Welcome back to all, and best wishes for a creative and fulfilling 2025.
Today GROG is thrilled to welcome author Lydia Lukidis to tell us about her new book, UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth's Atmosphere, illustrated by Katie Rewse and published by Capstone Editions, a Capstone imprint.
Lydia has written more than 50 trade and educational books for children, including DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone. 2023), which you can read more about in this GROG post.
Lydia's new book explores Earth's atmosphere -- how about that for a picture book topic! Curious about where this idea came from? I asked!GROG: What inspired you to write this book? Did you think about it when writing your earlier book about Mae Jemison?
Lydia: It started in 2019 when I began writing DEEP, DEEP DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench. Unbeknownst to me at the time, that book would turn out to be very special. It taught me that I can write about STEM topics using lyrical language. This was a turning point for me as a writer.
DEEP, DEEP DOWN won numerous awards (my first time!!) like the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner for the Canada and North America Division and the Silver Birch Express Honor (Forest of Reading). My agent Miranda Paul suggested I write a book UP, UP HIGH that journeys up high into our universe. I knew it was a winner.
P.S.: I had written DANCING THROUGH SPACE, my book about Mae Jemison, ten years prior so they weren’t connected. But now I clearly see I love writing about the deep sea and space!
GROG: What is your favorite line from Up, Up High?
Lydia: It's here:
The text is:
Up,
up
high
you go.
Soon the entire window
begins to glow
as an aurora
dances across the horizon.
Waves of blue,
yellow,
and green
merge together like magic,
shimmering
and shifting
in a sea of color.
GROG: Nice! And which illustration do you love the most?
Lydia: Also this one--Katie did such a terrific job illustrating the aurora lights!
GROG: It really is lovely. Okay, how about your research process? Your note thanks an expert, Dr. Zhang – did you conduct many interviews?
Lydia: This is what I’m learning with nonfiction; that primary resources and interviews with experts are sometimes essential and lend more credibility and accuracy to the work. My research starts with a few trips to the library where I consult books, periodicals, and magazines. Then I scour the web for reputable sites. From there, I’m usually able to write the first drafts. BUT- there are often holes or inaccuracies in the text. For UP, UP HIGH, I consulted three different experts:
Dr. Zhang who works for the NOAA. He’s a whiz who was able to answer all my weather/atmosphere questions.
NASA astronaut Linda Godwin, who spent time aboard the International Space Station. How amazing is that?
Alan Eustace, a computer analyst who, gasp, SPACE JUMPED! Yes, you heard that right. I'm sure you've heard of skydivers. They jump from planes at about 10,000 feet up. But Eustace took a jump in space, from 26 miles up (137,280 feet). He free fell for more than 14 minutes and traveled faster than the speed of sound. Can you imagine??
GROG: All three of these people sound like amazing sources of information and insight. Now, tell me about the “poetry” in your title. Do you consider the whole book a single poem or did you write discrete poems about different topics or themes within the book?
Lydia: The reason I chose poetry and lyrical language for DEEP, DEEP DOWN is because the Mariana Trench itself is a poem (I watched hours of footage). The same applies to our atmosphere, it’s mysterious and poetic all at once. It’s something we take for granted yet gives us life. This book honors that. I see each spread as having its own little poem that attempts to encapsulate the magic of the element it describes.
GROG: Why do you like to combine nonfiction with poetry?
Lydia: First off, it should be said that poetry is my first love, I’ve been crafting poems since I was six years old. So, if that language works, I’ll use it! But that’s not always the case, it varies from project to project. Sometimes, the content calls for a funny tone, or a more serious one. I play around with structure and tone until it feels right.
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| Poems penned by young Lydia |
GROG: What are your thoughts about how to write nonfiction to engage young readers?
Lydia: Children are naturally curious. If you structure a nonfiction book in an engaging way and pick a topic with kid appeal, many children will likely gravitate to it. As an author, you need to think like a child. What would a child find interesting? That way, you can find your way ‘in’ to the book. Sometimes, it doesn’t happen. I have many WIPs that end up in the garbage.
GROG: I love the way the graphics in Up, Up High note the altitude above Earth for various features. How did you formulate the format for the book, with the fact boxes and altitude notations?
Lydia: Thanks! That format was perfected in DEEP, DEEP DOWN. I wanted to be as accurate as possible and really give context to all these atmospheric elements. The information on the internet is not the most accurate so consulting with the NOAA was essential.
GROG: Would you call Up, Up High trade or educational? Or both?
Lydia: It’s definitely trade as it’s published by Capstone Editions. I had been struggling for years to make the leap from work-for-hire to trade and it wasn’t easy. The good thing is, Capstone is also very much an educational publishing company and many of their clients are schools and libraries. So it flows into both worlds.
GROG: Generally, what do you take inspiration from? Where do you look for ideas?
Lydia: I don’t need to actively look for ideas, they literally come to me every day. My issue is that I need to practice the art of discernment, this is critical. Most of the ideas are just that, ideas, and they don’t necessarily translate into a strong book with a narrative arc. When an idea has potential, I’ll start my research and develop it to make sure it has what it takes.
GROG: I'm wondering how Up, Up High is related to Deep, Deep, Down? Did you have a contract for a series? And can you share what you are planning to write next?
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| Lydia Lukidis |
Lydia: UP, UP HIGH is definitely a companion book to DEEP, DEEP DOWN. They follow the same structure and tone, but explore our beautiful world in opposite directions. The second book wasn’t “in the bag” with Capstone right off the bat, but my agent Miranda Paul submitted it to their editor first, as an exclusive. They said yes! It was meant to be. Will there be more books in this series? Maybe! One never knows.
I love writing nonfiction STEM. But I also like writing funny! I have a new early graphic novel series coming out in July, "Groucho the Grouchy Groundhog," which is a nod to Garfield, slapstick humor, and Seinfeld. All things I love!
I also wrote two novels in verse on very tough topics. I’m hoping they will get picked up! One is on sub and the other is with my agent.
Lastly, I’m working on three different STEM books. One of them is flowing well and the other two, not so much! Sometimes it takes time.
GROG: That's a lot! Good luck with all of the above. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Lydia: I wanted to tell all aspiring writers: DON’T GIVE UP! Keep writing, it takes time. It took me many years to find my footing, and I had to go through three different agents until I found my dream agent. And still, it’s hard. I get rejections all the time. But I don’t give up, and neither should you.
More about Lydia Lukidis
Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024) and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) which was a Crystal Kite winner, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and Cybils Award nominee. A science enthusiast from a young age, Lydia now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul from the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.
Social Media Links:
Website & preorder UP, UP HIGH: http://www.lydialukidis.com/
Blog: https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis
FB: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLukidis/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lydialukidis.bsky.social
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