intention of being a writer. My passion was in criminal justice. I thought of joining the FBI after college, but, instead, I interviewed with the Department of Corrections in south FL and they hired me. I worked for about 3 years as a Probation/Parole Officer in Broward County before quitting to work as a private investigator. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my daughter (who is now 20) that I gave in and started writing, mostly out of boredom because I was very sick during my pregnancy. My first published story was a mystery story about a little girl solving a murder to help a kind ghost move on in the afterworld.
In many of my books, you can see my love of criminal justice, criminology, and mystery solving. The narrator of the Unsolved Mysteries from History series (Mary Celeste, Roanoke: The Lost Colony, Salem Witch Trials, and The Wolf Girls) is a little girl who wants to be a detective when she grows up. If you read Bad Girls, it is very easy to see the connection between my writing and my love of crime. I even wrote a spy book (which was work for hire) which allowed me to, for an entire month, immerse myself in spy research and learn everything I could about the history of spycraft. Sometimes I miss working in criminal justice, but when you work as a writer, you get to learn about any subject that interests you.
I have often said only Jack Gantos took a more circuitous route to children’s literature. If you don’t know what I mean, you should go pick up a copy of Hole In My Life.
KC: Of the books you have written, which is your favorite?
HS: That’s a very frequently asked question and I have to tell you the answer is always anti-climactic. Most writers won’t choose their favorite book because we love them all the same. Like our children. But, on any given day, we have favorites—the book that just came out, the book that just earned a royalty check, the book that just got an award or starred review…. So, right now, I am in love love love with You Nest Here With Me as it is brand new. Melissa Sweet’s illustrations are so beautiful, every single time I open the book, it’s like unwrapping the best birthday gift ever. Also, Animal Stories just made the ILA Teachers’ Choice List and Bad Girls just won the Magnolia Award. Next week, you could ask me the same question and I might have a different answer.you nest here with me
KC: You’ve co-authored many books with your mom. How does that work in real life?
HS: My mom is a pro in every sense of the word. She is tough and smart and a brilliant writer and editor. We work together all the time so we have an easy rhythm to collaboration. Our normal way of collaborating begins with an idea and we talk it out—often on long car rides—for a while until we have a direction. Notice I didn’t say ‘plot.’ That seems tighter than ‘direction’ and usually plot comes later WHILE we are writing. When we get to the real writing part, one of us will start and send it to the other via email or dropbox. Then we take turns polishing the other’s work and moving the action along. This goes on back and forth until we either finish the story or have to sit and chat about it some more—hashing and rehashing until we find the direction again. And, then we get back at it. We’re working on a story together right now like this. We had a friend, illustrator Hazel Mitchell, over at the house recently and she was showing us some of her art. One piece jumped out at both of us and we started talking about it. I think Hazel sat in the middle of us bobbing her head back and forth like watching a tennis match. We are not completely sure where the story is going or how we will get there, but, we are keeping an open mind and just writing it where it takes us.
On a project like Bad Girls or Animal Stories (written with both my brothers), we separate the subjects and each do the research and writing on those pieces. Then, when they all come together, someone (in both those cases it was me) reads the entire manuscript as a whole and does what I call a ‘story wash’—making sure it all has a similar feel to it. On those two books, though each piece may have a different author, they need to read seamlessly as a single book.
KC: What is your favorite part of being an author?
HS: I get to work in my pajamas.
KC: What is your least favorite part of being an author?
HS: The lack of regular paychecks.
I’m being silly AND honest with both those answers. Being a writer is hard work. But, it’s also fun. I love research but it is also one of the hardest parts of writing. Revision and rejection are both difficult but every writer I know is committed to putting out the best book possible. Rejection by a publisher, though never fun, means the book wasn’t meant to be there. And, revision, though time consuming, difficult, and sometimes irritating, makes any piece of writing better.
