Author Interview: Sandhya Acharya

I'm so happy to have a dancing author with us today! Sandhya Acharya is the author of the new book Living Bridges: The Hidden World of India's Woven Trees (illustrated by Avani Dwivedi and published by Beach Lane Books). It's been garnering great reviews, including a starred review from the School Library Journal, and has been named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Both of these are big deals in the world of children's literature. Woo-hoo!  

Living Bridges is an engaging narrative nonfiction book that follows a boy in Meghalaya, India, as he learns about the living bridges in his village, including how to care for them and the importance of keeping them strong and healthy for his community and the environment. 

I'm really interested in the creative process so have decided to interview picture book authors and illustrators from time to time to specifically learn about their creative processes. I'm excited to hear more from Sandhya about how this book came together. And, since I know she studies dance, I'll have to squeeze in some questions about that, too!

So happy you're here with us today, Sandhya! To start off, how would you describe your creative process while writing this book?

My creative process was to first read and learn as much as I could about the subject, then sit back and really feel the emotions and look for an entry point into the story. I kept drafting lines without worrying too much about the arc or where they fit into the story. Sometimes it’s a line or a word that’s the key to finding the right voice and unlocking the rest of the story. And once you do find that opening, it’s so exciting because everything begins to neatly fall into place -- like it was meant to be!

From initial concept through publication (including everything in between), what was your favorite piece of the process?

My favorite part was traveling to Meghalaya to witness these extraordinary bridges for myself. Imagine entering a misty wonderland full of clouds, trees, insects, and birds, walking across a bridge a hundred feet tall and long in the middle of a forest over a gushing river. It felt like I had crossed over into an alternate world. I was IN the story. I am also grateful to the locals and experts on the ground for sharing their knowledge and experience with me. 

What if anything did you learn about yourself along the way?

I played with multiple points of view and versions for this manuscript. Every time when it was clear something wasn’t working -- either by my own instinct or suggestions from my editor -- I learned to take a step back and try something new. Once I understood what the problem was, I could approach it in different ways -- sometimes the original suggestions morphed into something even better!

Ok...so now I'm super curious about your dance background. Can you tell us a little bit about the type of dance you're doing now, how you got involved, and what it means to you?

I learn Bharat Natyam. It is a classical dance form that has been practised for ages. It was a childhood dream that I fulfilled while well into my adulthood! Goes to show, it’s never too late! I love the art form -- the skill, the beauty, the challenge, the discipline it requires, the history hidden in its stories, the music that has been passed on through generations. More than anything, it brings me joy.

That's wonderful! I'm also curious if you've noticed any major similarities or differences between the process of publishing a picture book and the process of preparing for a dance performance?

Classical Bharat Natyam is not just the final performance we see on stage. It takes years of preparation as we train our bodies to move a certain way, follow complicated rhythmic patterns, and learn to express and emote. As I spend more time in the writing world, I realize it needs the same practice, discipline, and patience!

Thank you so much for sharing your process with us, Sandhya!

Sandhya is also the author of 10 Gulab Jamuns: Counting with an Indian Sweet Treat, illustrated by Vanessa Alexandre. Learn more about Sandhya and her books here.

Author Interview: Debra Kempf Shumaker

It's been a while since I've interviewed an author on my blog, so I'm thrilled to have Debra Kempf Shumaker here with us today to talk about her new picture book Wind Is a Dance, published this month by Kids Can Press. The text, with its lovely cadence, compares the wind to a dance, and the inviting, whimsical art by Josée Bisaillon allows you to almost feel the wind dancing on every spread. Small, unassuming sidebars describe different types of wind, and the back matter includes scientific details about how wind speed is measured and what effects different wind speeds have on the environment. I can see this book being used at home, in the classroom, and even in a dance or creative movement class. It's beautiful, educational, and versatile! 

Welcome, Debra. We're so happy you're here! I'm always interested in where story ideas come from, so I wanted to start off by asking you how you decided to write this book. 

First, thanks so much for having me on your blog! I’m exited to be here. Growing up on a diary farm with 120 acres as my playground, I loved being outside. And I loved that feeling in the air when the weather was changing. I’d sit on our porch, a rock, or anywhere and just listen to nature as a storm brewed. Fast forward to 2015 and I was in the middle of doing “PiBoIdMo” (Picture Book Idea Month by Tara Lazar, now knowns as Storystorm) and brainstorming picture book ideas. I was awed by Miranda Paul’s WATER IS WATER and how it showed water changing with the seasons. I decided I wanted to write a lyrical book about weather and wrote down “Lyrical NF book about wind—different types?”

