Gone Fishin' ~ a bucket of fishy tales

 by Sue Heavenrich

A couple months ago, Kathy Halsey interviewed Pam Courtney about her new book, A Season For Fishin’: A Fish Fry Tradition. And that got me thinking of all the fish stories my uncles and cousins used to tell – about the ones they caught, the ones that were “this big” (imagine arms spread as wide as they can go), and mostly about the ones that got away. And THAT got me wondering … 

how many ways could we tell a fish story?

We could stick with the facts, like Debra Kempf Shumaker does in her book, Freaky, Funky Fish: Odd Facts about Fascinating Fish. To be a fish, she writes, you have to have certain characteristics: scales, gills, maybe fins. But not all fish are alike. Debra shows, in rhyming text, the different ways fish are adapted to survive in their world. Some fish zap, some sing, some produce copious amounts of slime – and one even has a see-through head! What I love about this book is how she rates each fish on a funkiness scale of 1-5. 

We could profile a specific fish, like Elaine M. Alexander does in Anglerfish: The Seadevil of the Deep. The anglerfish looks like a very scary monster, what with that big mouth and sharp teeth. But she wasn’t always so big, or so toothy. In this book, we follow the anglerfish from fry to fierce predator to releasing eggs for the next generation. What I particularly like about this book is how the dark, mysterious illustrations bring us right into anglerfish’s deep, dark world.. I also like the comparison of the different species of angler fish. I didn’t know there were so many!

We could tell stories about the people who study fish. Like the students in Emmy’s class that Mary Boone follows in School of Fish. They watch salmon eggs from the day they’re dropped into the fish tank to the day they release the fry into a river. Along the way, the students learn about more than fish; they learn about ecosystem connections. And they learn how to work together for the good of the fish.

Or like fish scientists, such as Cristina Zenato, profiled in Sharks Unhooked, The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger, by Patricia Newman and Else Bostelmann, the underwater artist profiled in Else B. in the sea : the woman who painted the wonders of the deep, by Jeanne Walker Harvey. Not only are these fish stories, but they are about amazing women in science!

We could write about the important work fish do, like the cleaner fish in Susan Stockdale’s book, Don't Eat the Cleaners! Tiny Fish with a Big Job. When fish get dirty (like … how does that even happen? They live in water!) they head to a cleaning station. Cleaner wrasse and cleaner shrimp hang out there, ready to nibble dead skin and parasites of their fishy customers. These cleaner fish also slip between sharp teeth, pulling out bits of food, and nibble algae from sea turtle shells.

Or how tiny fish no longer than your finger are helping to save an important biome, in Sy Montgomery’s Amazon adventure : how tiny fish are saving the world's largest rainforest. They save not only the rainforest but the culture and economy that depend on them.

And of course, we could tell stories in the tradition of  an authentic “fish story” – absurd tall tales that get taller with each telling. Here are two that had me chuckling:

Don’t Trust Fish, by Neil Sharpson which begins with some matter of fact explanations of how to tell a mammal from a bird but quickly goes off the rails when it comes to fish. Why? Because you can’t trust fish! They spend all their time in the water, some are as big as a bus, and what are they teaching in those “schools” anyways?

I Need Pants! by Susan Sweet in which Fish desperately wants a pair of pants. Octopus points out that Fish can’t wear pants because fish don’t have legs. But once Fish finds a pair of pants and struts around the ocean in style, Octopus decides to try a few pairs on for size … 

So grab your tackle box – or your pencil and notebook, paints and sketchpad – and head to the river. What sort of Fish Story will you come back with?

Vicky Fang and more Ava Lin

Welcome back to author-illustrator Vicky Fang! Vicky is the talented creator of the funny and relatable "Ava Lin" early chapter book series. The first installment, Ava Lin, Best Friend, was published last year and the subject of an earlier GROG post.

Book #2 (Ava Lin, One of a Kind) came out in January, and book #3 (Ava Lin, Super-Duper Happy) is out June 10.

In Book 2, first-grader Ava's quest to do more kind deeds than anyone else in her class (in order to win a cool prize) leads to unexpected consequences. And Book 3 brings a school walkathon and a visit from Ava's popo (Chinese for grandmother). The Ava Lin books are bursting with humor and heart as Ava makes mistakes and learns from them. Throughout, Vicky's lively art keeps young readers engaged.