KC: We just finished reading Bad Girls, Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, and Other Female Villains at our house. It’s already sparked some fascinating homeschooling discussions and I adore the comic strips at the back where you and your mom debate whether the women are really bad, or just a victim of circumstance. How did you come up with the idea for both the topic and format?Bad-Girls
HS: The idea for Bad Girls came from a conversation over lunch with editor/friend Judy O’Malley. She and my mom were talking about my love of shoes. Particularly, what my mom called my “bad girl shoes.” Judy said, “that sounds like the title of a book…” and we started throwing out ideas about what a book called Bad Girls would involve.
Almost from the very beginning, we had the idea to do marginalia with social commentary—the two of us talk like that in real life. But, our original idea was to have it text only. We were, I think, going to call it “Side Bar” like in court. As things do when you’re working with a great team (this book started with Judy O’Malley and finished up with Yolanda Scott—both brilliant editors), the idea for marginalia moved away from words only and morphed into the graphic panels. At first, my mom and I really told our opinions—keeping everything as close to the truth as possible. And, really, my mom IS a softy and I am more strict, but really, we can both, in many cases, see the good and bad in everyone. But, about half-way into the editing process, we realized how confusing it was and we changed our cartoon selves to come down on predictable sides of each argument–me for the prosecution and my mom for the defense. It made it much easier for the reader to follow.
Some things are close to real life situations, for example, I DID go stay at the Lizzie Bordon Bed and Breakfast (though, with my daughters, not my mom). And, other things are totally made up. I enjoy reading on the beach, but you would never find my mom there.
KC: We love Owl Moon at our house. How did you feel when it was published and there was an actual book about you and your dad owling?owl moon
HY: Owl Moon is, of course, my favorite book. I was in college when it was published, so, I was off doing my own thing. When it won the Caldecott, my dad and I were actually on a birding trip together in Ecuador on our way to the Galapagos Islands. Though my dad died 9 years ago, owling is, very much, still part of my life. He taught me to call and every year, I take his maps and his recordings and go count owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. My crew and I called down 67 owls in one night on our best year.
KC: What advice would you give aspiring authors?
HS: Do your homework—please don’t show up and think you can write a picture book if you don’t know the market, the process, and the format. Once every month or so, I like to go to a bookstore and pull down all the new picture books and sit and read them all. Join SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). And, please don’t assume that if you just had the time, you’d like to be an author. It’s a job that takes time, patience, talent, and a lot of hard work. Yes, time is on that list, but, if you think it’s just a matter of having time, you are mistaken. Work hard. Read everything you write aloud. Listen to editors and learn to love revision.
KC: What is the best response you’ve gotten to one of your books or school visits?
HS: I am so energized by school visits. It’s where you really get to see how your books impact child readers. But, what I love most is what kids take away from an author visit. Recently, a girl wrote this (spelling mistakes are hers): “You inspired me to write alot more than I use to. I am going to write like a mad woman.”
And, really, what could possibly be better than that?
KC: Thank you for sharing your wit and wisdom with us, Heidi!
heidi stempleHeidi didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published more than a dozen books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
Heidi, her two daughters, her mom, and a couple cats live in Massachusetts on a big old farm with two houses.
The Picture Book Buzz - Interview with Heidi E.Y. Stemple and Review of Adrift
Heidi didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen.
She lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with one very large cat who lives inside, and a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs who live outside.
Heidi Stemple has co-authored twenty-nine books (and counting) with her mother, Jane Yolen. She has also written picture books, board books, early readers, and chapter books, including Counting Birds: The Idea That Helped Save Our Feathered Friends (Young Naturalist) (2018), World of Dance: A Barefoot Collection (2019), People Shapes (2021), and Toucan With Two Cans (2021), (and a half dozen or so on their way) on her own.
For additional information about Heidi, see our earlier interviews (here) and (here).
Her newest picture book, Adrift, releases TODAY!
Heidi thank-you so much for stopping by to talk again.
