What's in Your Pocket? A Picture Book Review, A Mini Author Interview, and A Giveaway!

Nine curious children who grew up to become scientists. Nine adults who discovered new products, new species, and new ideas. These nine individuals are the backbone of Heather Montgomery's latest book, What's In Your Pocket?  (Charlesbridge, 2021). Illustrated by Maribel Lechuga, this STEM book will be an asset to any K-3 classroom.

REVIEW

When you explore the great outdoors and find something strange and wonderful, do you put it in your pocket?   

Scientists collect specimens so they can observe the details of natural artifacts.

Immediately, young readers will be drawn into the opening pages of this book. The young girl who is pictured on the cover, is seen stooping down, examining a rock, and then pocketing it. 

As she walks off, the reader turns the page and sees a field where young George is examining a seedpod.  He must have put it in his pocket because,

The section ends with a repeated refrain,

Nobody knew that George would grow up to be the famous scientist George Washington Carver....He discovered almost three hundred new uses for the peanut including soap, glue, and fuel...

In this charming way, children are also introduced to William Beebe who held eggs in his mouth while climbing down a tree... and became the first person to see glowing fish and other deep-sea animals alive in their habitat; to Valerie Jane who put wiggly worms under her pillow...and became the famous primatologist, Jane Goodall.

Readers meet Charles Darwin (naturalist, biologist), Meg Lowman (biologist, ecologist), Diego Cisneros-Heredia (naturalist and scientist),

Mary Anning (paleontologist), Bonnie Lei (conservation biologist), and Maria Sibylla Merian (naturalist and scientific illustrator).

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the little girl "narrator" as she explores and collects elements from nature, and the nine mini-biographies of scientists who loved the outdoors as children. The text is very child-friendly and I can practically hear Heather Montgomery speaking directly to the reader!  

The last two pages are a wonderful spread of the animals seen in the book along with the little girl marveling at one of her discoveries. The text reads:

Throughout history, kids have found all

kinds of strange and wonderful things.

They've created collections.

They've made discoveries.

They've changed the world of science.

Every discovery started with just one thing.

One little thing that could fit in a pocket.

What's in your pocket?

Can't you just picture children checking what's inside their pockets after that last line?

BACK MATTER

I'm a back matter junkie and What's In Your Pocket is an example of one of the best. Four and a half pages are filled with "More About These (Grown-Up) Kids. One and a half pages are delightful notes from the illustrator and author. Readers hear about how nature inspired both Maribel Lechuga and Heather Montgomery and how they researched this book. (Artists and writers: Get ready to be impressed!) I particularly like how Heather included that she respects nature, that she respects the people she lives with by "making sure my artifacts are clean and (mostly) stink-free, and she respects herself. "I don't put my hands where my eyes can't see (like under a rock or log). Field guides and a bibliography complete the book.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: This is a longer picture book than most.  How did you and Charlesbridge determine the length? ​

HEATHER: Originally, I paced this manuscript to be 32 pages; fortunately, in an early discussion about the project, editor Alyssa Pusey suggested expanding it to 40 pages. At that point in 2018, she was looking for longer picture books. I was delighted. It allowed two full spreads for most of the scientists, gave extra space for backmatter, and made room for more of that luscious art.

CAROL: Closely tied to that first question—how did you pick which scientists to focus on? Were there others you wanted to feature who didn’t make it into the book?

​HEATHER: Finding just the right stories was the challenge. Researching full biographies, I developed a list of scientists and stories. But those biographies did not showcase enough diversity. I crossed names off my list to make room for others. And that required some creative research (like a Google survey sent to scientists around the world). Not only that, but the anecdotes had to convey the right mix of sweetness and skills. It took careful selection and sequencing to illustrate skill-building.

CAROL: I love the structure of the book where you show the scientist as a child and then the reader turns the page and finds out who they became as an adult. Did you indicate that was how you conceived the book when you submitted the manuscript?

​HEATHER: The pause of the page turn can be so powerful. From early on in this project I wanted to make use of the page turn to let readers predict what kind of scientist the young collector might become. It's like an entire biography condensed into two spreads. When I submitted my draft, I used numbers in brackets (i.e. [Page 4-5]) to suggest where page turns might fall. Not every editor wants that, so research before you submit! 