I asked Vicky about her latest book and future plans.

GROG: Your third Ava Lin book is now out. How is it different from the earlier two?

Vicky: While Best Friend! and One of a Kind focused on Ava navigating school and friendships, Super-Duper Happy centers on Ava’s relationship with her grandmother. There are still school themes involved (like the big school walkathon) but this book really explores how Ava tries to find a connection with her grandmother. It’s inspired by my own kids’ relationship with their grandmother (popo), and the hilarity found between what Ava thinks is awesome (treasures she finds on the ground or creepy crawly critters) and what her popo thinks is awesome (NOT the same things.)

from Book 3

How has Ava surprised you as the series progressed?

As I get to know Ava more, I love her for her optimism, her intensity, and her enthusiasm. I feel like writing Ava Lin helps me identify the social anxieties or confusions that are familiar to us all—and her character gives me a chance to dive headlong into those social missteps and find a way to bounce back or move forward from them. Writing these books is both cathartic and delightful, because I have so much fun writing and illustrating Ava’s hilarious shenanigans.

Why did you want Ava Lin to be Chinese American?

I wanted to write a Chinese American character because of my own upbringing and because I wanted my boys to see a truly funny, relatable character that was Chinese American, like them.

I also knew that the specificity would make the stories more funny and relatable. Little details, like the special tea Popo brings, or the slippers she wears around the house, give the characters and the situations depth and reality. I hope that Chinese American kids delight at seeing their culture represented in these books and that all kids recognize and relate to Ava’s experiences.

When you do classroom visits, what do first graders say about your Ava Lin books?

School visits are so much fun! I love getting messages afterwards from kids who love the books. There’s often something specific that they’ve fallen in love with—much like Ava Lin does! “I love the turtle” or “I love how she was kind to her friend” or “I like bubble tea too.” Ava Lin is all about full enthusiastic love for all kinds of wonderful things, so I love that kids react to the books in the same way! I’ve also seen and heard that kids don’t want to put the book down and want to keep on reading, which of course, makes me so happy as an author who wants to encourage young readers!

 

The word is you're working on an early graphic novel series, can you tell us more about that?

Yes! I am very excited about my upcoming early graphic novel series, One Mad Cat. It’s releasing next summer (2026) and I’m just working on the final cover for the first book now. It’s about a very cute but easily annoyed cat who steps out of her comfort zone to help solve mysteries for her friends.

I can't wait to see that one! It's been great chatting, Vicky. Anything else you'd like to share with GROG readers? 

Yes -- for updates on my upcoming books, you can sign up for my newsletter at https://vickyfang.substack.com/.

Vicky Fang is the author-illustrator of the Friendbots books and the Ava Lin books. She wrote the I Can Code board book series, as well as the Layla and the Bots series. She lives in California AND -- she runs a craft and business substack for kidlit writers and illustrators with Christine Evans called Kidlit Survival Guide at https://kidlitsurvivalguide.substack.com/. Check it out!

Summertime and Rhyme--A Perfect Picture Book Pair: An Interview with Author Eileen Meyer by Julie Phend

 

What's more fun than spending a summer day at the beach creating your own sandcastle? 

BUILD A SANDCASTLE, published this spring by Reycraft Books, is a charming picture book featuring fun rhyming text by Eileen Rajala Meyer and colorful sewn-felt illustrations by Manica Musil. STEM sandcastle-building techniques are offered by an expert starfish (who's seen many a castle collapse in his years on the beach). 

It's my pleasure to welcome author Eileen Rajala Meyer, a former Grog blogger, to talk about the book and give us some expert tips on writing in rhyme.

Julie: Welcome back to the GROG Blog, Eileen. I'm excited to share your new picture book and tips for writing in rhyme with our readers. This book is a rhyming picture book, but it's also a how-to book with STEM components. So: WHY RHYME?

Eileen: Thank you, Julie, for inviting me to share insights about my new picture book, Build a Sandcastle. I came up with the idea for this picture book during the pandemic while walking the beach near my Florida home. I envisioned a book celebrating that favorite summer activity--building a sandcastle. My audience would be young builders at the beach, those in preschool or early elementary grades.