I understand that initially, this book began from your early reaction(s) to the pandemic. Can you tell us how Adrift started?
In the early days of 2020, just as I was about to get on a plane and teach writing in Alabama, the world ground to a halt. All my teaching and book festival work disappeared. I was isolated. My house became my entire small world. I am not ashamed to admit, I spent many days pacing and crying. I was scared and alone. One evening, my friend Nina said to me “we may be in our own boats, but we are all in the same storm.” I know she didn’t make it up, but the metaphor stuck with me. I went to bed thinking about that storm. And, I woke thinking about that storm. After being an author for 26 years, I knew that was my brain telling me to write that book. I opened my computer and typed, “One tiny mouse on one tiny boat…”
Little Mouse began about my feelings of being lonely and afraid, but he grew beyond that. While he does share the fears and loneliness of that early isolation, his story is really about community. Realizing you aren’t alone—that you are never truly alone—is the best way to get through a storm—real or metaphoric.
That's a great realization for Little Mouse, but also for all of us! How different was it to write Adrift, versus I am the Storm? Besides the fact that you didn’t write Adrift with your mother, Jane Yolen. Do you see a similarity running through the two books?
The process was different, as you mentioned, because writing alone and writing together are inherently different. But, the origin was different, as well. I Am the Storm began with a request from amazing editor Cecily Kaiser who wanted a book about extreme weather for her new imprint Rise Books. So, it was collaborative with her as well as my co-author-mother. It is about real storms. Adrift is about a mouse on a boat—so, clearly not real. The storm as it relates to the child reader in Adrift is really a metaphor. But, like any book for children, we hope both books start conversations with child listener and adult reader about feelings and fear, about who to turn to for comfort, and how there are many things in life that make us afraid but that we have the ability to choose how to move through life even through fear.
I love that they both give the child and adult the room to work out these feelings and fears. When you first saw Anastasia Suvorova’s illustrations did anything surprise or amaze you? What is your favorite spread?
Probably the best day for an author is when you first see that very first illustration. What I really love about Anastasia Suvorova’s art is how much expression she creates. Also, I love that the water is a character in the book and how the color palate shifts from deep blue greens, to lighter grays and then violets. That coming out of the dark into the light is exactly what the book is about.
Text © Heidi E.Y. Stemple, 2021. Image © Anastasia Suvorova, 2021.
My favorite spread? How can I pick just one? Probably the one where the ocean seems to have hands grabbing at Little Mouse. It feels like every childhood fear I ever had right there on the page.
It is definitely a powerful image. What was the most difficult aspect of Adrift? How long did it take to go from idea spark to publication?
The funny thing about Adrift is that I had just written it when a publisher I knew wrote on social media about the quote (the one my friend Nina had mentioned to me) and that he was looking for a book about it. Never one to sit on an opportunity like that, I had my agent send it directly to him at Interlink/Crocodile Books. Recently my editor Hannah said this on social media about Adrift:
“Last year I read a manuscript that perfectly captured the fear
and anxiety I felt during the lockdown--not knowing what would
happen or when it would end. Reading this filled me with hope
and reminded me of the power of collective unity and the
importance of community. This book will remind readers that
it’s okay to feel scared, but that no matter how alone you feel,
you never truly are.”
As you can imagine, working with Hannah, who truly got the story, was a dream. The hardest part? One line that I loved but knew was going to be changed: “But not too close to crash.” I loved the way this line sounded when I read it aloud, but everyone agreed that it was a bit confusing. It became “but not close enough to crash.” You have to give up some things sometimes in writing.
Oh, the proverbial "killing of the darlings." Thank you for sharing this. Is there something you want your readers to know about Adrift?
I hope readers think about Adrift as a book to share and begin conversations as we transition back into a normal life post pandemic, but also that this is not the only time community has been the shining star that has gotten us through hard times. It takes a village…
And that is true of book making, as well. You will notice, in the dedication of this book, I’ve mentioned my mother and daughter, but also Nina and Hannah—who are part of this book’s village.