 

Thanks for sharing that! I'm also curious how you decided to use the metaphor "wind is a dance" as a through line in the book. Was that the plan from the beginning, or did it evolve as you were writing or revising?

“Wind is a dance” was not initially my through line. The book literally started out as a string of poems about various types of wind. When I tried to string the poems into a picture book, it was very disjointed. I had written a few poems using metaphors to describe a wind type and I really liked the imagery it created and decided to use metaphors for each wind. (And boy, some of those metaphors changed a lot!) I also needed an opening and closing and something to tie it together. Initially, my opening mentioned that wind was air in motion—sometimes with a few words, sometimes with a lot. But all of those openings felt dry. I decided to try using a metaphor to explain that wind changes and tried “wind is a chameleon,” but that didn't work very well. As I visualized warm air rising and cold air going low, the idea of a dance metaphor popped in my head. It took a lot of trial and error to tie all of the metaphors together with the overarching dance metaphor, but I’m so thrilled with the end result. Revision took YEARS, lol.

Wow! How fascinating to hear the whole process and all the work that went into it. I am a bit biased, but I am also thrilled that the dance metaphor prevailed. It works so well! How did you choose which types of wind to include, and possibly exclude, from the book?

 

I started with individual poems about winds from all around the world. But when I started stringing them together, I knew the book needed some kind of “arc.” Initially I grouped them into seasons so I had winds like the Chinook and Santa Ana winds, but the flow wasn’t working for me. I tried grouping them geographically, but that felt scattered. Then I played around with going from relative calm to faster and more destructive winds. With the dance metaphor, that arc just seemed to work. As I revised, I decided to focus on winds that kids in North America would be most familiar with since that would likely be where the book would be published. Although the derecho is a wind not everyone is familiar with, we experienced one in 2012 and lost power for a few days. The derecho fascinated me so much, that I knew I wanted it in my book.

The book's cover is so inviting, and I love how Josée Bisaillon's illustrations are full of so much beautiful energy and movement. What are some of your favorite aspects of the art?

 

Oh my gosh, Josée’s illustrations are so amazing and so perfect for this book. I am so honored that she agreed to be my creative partner for this project. I knew it would be challenging to illustrate something that is not seen. I assumed she would incorporate the metaphors, but as in most traditional publishing contracts, I had no contact with Josée while she was working on it. The day I got her first sketches, I teared up. When the color ones landed in my inbox, I literally gasped. They were so beautiful. The somewhat transparent aspect of the wind with the objects of my metaphors flowing across the pages makes me swoon. The color scheme she uses is just so perfect.

The beautiful text coupled with beautiful art in this book will make a lot of people swoon! What impact do you hope this book will have on children?

 

I hope this book encourages kids to look at our natural world in new ways. I love the idea of kids coming up with new metaphors to describe other winds or other types of weather. I want them to see that science, while factual, is also awe-inspiring, and can be imaginative, too. I also hope that learning a bit more about the various winds, even the destructive ones, helps them fear storms less and also be proactive in knowing what to do if they face any dangerous storms.

And finally, to steal a line from the ending of your book (which is an ingenious discussion starter allowing for a variety of scientific, poetic, or other creative responses)... "How would YOU describe the wind today?"

            
It’s a very sunny, still, late summer day here in Northern Virginia and I only occasionally see the leaves move in my yard. So today the wind is a feather, barely tickling my skin.

Oh, I love that! And thanks again for being here with us today!

To learn more about Debra and all of her books, visit her website here. You can also follow her on social media: Instagram @debrakshumaker, Twitter/X @ShumakerDebra, or Bluesky @debrakshumaker.bsky.social.

A BIG Congratulations to Vashti Harrison!

Today the American Library Association announced the 2024 Youth Media Awards, and author/illustrator Vashti Harrison was a BIG winner!

If you haven't yet read her gorgeous and groundbreaking picture book BIG, I hope you run to your favorite indie bookstore or local library for a copy. It's possible, however, that it will be out of stock or on loan -- not only because Vashti just won a Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for the book but because it is, quite simply, a remarkable book! 