I chose to write in rhyme because young children love it and rhyming picture books picture books promote early literacy. The repetition of sounds and words aids language development. Since my book was about a fun day at the beach, it tone was light-hearted. To match that feeling, I chose a bouncy rhythm (trochaic poetic meter) for the rhyming couplets I was crafting. Considering all those different elements, writing this book in rhythm and rhyme seemed the perfect match for the subject matter, tone, and audience.

So which came first, the rhymed story or the STEM building tips?

Eileen: Great question. I enjoy researching new topics so I read about sand, sandcastle building, and how experts go about crafting sandcastles. During that process, I compiled a list of tips for the book's back matter. The list included things like safety considerations, supplies to bring along, and how to scout the right spot to build a beach masterpiece. In my research, I came across more advanced tips that competitive builders us, such as using nonstick spray to coat the inside of buckets and forms so they slip off seamlessly during the building process. 

As I crafted rhyming couplets for the story, I referred to my research and fine-tuned my age-appropriate tips. So, to answer your question, the rhyming text and sandcastle construction tips evolved together. In early drafts, the STEM construction tips were placed in the back matter. By my final version, that had changed--now a spunky Starfish shares tips on each page spread to aid young creators step by step.

Julie: Editors often say they don't want rhyming picture books. Why not?

Eileen: As you know, I love rhyme! Most of the picture books I've published are written in rhythm and rhyme. I'm part of the "Rhyme Doctors" team, along with fellow children's authors Michelle Schaub and Patricia Toht. Our team writes extensively about different aspects of rhyme on our free biweekly House Calls blog. Sign up at https://www.rhymedoctors.com/  Our posts include discussions about rhyming picture books and mentor text recommendations. In addition, we often dive into writing nitty-gritty, such as the use of poetic devices or understanding poetic meter and scansion. 

Writing in rhythm and rhyme is not an easy task. It's a real challenge to do it well. There are many elements of a rhyming story to get just right right. Are your rhymes inventive and unique? Is your poetic meter consistent, and does it match the tone of your story? Each word in a rhyming picture book manuscript needs to be carefully chosen for the poetic meter scheme, its meaning, and tone. So, when editors say they don't want rhyming picture books, I believe they are really saying: We want rhyming picture books, but please submit projects that are well-written. Your meter is spot on. Your rhymes are unique and interesting. And you've reworked, revised, and refined your project to perfection!

Julie: What are some common pitfalls about working in rhyme?

Eileen: I think the biggest challenge if you want to write a rhymed picture book is understanding poetic meter. Beginners think that writing a rhyming picture book is all about getting the end rhymes right. Of course, that is an important element (using true rhymes and avoiding slant or near rhymes). But in my opinion, what is essential is creating and maintaining a strong rhythmic pattern from start to finish. Of course, that can include meter variations and refrains--but it should be a pattern that's consistent throughout your manuscript. You want read-aloud text where the words flow beautifully.

Understanding poetic meter is is essential when crafting poems and rhyming picture book text. There are four common poetic meters most poets use: iambic and trochaic meter (formed using two-syllable metrical feet) plus anapestic and diactylic meter (formed using three-syllable metric feet). I write about these four meters in my Rhyme Doctor posts, if readers would like to search the archives. Each post provides examples of the meter, defines it, and showcases its use in children's books and poems. 

Excerpt from Build a Sandcastle. Note the rhyming text, Starfish tip, and sewn-felt illustrations.

Julie: Did anything surprise you about the final version of Build a Sandcastle?

Eileen: After the contract was signed and we discussed art, my editor, Sunita Apte at Reycraft Books, suggested mixed media art for the book. I wasn't familiar with that form of illustration and artistry--but I was thrilled with Manica Musil's sewn-felt depictions. (I hadn't previously seen Manica's work since she is from Slovenia and is published outside the U.S.) She's an amazing talent! My favorite spread is one containing the completed sandcastle. The way she created the castle's intricate details with felt, fabric pieces, and stiching is astonishing. She has added beautiful details, such as an orange beach pail that includes a tiny animal. If you look closely, you'll see that the animal's expression changes with each illustration and page turn. A fun surprise! Manica Musil's beautiful sewn-felt artistry really makes this book stand apart. 