If you had the opportunity to meet someone, either real or imaginary, who would that be?
Honestly, working in children’s books, I think I’ve met all the people who I look up to the most literarily. I had the opportunity to meet Sonia Sotomayor which was a true highlight. I was able to thank her for being such a strong woman leader—for all the girls and young women to look up to. I think, meeting Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, or Michelle Obama would be my choice for the same reason—to be able to thank them.
Three women I would love to meet, as well. I hope you get the chance. You’ve experienced all manner of reviews throughout your career, they happen. Do you have a strategy or tips for dealing with the good and the bad ones?
Well, THAT is true!
I have, over the years, had brilliant thoughtful starred reviews and ones that made me consider giving up writing all together. But, I always have friends (and, frankly, strangers) come to me after receiving a bad review and I have said the same thing to each of them—you cannot let other people’s opinions define how you feel about your book. And, when I get a bad review (as I have recently), I know I have to take my own advice. Because, if I don’t, I have no business giving advice!
Also, you know who doesn’t read reviews? Kids. For every bad review I’ve received, I’ve gotten 100 letters from kids who have loved the same book an adult reviewer has insulted. You tell me which voice should be more important to me.
Touché! I totally agree with you and I hope that you get a ton of kid's letters for Adrift. Are there any projects you are working on individually, or jointly with family (since you’ve collaborated with you mom & brothers in the past), that you can share a tidbit with us?
Just out this summer is People Shapes, illustrated by Teresa Bellon, which is a novelty board book with pages that are the shape of the people—rectangle, circle, star… It’s so colorful and light-- I love it. I have another novelty book coming out next year. These are so much fun to work on because you don’t only think about the story, you get to be in on the design of the overall concept of the book.
Two Cans With Two Cans, illustrated by Aaron Spurgeon, is due to hit shelves late August. It is the first in a series of ridiculous bird romps (early readers) that will be followed by Flamingo Bingo and Chicken Karaoke. These books include lots of fun word play and campy mishap.
After that, I have a picture book about a little girl watching a nest of birds fledge, a feminist nonfiction, and, with my mom, a follow up to Eek You Reek called Yuck You Suck. I have a bunch of others, too… but, that’s enough to mention for now. (I’m never sure which ones I can talk about before they are announced!)
There is the preorder campaign for ADRIFT. I’ll add that in an attached file.
Thank you Heidi for stopping by and sharing with us. It was wonderful to chat with you again.
To find out more about Heidi Stemple, or get in touch with her:
Website: http://www.heidieystemple.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidieystemple
Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidieys
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidieys/
Review of Adrift
I have loved Heidi Stemple's books, those she authored alone and the ones she co-wrote with her mother (Jane Yolen). I was looking forward to this book and fell in love with Little Mouse, his giant predicament, and the way Heidi and Anastatsia Suvotova gently address his fears and remind us all that even in solitude there can be a community. This is a wonderful book offering hope for times when we feel isolated and afraid.
Adrift
Author: Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Illustrator: Anastasia Suvorova
Publisher: Interlink Publishing Group Inc. (2021)
Ages: 3-12
Fiction
Themes:
Loneliness, community, fears, hope, and the importance of connection.
Synopsis:
A timely and relevant picture book about the power of community
Finding himself alone and scared in the middle of a storm, a small mouse finds comfort and strength when he sees another boat and is joined by others. They ride out the storm together—close enough to see each other, but not close enough to crash.
In a gentle metaphor for the global pandemic, Adrift is a way to start conversations with young readers about fear, hope and being together even from afar. It was written by award-winning children’s author Heidi E. Y. Stemple while she was in lockdown missing her friends and family. Her beautiful words are brought to life by Anastasia Suvorova, who has won high acclaim for illustrating stories about nature, children, dreams, traveling, magic, hope, and kindness.