GIVEAWAY

Leave a comment by Saturday, October 16 at 6 PM to enter the giveaway. For an extra chance, start following my blog and let me know that you did. U.S. postal addresses only. IF YOU ARE NEW TO MY BLOG, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

                                            

BUGS DON'T HUG: Six Legged Parents and Their Kids- A NonFiction Picture Book Review and Author Interview

After I took a webinar with Heather Montgomery on the "Dynamics of Science and Nature Writing," I knew I wanted to share her book, BUGS DON'T HUG (Charlesbridge, 2018) with you. 

Not only is each page filled with interesting and unusual facts, but showing bugs as babies with their mommies and daddies, makes the information completely accessible to even very young readers. 

Check out this opening spread creatively illustrated by Stephen Stone.

From a bug lifted from his crib to four bugs gathered around the breakfast table, young readers will relate to baby bugs. Each laughable concept (a mother bug making scrambled eggs and toast) to it's real counterpart, (a mother cricket who lays special eggs for her babies),  Montgomery and Stone have brought entomology into the pre-school through second grade classroom.

Normal parts of a parent's day are compared with what bugs do. So, "Daddy bugs don't clean up dirty diapers" but,

"At lunchtime bugs don't plea with picky eaters..." But, 

In the same way, the author and illustrator show fantastical versions of bugs not rocking their babies, serving birthday cakes, or tucking their babies in--juxtaposed (with a page turn) of illustrations depicting real bugs doing, well...just about that!

In the end the reader is asked...

Which is answered on the next page:

The back matter includes three pages with information about the nine featured bugs, a short recommended reading list, and an introduction to scientific language. The note to parents emphasizes that our reaction to insects will shape how children will feel about them.

*****

I was super-impressed with the rhythm which Heather created for the reader.  Naturally, I had to ask about her creative process.

CAROL: I love how you set the book up with statements and refutations from the bug world--the pacing and page turns are so cool. Did you envision it like this? Did you request that the book be set up in this manner? 

HEATHER: It took me a long time to figure this book out, but yes, the manuscript I submitted included the vision to use page turns to (1) allow kids a chance to predict (2) help separate the fantastical and realistic depictions. I did not, however, include specific page turn instructions in the manuscript. Later, after the book was acquired and the editor asked for it, I shared a book map to convey this vision (which she loved!). 

I think that in nonfiction books we often put all the information about one animal/topic on one spread and miss the opportunity to use the page turn for drama and as a pause to encourage thinking. As an author, I wanted to take advantage of that aspect of the picture book format; as an educator, I wanted to give kids an easy in to (and adults an excuse to discuss) thinking about the two different presentations of each animal. I'm all about encouraging critical thinking and thought that exagerating the playful/realistic depictions would help kids "get" the need to read words and visuals carefully.

CAROL: And of course the inevitable question...how did you come up with the idea? I guess that's sort of like a chicken and egg type question. Did you know certain bugs took care of their young in these specific ways, or did you imagine the book first? 

I'm a bug nut and am always looking for ways to invite others to love bugs. I had read this fascinating book, The Other Insect Societies by Dr. James Costa, about the subsocial insects. We all know about social insects like ants and bees which live in colonies and about insects who drop their eggs and leave, but Dr Costa's book opened my mind to this world of insects that give some form of parental care. I used up about a thousand sticky notes to flag phenomenal facts in that book and had been trying to figure out a way to incorporate them into a book for kids. One day as I was taking a walk with a friend and her young kids, I found my way into this book. Her son and I found an earwig and, uncomfortable with the creep factor, my friend stepped away.  But when said, "Hey, it's a bug mommy!" she showed a bit of interest. Then I told her son that this mom had to shop in the forest for her kids favorite foods, and my friend stepped closer. By the time I said that the bug mom has to give her eggs a bath every day to keep dangerous fungus away, my friend was leaning over my shoulder to see more. Right then it clicked. 

The book needed to be for adults as well as the kids. For all those grown-ups who feel squeamish when their little one brings them a six-legged treasure . . . For that moment when they want to squash the bug but their child loves it .. .  If I could just give adults new insight, I might be able to turn conflicted moments into moments of shared wonder. 

And then, with a "big idea" firmly in mind, I could finally pick out the useful pieces from my junk heap of research and make progress towards a publishable book.

CAROL: As an adult who feels squeamish about bugs, I love how you "found your way" into this book.  Thanks for introducing adults and children into these many dimension of bug life!

                                                *****        

Congratulations to Danielle Hammelef who won Isabel and Her Colores Go To School, and to Janet Sheets who won The Color Collector. No giveaway this week. My grandchildren are adding BUGS DON'T HUG to their library!