Julie: Thank you, Eileen, for this fun and informative post! Good luck with Build a Sandcastle.

Eileen Rajala Meyer writes children's picture books and poetry. Here rhyming ode to a favorite summer activity, Build a Sandcastle, is hitting the shelves now. Her poetry collection, The Superlative A. Lincoln (Charlesbridge Publishing) was a Florida State Book Award Silver Medal winner. Eileen is a member of the Rhyme Doctors team and shares articles about writing poetry and rhyme in a free monthly newsletter. Sign up at https://www.rhymedoctors.com/  

Visit her at EileenMeyerBooks.com 

On Instagram and Blue Sky:@EileenMeyerBooks 

On X: @Writer_Meyer

What to Write if You Want to Get Published

 by Fran Hodgkins

The question is on every aspiring writer’s mind: What should I write so I can get published? After asking this, a lot of writers end up chasing trends based on what they see in the bookstore. “But books about talking pastry are hot!” complains Writer A. “Why isn’t anyone snatching up my manuscript ‘Cassie the Cowpoke Crossaint’?”

 

There may be many reasons. One of them could likely be that one book about talking pastry makes the best-seller list and leads to an editor’s or agent’s inbox exploding with baked-goods-related manuscripts.

 

Same for books about boy wizards, or dragons, or fairies. “That writer did it and caught a wave,” Writer B thinks. “I’ll do the same!” So Writer B sits down and writes about a boy who wants to be a wizard.

 

Sigh.

 

Trends = Sausages

 

You see, it’s hard to get published. It’s even harder if you write your manuscripts based on what’s hot now. (Remember, books come out a year to two years—maybe even more— after the contract is signed.) Writing to trends is like a cartoon dog chasing a string of sausages: You run and you run and for what? 

 

 

 

What you need to write is what you, and only you, can write.

 

 

 I have a good friend who has written several charming books about fairies. The books have done well and are still in print. In so many ways, they were the ideal books for my friend to write; she has a whimsy streak a mile wide. Could I have written a book about fairies? Perhaps. Would it have been charming and whimsical? Absolutely not. You see, in my family tradition, fairies were not something you encouraged to hang around in the yard or move into the house. No, the fae were spirits who could help you and harm you within the same minute. They were to be avoided, or if that was impossible, placated, not encouraged with the building of tiny doorways and miniscule fire pits. My family’s fae were more Scorpio Races than Tinkerbell —not exactly ideal picture-book material!

 

My suggestion is to look beyond the children’s book section in the bookstore. Look at your own to-be-read pile. Yes, the one teetering on your bedside table. What kind of books do you like to read? Historical fiction? Romance? Mystery? It doesn’t matter if the titles on your table are for an adult audience: they show what you enjoy, what you gravitate toward. If you have a stack of mysteries waiting for you, does that mean you shouldn’t try a writing a romantic YA or a compelling MG novel set in the 1960s? Of course not. But it does mean that you shouldn’t disregard writing what you love to read.

 

Think of it this way. If you were reading Anne McCaffrey and Ursula LeGuin when you were young, the elements of fantasy are in your bones. With every Dragonriders of Pern or Earthsea novel you read, you laid now another layer of quality writing — specifically, quality fantasy writing — on your bones, just as if they were the cells that make up your femurs and tibias and ribs. The rhythms and language and structures of these stories have become part of you. They’ve been there so long that they are practically instinctive. Put them to work. Start your story.

 

 The Story Only You Can Write

Start the story that only you can write. This is probably the hardest part of writing. Writing your own, unique story – now I’m not saying you have to write a story that divulges uncomfortable private secrets. What I mean is write the story that grows from you, from your bones, from your family traditions, beliefs, superstitions, experiences.

 

This is really the essence of the advice “Write what you know.” If you have a dog that wanders off, use that a jumping-off point. If your grandmother loved you and her 100^th birthday is one of your fondest memories, there you go—another story seed.

 

Every person has their own stories. What are yours? 