Opening Lines:
One tiny mouse
on one tiny boat
pitched back and forth
on the churning seas.
What I LIKED about this book:
Alone in a small boat, with perhaps all his belongings (books, teapot, and plant), a mouse is subjected to the battering of an angry ocean. Since the title page shows what appears to be the beginning of the mouse's trip on a relatively calm day, it seems Little Mouse didn't expect the ocean's turmoil and his total inability to control anything. He couldn't "hoist his sail" or "drop his anchor" and he was all alone. A tiny speck in a raging storm.
Text © Heidi E.Y. Stemple, 2021. Image © Anastasia Suvorova, 2021.
As a loosely veiled metaphor of the current pandemic and the turmoil many felt with the "shelter at home" and isolation, this may sound familiar to many adults and kids. Interestingly, when Little Mouse wishes on a lonely star that evening, he merely says "Please." Heidi Stemple & Anastasia Suvorova leave it to the reader to decide what the mouse is wishing for - Land? Rescue? To survive? To know he's not alone? - leaving it wide open to mean what the reader needs most at that moment. Note that he's not wishing on a lone star, but a "lonely star."
A single star surrounded by storm clouds. Even in his dispair and loneliness (as the tear trickles down his cheek), we still see hope in his face and hear it in his voice.
Text © Heidi E.Y. Stemple, 2021. Image © Anastasia Suvorova, 2021.
Fortunately for Little Mouse, when the storm clears a bit, he can see "a smudge on the horizon," bobbing in and out of sight among the waves. Little Mouse follows the other boat's progress as it comes closer. Until it got "close enough to see each other, but not too close to crash." (6 feet apart, anyone?) While he was still afraid, the company made him feel better. Interestingly, at this point, the ocean has changed from the huge, dark ominous waves of the earlier spread to large swirling muted pastel-colored waves with sunbeams peeking through the clouds.
Text © Heidi E.Y. Stemple, 2021. Image © Anastasia Suvorova, 2021.
From this point on, Anastasia gradually calms the sea and slowly sprinkles color into the illustrations, until the beautiful final scene. This is a heartfelt story about weathering the storms in life, the comfort of a community - even if they are all in their own bobbing boats (or on Zoom screens) - and the power of hope and perseverance. It is a wonderful book to help open conversations about the past year and a half, about fears, about the need for and creation of one's own community, and (as a craft note) using picture books as metaphors. This delightful book contains a ton of heart and hope.
Resources:
- make an origami boat (or a maybe couple)(http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-boat.html). How would one of your small stuffed friends or figures handle Little Mouse's big, lonely storm?
- think of a time you were scared, write a list or draw a picture of things or people who helped you feel better.
- have you ever wished on a star? What would you wish for now?
- draw a picture or make a list of who makes up your community, anyone or anything you can turn to when you're scared.
A Kite for Moon
Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple, illus. By Matt Phelan. Zonderkidz, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-310-75642-2
In a wistful story that honors Neil Armstrong, the moon is feeling lonely: “No one below was singing to her. No one was sending up rockets or writing poems about her.” But below, a boy at the seashore sees the moon and senses its unhappiness: “So he wrote on his kite, promising to come some day for a visit.” Phelan illustrates in loose, curling forms that conjure a sense of movement. In sequential panels, the boy is seen peering through a small microscope, receiving a telescope as a teenager, and, as a young adult, gazing through the window at the moon. After learning to ride a bike and drive a car, the boy learns to “fly a plane and a rocket. Then one day, when he had learned enough, he went up, up, up in a big rocket ship with a fiery tail.” At last he lands on the moon, touching his hand to its surface: “ ‘Hello, Moon,’ he said. ‘I’ve come for that visit.’ ” Yolen and Stemple remind readers of the simple awe of a most wonderful journey. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)
Reviewed on : 06/05/2019
Release date: 04/01/2019
Genre: Children's
______________________
You Nest Here with Me
by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple;
illus. by Melissa Sweet
Preschool Boyds Mills 32 pp.