Ballet is part of the backdrop, but BIG is about so much more. It's a beautiful, self-affirming story for anyone who has ever received comments -- words -- that have hurt them, be those words about their size (as in this book) or about any other quality they embody. Vashti's sparse test combined with her ingenious use of size, space, and color infuse the story with so much emotion, reminding readers that self-acceptance and self-love are some of the most powerful gifts we can give to ourselves. 

BIG was published by Little, Brown and Company last May, and I picked up my copy in October while visiting friends in Portland. As I browsed the shelves of Powell's Books, I came upon a display copy with a signed print tucked inside. It was my first time in Powell's (which, by the way, is one of the most amazing bookstores ever), and finding this treasure made it a most magical experience... 

Congratulations, Vashti!

See all the 2024 Youth Media Award winners here.  

Playful Dance Chants for Moving and Grooving!

One of the reasons I started my blog more than a decade ago was to bring together picture book creators, teachers, librarians, and dance educators who all believe in the power of movement as much as I do. The recent picture book Tap and Rap, Move and Groove by author Connie Bergstein Dow and illustrator Debbie Palen is the perfect example of a book that embodies this sentiment. 

With the holiday season officially in full swing, Tap and Rap, Move and Groove would make an excellent gift for parents, librarians, or early childhood educators -- both those who regularly incorporate movement into their story times or lesson plans and those who would like to incorporate movement but may be a little hesitant. Here are some reasons I think it's great for both groups...

• There's a lot of variety in the 14 dance chants included in the book, so you're sure to find one that fits into any theme you want to explore through movement. Animals, feelings, nature, counting -- even feet! Here's a peek at the first page of a two-page chant about all the ways you can dance with your feet... 

• If you're in a pinch and need a last-minute creative movement prompt, look no further! Keep this book handy for any extra time you might have at the end of a dance class or school day, especially if the kids have been sitting for a long time and just need to get their wiggles out!  
• The back matter is AMAZING if you're looking for some practical support in using the book. It includes guidelines for leading each chant, suggestions for creating boundaries to maintain control in a room full of kinetic kiddos, modifications to make the chants accessible for children with a range of needs and learning styles, and reminders of why creative movement is so beneficial to young children.
• This peppy, brightly colored book also comes with a free digital download full of ideas for enhancing the chants with music, props, and variations to keep children engaged during many repeated readings!

If you haven't guessed, author Connie Bergstein Dow is also an experienced dance educator. Learn more about her at Moving Is Learning or from my review of her debut picture book From A to Z with Energy! But before you go, as we metaphorically wave goodbye, here is the ending of a chant from Tap and Rap, Move and Groove called "Waving Rap"... 

Wave your arms, way up high.

Reach your fingers to the sky.

Step and clap, step and clap, 

As we do our waving rap!

Jump and hop, twist and bop. 

Wave everything...and now we stop!

Sing Along to Boogie in the Bronx!

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to rumba! Boogie in the Bronx hit bookshelves one week ago today! 

I became a huge fan of publisher Barefoot Books when my girls (who are both teenagers now) were very young. This new picture book, written by Jackie Azúa Kramer and illustrated by Jana Glatt, embodies all the qualities that have kept me a fan through the years. The art is bold and bright, with equally engaging rhyming text, full of music and movement. As a bonus, it's a singalong! Sung by Sol y Canto to music written by Brian Amador, the song (which mimics the text) and an accompanying animated video can be accessed through a QR code at the end of the book, or here!

Although not apparent from the title alone, this book is also a counting book (with numbers and some short phrases in both English and Spanish) and an introduction to Latin, Afro-Latin, and African American dance--all set within the walls of a diverse high-rise apartment in New York City...

Once you listen to the song, you'll also realize that it's an introduction to the rhythms that go along with each the 10 featured dances, including salsa, reggaeton, and conga. The spread below, featuring tango, is one of my favorites. I especially love how the paint brushes of the artists are gliding right along with them as they dance in their apartment...

One more thing I've always loved about Barefoot Books is that the characters in their books have been from diverse backgrounds for as long as I've been reading them, which means representation has been important to them for a very long time. 

To that point, I really appreciated the acknowledgment in the back of Boogie in the Bronx thanking a director of diversity education, a disability consultant, a pronunciation consultant, and a dance consultant for their expert advice in creating this book. So, with that...

 

I hope you've still got your dancing shoes on. Let's dance! Vamos a bailar!