 

Be Yourself

 

It's easy to dismiss yourself as not having worthwhile or interesting stories. But remember these statistics:

 

• Of the nearly 8 billion human beings on this planet, there is only one you. (Here's where my husband would ask, "But what about identical twins?" — we aren't going there.)
• If you go back through your family tree, thousands of people had to meet in order to produce the lovely and talented you. (Don't believe me? Check this out: https://cms9files.revize.com/franklincountync/Community/Library/Genealogy/ancestors1.pdf) 
  

 

 

You came from literally thousands of people, and you are unique. That means you have unique stories. Don't sell yourself short. Don't try to write the next HP or Hunger Games. 

Tell us your story. We want to hear it!

 

 

Lines That Linger by the GROG bloggers

As we head into the first holiday weekend of summer, we invite all our readers to linger and savor some phrases and quotations that inspire us. 

Perhaps you'll find a quote, motto, or saying that will spark your creativity or move you forward. We invite you to share your favorite lines that spark you in the comments. 

Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Seize the day, trust as little as possible in tomorrow.
— Horace, Odes, 23 BCE

I first came across those words in 10th-grade English, around the time we read Robert Herrick’s poem To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time. Something about that idea stuck. It lit a quiet fire in me, a sense that life keeps moving, and we do not get to hit pause. 

The phrase now lives in small ways throughout my home and office, quiet reminders that time is fleeting and moments are worth holding onto. If I ever get a tattoo, it will be Carpe Diem. These words have stayed with me, not as a slogan but as a quiet challenge to pay attention, to stay present, and to remember that time is always passing.

-Todd Burleson

Music lights me up and makes me happy. I see my life in soundtracks of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell,

Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty, and Jimmy Buffett. All singers and songwriters whose words are poetry and give me direction. 

When I feel stuck in a situation or with a story, I always remember the wisdom of Jimmy Buffett and this quotation. Sailing through the sea of life, there will be storms. There will be calm. There will be adventures. What remains constant is our ability to adjust our sails, make a change in attitude and latitude, so we can move forward with motivation and hopefully joy.

Kathy Halsey

from Sue H:  I usually write nonfiction and picture books, but like every other writer I know, I've got a novel on the back burner. Problem is, there are so many times when I am baffled about finding a way to put something on the page. One of the questions I've been pondering: how do you let the reader know the character's age without saying it outright?

 

 I found a wonderful example in this book, The Shape of Lost Things, by Sarah Everett. On page five she writes: “ Finn isn’t here to celebrate his birthday with us because when my brother was ten and I was eight, dad kidnapped Finn and took him somewhere. Nobody can find them. For the last four years, police have searched for them.”

A little tongue-in-cheek:

Today I will be

Wildly productive.

But first, more coffee.

 

Be well, friends! 

--Fran H.

 

from Tina Cho

I'm trying to survive the last couple of weeks of kindergarten (I'm a teacher). And after June 2nd, you'll find me doing what Eric Carle says in his quote below.  

“Simplify, slow down, be kind. And don’t forget to have art in your life – music, paintings, theater, dance, and sunsets.”

--Eric Carle

Have a wonderful summer! You'll find me in front of books, K-dramas, writing, catching up on Zzzz's, and vacationing! 

Share the lines that linger with you in the comments below. Happy unofficial summer!

What Can AANHPI Heritage Month Teach Me as a Writer? by Tina Cho

May is AANHPI Heritage Month (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander). In schools, teachers might read more diverse books set in Asia and talk about Asian countries and culture. I do. Actually, as a kindergarten Asian American teacher, my students are read Asian books all year around. HA! In fact, last month, my first educational professional article appeared in Edutopia, “5 Strategies to Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month." In this article, I list many picture books that I've used or have been recommended to me. 

Last year I wrote an article for this blog titled, "Have We Done Enough: Diversity in Children's Literature." I revisited the Cooperative Children's Book Center to check stats. In 2023, 11% of the picture books the center collected from U.S. publishers had Asian characters. In 2024, it rose to 13%. Bravo! But in a March 2025 press release from the center, it mentions 28% of the picture books received featured white characters. Is there still room for growth? Of course. 

In this post I want to focus on: Does being Asian American inform my writing? And what can non-AANHPI people gain from this special heritage month? 