3/15 978-1-59078-923-0 $16.95 g
Yolen and Stemple gracefully incorporate natural science into a comforting picture book comparing various nesting birds with a "nesting" child ("My little nestling, time for bed ..."). Some birds, such as pigeons, which "nest on concrete ledges," will be familiar to many children, while others may be less so: "Grackles nest in high fir trees / Terns all nest in colonies." Almost always, the verse ends with the soothing refrain, "But you nest here with me." Sweet's watercolor, gouache, and mixed-media illustrations use rich colors and delicate lines. The pictures are both accurate and arresting, page after page. Many details are included for children to pick out, such as a frog mother and child sitting on a log near a coot's nest, or a fox gazing interestedly at a killdeer performing a "broken-wing charade" to protect her babies. A closing spread includes additional facts about each bird, along with a picture of its shape, feather, and egg. Science meets wonder in this deeply satisfying collaboration between poets and artist. SUSAN DOVE LEMPKE
Most of the books are recommended; all of them are subject to the qualifications in the reviews. * indicates that the book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the suggested retail price and does not indicate a possible discount to libraries. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. H indicates a book that the editors believe to be an outstanding example of its genre, of books of this particular publishing season, or of the author's body of work. For a complete key to the review abbreviations as well as for bios of our reviewers, please visit hbook.com/horn-book-magazine.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Lempke, Susan Dove. "You Nest Here with Me." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 91, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2015, p. 87. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A404754167/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=81e3ca63. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.
STEMPLE, Heidi E.Y. Adrift. illus. by Anastasia Suvorova. 32p. Crocodile. Oct. 2021. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9781623719098.
PreS-Gr 1--Little Mouse is all alone in a small boat in the middle of the ocean. He is wearing a bright yellow slicker and has a plant with him, but he is clearly in a bit of trouble and scared. Readers don't know how Little Mouse ended up in the ocean, but keep him company overnight and through a terrible storm the next day. Suddenly another boat helmed by a rabbit appears on the horizon. There is lots of waving and calling, but they do not come close enough for Little Mouse to feel safe. More time goes by, and now there are lots of boats joining Little Mouse--but they are all keeping to themselves. "They weren't together but they weren't alone," which sums up the theme of this picture book. The message will be crystal clear to adults, and is compelling enough to engage children. Once they raise their spyglasses and spot land, the various animals gather on shore and celebrate. While it's never spelled out how Little Mouse ended up alone and afraid, readers will find parallels in their own lives and in current events. Perfect for one-on-one reading, this has beautiful soft illustrations in grays and blues that highlight the sea when it is storming. Each of the boats that joins Little Mouse has colored sails, and once everyone is on land, bright colors explode across the page. VERDICT A sweet parable to add to the pandemic shelves, with an easily understood message.--Susan Lissim, Dwight Sch., New York City
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Lissim, Susan. "STEMPLE, Heidi E.Y.: Adrift." School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 11, Nov. 2021, p. 56. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A683721411/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=119eab58. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.
Stemple, Heidi E.Y. ADRIFT Crocodile/Interlink (Children's None) $17.95 10, 26 ISBN: 978-1-62371-909-8
A little mouse alone at sea endures a storm.
