20 Questions: The It Factor

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

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

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

This month’s question:

How do you ensure your books have that special “It Factor?” 

Hope Lim

“I don’t presume that my books have an ‘It Factor’ but one thing I hope to accomplish in my stories is the exploration of more than one thematic element. My storylines may seem simple but underneath the simplicity, a deeper meaning can be extracted and discussed. For example, SOURGRASS is about finding a way to live in hope after a difficult time of parting with a friend. At the same time, it uses spring as the context for return and renewal, while demonstrating the beauty of keeping promises and the importance of trust in relationships.”

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

---

Patricia Newman

“The ‘It Factor’ is a personal connection for me and my readers. As I write I ask myself over and over, ‘Who cares?’ Once I find my inner spark of connection, I put all that passion on the page. My books tend to be persuasive, so once I find the child’s connection to the topic it’s fun to empower them to care.”

– Patricia Newman, author of Eavesdropping On Elephants (Millbrook Press, 2019)

---

Valerie Bolling

“My critique partners help me ensure that my books have an ‘It Factor.’ They regularly read stacks of picture books, attend webinars, and are members of writing communities. In other words, they know what makes stories pop, so their feedback is critical to helping me polish my manuscripts. In addition, I have an amazing editorial agent who adds his feedback, and I’ve been fortunate to work with editors who help me fine-tune my stories even further.  

– Valerie Bolling, co-author with Kailei Pew of I See Color , illustrated by Laylie Frazier (Harper Children’s, 2024)

---

Kirsten W. Larson

“I think what sets my books apart are their unique structures, which coincide with the topic I’m writing about. The story structure of Wood, Wire, Wings, the story of the first women to design an airplane on her own, follows the engineering design process. A True Wonder, a book about the invention of the comic book hero, Wonder Woman, is told in comic book format. And The Fire of Stars, a book about the woman who discovered what stars are made of, parallels her formation as a “star scientist” with the process of star formation. These unique structures bring something special to the table.”

– Kirsten W. Larson, author of The Fire of Stars, illustrated by Katherine Roy (Chronicle 2023)

20 questions: Drawing from real life versus making things up

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

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

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

This month’s question:

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

Valerie Bolling

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

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

---

Candy Wellins

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

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

---

Margaret Chiu Greanias

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

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

---

Hope Lim

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

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

20 Questions: Book Ideas

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

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

This month’s question:

“How did you come up with the idea for your most recent book?”

Carrie Finison

“For my upcoming book, LULU & ZOEY: A SISTER STORY, I remember vividly the moment I came up with the idea. I was driving my son home from preschool and his sister was baby-singing—loudly—in her infant seat. He complained bitterly that she was “always too loud,” and I responded with some parental wisdom about how no one is ever “always” anything. Sometimes she was too loud. Sometimes she was quiet. Sometimes she liked playing with him. Sometimes she wanted to play on her own. By the time we got home the structure of a new sibling story had taken shape.”

—Carrie Finison, author of LULU & ZOEY: A Sister Story, illus. Brittany Jackson (Running Press Kids, June 2022)

View fullsize

Rajani LaRocca

“I was attending a children’s literature symposium with friends in the summer of 2013. While I was waiting in line for lunch, a story idea popped into my head in a visual way: I thought of a sari, and how the colors and designs from the body are reflected in the border, and vice versa. I quickly drew a sketch in my notebook (which is unusual for me!). I then took notes on a “mirror story” about a girl and her grandmother, and how they are each homesick and lonely while visiting each other, and how they help each other feel at home. I’LL GO AND COME BACK was born.”

—Rajani LaRocca, author of I’LL GO AND COME BACK, illus. Sara Palacios (Candlewick Press, March 2022)

View fullsize

Hope Lim

“Childhood memories of my hometown in Korea and the changes I witnessed every time I visited my parents were the inspirations for MOMMY’S HOMETOWN. I used to walk to the river and play there all day. Sharing that memory with my kids and taking them to the river inspired me to write a story that captures the passage of time in a place where old and new coexist.”

—Hope Lim, author of MOMMY’S HOMETOWN, illus. Jaime Kim (Candlewick Press, April 2022)

View fullsize

Elisa Boxer

“My agent and I had been discussing writing a book about ocean pollution, so I began internet searches to narrow down the topic. When I came across the viral video of the turtle who nearly died from swallowing a straw, and the marine biologists who rescued him, I knew I wanted to share this story with kids!”

—Elisa Boxer, author of ONE TURTLE’S LAST STRAW: The Real-Life Rescue That Sparked a Sea Change, illus. Marta Alvarez Miguens (Crown/Random House Kids, May 2022)

Kim Rogers

“The inspiration for my lyrical debut picture book, JUST LIKE GRANDMA, came from a book and a song: Sylvia Liu’s A MORNING WITH GRANDPA, which touched me deeply, and a gorgeous line in a favorite song by the Goo Goo Dolls called “Autumn Leaves.” After reading Sylvia’s book, I knew I wanted to write a story about a Wichita granddaughter’s relationship with her grandmother, as intergenerational relationships are important to us in our Wichita culture.”

—Kim Rogers (Wichita), author of JUST LIKE GRANDMA, illus. Julie Flett (Cree-Métis) (Heartdrum/HarperCollins, Winter 2023)

Anna Crowley Redding

“I couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night. So I grabbed my phone and was reading news headlines when I spotted an Associated Press headline. The Coast Guard was naming a new ship after a hero, Kate Moore, who began keeping a lighthouse and saving lives at age 12 … in the 1800s. I was completely blown away. I started to work on a book about her the very next morning.”

—Anna Crowley Redding, COURAGE LIKE KATE: The True Story of Girl Lighthouse Keeper, illus. Emily Sutton (Random House Studio, August 2022)