I do look at life through an Asian American lens, especially having lived recently in Korea. In fact, all my books have something to do with Korea. In this post, I'll show you six ways you can apply this heritage month to your own writing.

Every culture has important people. For instance, my most popular picture book, The Ocean Calls, illustrated by Jess X. Snow, is about diving women in South Korea. How are they special? Most of them are 50-80 years old, dive in the ocean without any breathing apparatus, and generations have been doing this as a career! Do any of your grandparents dive into the ocean each morning for a living and sell their catch? 

I wanted American kids to know about these ladies because they aren't your typical grandparent. There are some younger ladies learning the tradition as well, but not as many as prior generations. And the cool thing is Apple TV + has a documentary about them, The Last of the Sea Women, directed by Sue Kim, whose daughter has my book! What traditions or unique groups of people are from your culture/heritage that you could write about?

Every culture has special holidays, foods, and folklore. Those seem to abound in picture books. Look at the market. Are any missing from your culture and traditions? Maybe you're the one to write it. I wrote a nonfiction picture book, Korean Celebrations, illustrated by Farida Zaman, about holidays and traditions because this publisher had one on Japanese Celebrations, but not Korean :)  And my agent just sold a new picture book story about a Korean food. More to come after it's announced!

Every culture has history and wars. What does this generation need to know about it? My book, Rice from Heaven: The Secret Mission to Feed North Koreans, illustrated by Keum Jin Song, is a result of a long ago Korean War from the 1950s. In 2016, North Korean refugees sent rice up in hydrogen balloons over the border to feed their country. I helped and wrote a story about this event. 

My lyrical middle grade graphic novel, The Other Side of Tomorrow, illustrated by Deb JJ Lee, (which won the SCBWI Golden Kite award for middle grade fiction and is an honor book for the Freeman Book Awards from NCTAsia as well as 5 starred reviews from the major reviewers) is also a result of a horrible history. It's about two North Korean children who escape across the border along the Asian Underground Railroad. I have another blog post about that process here. Dig into your country's history. What new story hasn't been reported on?

Every culture has heroes. My work-for-hire book, Asian American Women in Science highlights some in a chapter book biography style. Who hasn't been written about from your culture? 

All children want to see themselves in books doing ordinary things. That is something I didn't get to see when I was a child. So my new series, Big Adventures for Growing Minds from PRH Waterbrook, God's Little Astronomer and God's Little Oceanographer, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns, features diverse characters, especially, an Asian boy, which is often overlooked in books. Who still isn't represented much in picture books?

And for fun, put a spin on a familiar story. That resulted in my forthcoming picture book, The Princess and the Grain of Rice, illustrated by Honee Jang. More about that in a future post. Instead of The Princess and the Pea, change that nasty pea into rice and add a historical Korean setting (Joseon era 1392-1910). What familiar story could you change?

So there you have it--6 ways AANHPI Heritage month can influence your writing. 

Reading and writing books from all cultures allows readers to either see themselves or learn and experience something they might never get to in real life. It opens the eyes of little ones so that seeing a person from another culture with different skin and hair colors is normal, and they don't have to stare as if never having seen someone of color before. It allows children to welcome one another and be kind. Now what do you have from your family history or culture that needs to be shared with the world? Go forth and write it! 

Back in 2015, I did write two posts here at the Grog blog about culture and writing. You can find those here and here.

To see award-winning Asian books by awesome Asian authors, check out the Freeman Book Awards.

To know more about me and my books, find me at my website: tinamcho.com or my Instagram.  

Tina Cho, currently a kindergarten teacher by day and an author by night, loves inspiring her students with books and writing. She’s the author of seven picture books, including RICE FROM HEAVEN: THE SECRET MISSION TO FEED NORTH KOREANS, THE OCEAN CALLS: A HAENYEO MERMAID STORY (4 starred reviews, JLG, Freeman Honor Award), GOD’S LITTLE OCEANOGRAPHER (6/24/25), and the forthcoming THE PRINCESS AND THE GRAIN OF RICE (Feb. 2026). Her lyrical graphic novel, THE OTHER SIDE OF TOMORROW received five starred reviews (Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, School Library Journal, The Horn Book), a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, SLJ Best Graphic Novels List 2024, Kirkus Best Middle Grade 2024, & Booklist Editors’ Choice 2024 & the Freeman Book Honor Award/NCTAsia). You can visit her website at www.tinamcho.com. 

