Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

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

This month’s question:

How does your most recent book tie into who you are (your passions, hobbies, family history, cultural background, etc.)?

AMAH FARAWAY is about reconnecting with faraway family and roots in your inherited culture. Growing up immersed in mainstream American culture, I felt somewhat disconnected from my roots. Only now, after having children of my own, have I realized the importance of connecting with and finding joy in our inherited culture especially since, as Asian Americans, we wear our heritage on the outside.

—Margaret Chiu Greanias, author of AMAH FARAWAY, illus. Tracy Subisak (Bloomsbury Children’s, 2022)

MABEL’S TOPSY-TURVY HOMES is all about a little girl struggling to make sense of her parent’s divorce. Like Mabel, I grew up with two different homes and was sometimes confused, frustrated, and mad about that. I hope this book helps other kids see the upside of the situation.

—Candy Wellins, author of MABEL’S TOPSY-TURVY HOMES, illus. Jess Rose (Beaming Books, 2022)

NO SNOWBALL! is about a new family addition to the NoFuzzball Queendom and the complex but fun aspects of sibling dynamics! The sassy Queen NoFuzzball initially sees Snowball as an annoying copycat, but then realizes she could be a Princess-in-training. Like Snowball, I am the youngest in my family, and I remember always wanting to be around my big brother; and like Fuzzball, I have cared for my younger cousins and host sister too. 

—Isabella Kung, author and illustrator of NO SNOWBALL! (Orchard Books, 2022)

As a descendant of Eastern Europeans who escaped persecution (and some who did not), I feel deeply connected to themes of defiance, resilience, and turning hardship into hope. My most recent book (COVERED IN COLOR) and also my next book (HIDDEN HOPE) both feature real-life protagonists who found themselves in impossible circumstances yet somehow found the strength to not only survive but courageously persevere and become barrier-breaking heroes. 

—Elisa Boxer, author of COVERED IN COLOR: Christo & Jeanne-Claude’s Fabrics of Freedom (Abrams 2022) and HIDDEN HOPE: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust (Abrams 2023)

NANA, NENEK & NINA is about a little girl with an international family. Like Nina, I was a biracial California kid with one grandma across the Pacific Ocean and one grandma across the Atlantic, neither of whom I actually called “Grandma.” Though my Nana and Nenek were opposites in many respects, they both loved me in a similarly delighted way.

—Liza Ferneyhough, author and illustrator of NANA, NENEK & NINA (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2022)