Little Mouse is sailing in a tiny boat on the sea. Inexplicably, he also carries a green houseplant with him, prominently illustrated but not mentioned in the text. The sea is rough and churns “vast, / and angry.” Little Mouse tries to put up his sail, but the wind is too strong; tries to drop his anchor, but the ocean is too deep. At this point, readers may wonder how the tiny mouse got out to the deep, vast sea with no sail up and why he brought the plant. Yes, this story is a metaphor (piled on quite thick), but some accurate sailing details and believable backstory would not have injured its delivery. Little Mouse is frightened, and to the single star in the sky, he says, “Please.” Sure enough, the next day, Mouse spies another little boat, then other boats. Night falls, then day breaks again. The boats are not “together but they weren’t alone”—rather like a Zoom meeting. Then the storm is over, everyone goes to land (Little Mouse leaves his houseplant on the boat), and it’s “time to be together.” The story’s earnest narrative unfortunately lacks nuance and originality and takes too many liberties with its sailing theme. The illustrations, all double-page spreads, show, for the most part, a straight-on perspective that, with the matte quality of the medium, manages to feel chalky and also rather flat. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Earnest, but unoriginal and lackluster. (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Stemple, Heidi E.Y.: ADRIFT." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A669986595/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=19f5e373. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.
A Kite for Moon
Jane Yolen, author
Heidi E. Y. Stemple, author
Matt Phelan, illustrator
Zonderkidz
c/oHarperCollins Children's Books
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
9780310756422, $17.99, HC, 32pp, www.amazon.com
What would it be like if the moon was your friend? In the pages of "A Kite for Moon', children ages 4-8 will find out as they walk alongside a little boy who journeys through life to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. The story begins when a little boy, who is flying his kite, notices a sad Moon. He sends up kites to her, writing notes promising he will come see her someday. This promise propels him through years of studying, learning, and training to become an astronaut. Until he finally goes up, up, up in a big rocket ship with a fiery tail! Beautifully illustrated by Matt Phelan, "A Kite for Moon" is a collaborative picture book written by the team of Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple. While certain to be an enduringly popular and appreciated addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "A Kite for Moon" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape Media, 9781974969197, $14.99, CD).
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"A Kite for Moon." Children's Bookwatch, June 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A593028979/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d14615bc. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.
Fly With Me
Jane Yolan, et al.
National Geographic Kids
c/o National Geographic Press
101 West 104th Street, Suite 8, New York, NY 10025
www.nationalgeographic.com
9781426331817, $24.99, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com
"Fly With Me: A Celebration of Birds through Pictures, Poems, and Stories" by the team of Jane Yolan, Heidi E. Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple is a thoughtful and beautifully curated collection of the role birds play in human life from centuries ago to present day. "Fly With Me" is also filled with real science about these wondrous flying creatures. From history and behavior to spotting and photographing, "Fly With Me" has something for every bird enthusiast. Young birders ages 4 to 8 will learn all about migration and the importance of habitat conservation. They'll find stories about bird rescues and fun facts about the fastest, strongest, and tiniest fliers. They'll also discover the best bird nests, sweet songs to sing, ways to listen for and identify the birds around them, and more. Paired with stunning art and photography and beautiful design, "Fly With Me" is valued treasury is sure to become a classic for bird enthusiasts of all ages, and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library Pets/Wildlife collections.
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Fly With Me." Children's Bookwatch, Dec. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A569113742/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=69e840b1. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.
Counting Birds: The Idea that Helped Save Our Feathered Friends
Heidi E.Y. Stemple, illus. by Clover Robin. Seagrass, $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-63322-604-3
Stemple introduces a little-known bird lover whose innovative idea contributed to the protection of avian friends worldwide. In the 19th century, U.S. ornithologist Frank Chapman spoke up to oppose the long-practiced tradition of Christmas Day bird hunting. Instead, he proposed a "Christmas bird-census... Count them, he proposed. But don't kill them." Working in cut-papet collage, Robin shows the types of birds that the first group of 27 bird watchers counted in 1900, a number that grew exponentially over time. "All birders are welcome," Stemple asserts, from the owlers who "climb out of their warm beds at midnight and call down owls in the dark" to those watching birds outside their windows. Photographs of children taking part in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count conclude this conservation success story. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Counting Birds: The Idea that Helped Save Our Feathered Friends." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 42, 15 Oct. 2018, p. 138. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A561512008/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a1e31888. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.