New Lenses, New Stories: What Travel Taught Me About Light, Libraries, and Creative Renewal

 

New Lenses, New Stories

What Travel Taught Me About Light, Libraries, and Creative Renewal

Travel invites a particular kind of tension; the pull between wanting to take everything in and simply being in it. You want to see it all, remember it all, photograph it all. But there’s no way to hold everything. Eventually, you learn that the act of seeing—truly seeing—requires presence more than proof.

Sometimes, it takes new lenses—real or metaphorical—to notice what’s right in front of you.

Five years ago, I put down my DSLR. It wasn’t just about simplifying what I carried. It was something deeper, harder to name. I had been a photographer nearly all my life, even professionally for nearly a decade. But during that season, I was struggling. My mental health was in a dark place. I couldn’t create. I couldn’t see anything clearly—not through the lens, not even through my own eyes. So I made a choice. I would strip photography back to its simplest form. One camera. One tool. My phone.

What began as a creative constraint became a kind of quiet restoration. With no settings to manage, no gear to distract, I started noticing again—light, shadow, reflection, shape. Slowly, I returned to the practice not as a photographer chasing the perfect shot, but as a person learning how to see the world again, through simpler tools and, in a way, through new lenses.

A bit of the historic section of Dubai.

This trip to the UAE—my third, and possibly my last—felt different. Erica came with me this time. We traveled with intention, knowing how fleeting and rare this kind of journey is. I moved through the cities with care, trying to hold space for both of us to take it in. I saw so many mosques, each more stunning than the last—graceful arches, geometric domes, calligraphic lines reaching skyward. We never entered one, but they called to me all the same: an invitation to reverence, even from afar.

The Al Noor Mosque in Sharjah, UAE.

While the trip gave me space to reflect, it also gave me purpose. I had the honor of presenting at the inaugural Sharjah School Librarians Conference, representing the Winnetka Public Schools, where I’ve spent nearly all of my 33 years as an educator. My session explored how new tools—like audiobooks, interactive platforms, and AI-powered supports—can help re-engage dormant readers and expand access to inclusive literacy.

Libraries are about welcome. They are spaces of connection, wherever you are.

This is the biggest LCD screen I've ever presented on!

I shared the stage with passionate, thoughtful educators from around the world. But the most memorable moment came later—a quiet, private tour of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library in Dubai, offered by a generous librarian on her own time. That gesture reminded me that librarianship transcends language, borders, and architecture. At its best, it is an act of hospitality.

Shatha, the children's librarian at Mohammed Bin Rashid Library.

It wasn’t just where we went; it was who I got to share it with. Erica and I moved through each day slowly, choosing moments over checklists. We missed plenty, but saw more than enough. And somewhere in the quiet between scheduled presentations and wandering through museums and souks, something in me reopened.

Part of a gorgeous mural I saw while wandering.

Maybe it was the light. Maybe it was the warmth of unexpected kindness. Maybe it was the rhythm of the call to prayer echoing across the rooftops. But when I came home, I came home ready. I’ve been working—really working—on projects I’d nearly forgotten or set aside. Stories are flowing. Ideas are waking up.

I didn’t leave the UAE with souvenirs. I left with momentum.

My wife and I on our first full day in the UAE.

What Remains

I didn’t expect this trip to change me, but it did. Not loudly, not all at once. It offered stillness, light, and the chance to see through new lenses. It reminded me that sometimes, the best way to move forward creatively is to step outside your routine, out into the world, and let it press gently against your senses.

A 'tiny planet' made from the view from the plane.

Travel won’t hand you a story. But if you let it, it will change the way you see. It will hand you new lenses: light, attention, and wonder.

And when you return, the stories waiting inside you might look a little different, too.

This hung on the wall in our hotel. 

This is the zoomed in version of the lens. "Tell Your Story!"

If you're interested in more reflections from this journey—including the moments of stillness, symbolism, and light that shaped it—you’re warmly invited to read the full series on my Substack: “Where Imagination Takes Flight.”