June’s Solar Oven Book Review
I was lucky to meet Jen Malia at the 2023 NCTE National Convention In Columbus, Ohio, and have been reading her chapter books and following her career ever since.
JUNE’S SOLAR OVEN, a STEAM picture book, features June and her science club who are exploring solar, energy, and engineering through trial and error. However, the science club has moved locations to a local park and June feels uncomfortable in new places. Yet, neurodivergent June wants to show up for her friends, and science is her superpower. After some encouragement from her big sister and with her trusty headphones that help her deal with sensory issues, June is ready to join Eli and Sofia, her partners, with five other teams to find the best method to layer pepperoni and cheese and create the most delicious pizza cracker.
Science teachers, librarians, and homeschooled students will appreciate the backmatter replete with a short glossary of science terms, simple directions to experiment with solar cooking, and extension activities to think, explore, and play with this topic. Illustrators Rachel and Phillippa Corcutt designed a sunny palette with engaging cartoon characters that will attract young readers’ attention.
Charlebridge’s STEAMWORKS books feature children of all backgrounds and abilities using scientific and mathematical thinking to solve everyday problems and answer questions that matter to them. STEAMWORKS picture books are available in Spanish, too. My mouth is watering for solar pizza crackers now!
Craft Chat with Jen Maila
Kathy: I know you best from your chapter book series, The Infinity Rainbow Club. Yet, your debut was a picture book, Too Sticky! Sensory issues with Autism. Share with our readers the difference between writing picture books and chapter books. What do you think is the most important distinction for the two audiences?
Jen: With a chapter book, the illustrations provide visuals for the reader but aren't necessary to understanding the story. With a picture book, the illustrations tell a story alongside the text. As a picture book author who doesn't illustrate, I often think about how to leave room for the illustrator. I include illustration notes only when they're integral to the story. For example, June wears headphones, which isn't mentioned in the text, but it's important to the story because of her sensory differences. I included an illustration note to have her wear headphones in spreads throughout the book.
Kathy: How did you get involved with the STEAMWORKS book series with Charlesbridge? Did your agent submit this book or was there an author call that Charlesbridge sent to a certain group of authors? Is this series in house now only or can other authors apply?
Jen: I saw a call for manuscripts for the STEAMWORKS series on social media and told my agent, Naomi Davis at BookEnds Literary Agency, who submitted two STEAM picture book manuscripts for me that I had already written. Neither of these manuscripts had STEAM experiments that fit exactly what Charlesbridge was looking for, but they liked my character June and asked if I could write another manuscript with a different focus.
My agent sent them a list of STEAM experiments that I proposed, including making a solar oven, which turned out to be the winner. I wrote the manuscript for June's Solar Oven in about a week or so. Then I went through a few rounds of revision with Charlesbridge before they made an offer. I don't know if the publisher is accepting any more submissions for the series.
Kathy: I love the sunny, fun pallet that Rachel and Phillippa Corcutt created for this book. It fits the topic and the title dealing with a solar oven. Very clever! What's your favorite spread in the book and why?
Jen: I absolutely love the illustrations. I couldn't have asked for better co-creators than Rachel and Phillippa on this book project. My favorite spread is the one where June asks her friends if she can use a blanket because she doesn't want her skin to touch the scratchy wood on the picnic table. She's also wearing her headphones because she's sensitive to noise. Rachel and Phillippa capture her accommodations so well in this spread.
Kathy: In the back matter, you asked readers questions regarding what inventions could they create using the sun energy. Have you had any responses from readers or at school visits? I'm sure you did some real life experiments creating your own solar oven. How did that go?
Jen:I haven't had a chance to do any school visits for June's Solar Oven yet. But my book launch was at The Lynnhaven Mall Barnes & Noble in Virginia Beach earlier this month. It was so much fun to make solar ovens with kids. I plan to include this STEAM activity in future school and library visits.
Kathy: Since this book just came out on October 13, what plans do you have for your launch year?
Jen: I will be at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention in Philadelphia this November to present on two author panels and sign copies of June's Solar Oven in the Charlesbridge booth. I have a speaking agency, Authors Out Loud, that normally books my author visits.
Jen Malia is the autistic author of the picture book June’s Solar Oven, the children’s chapter book series The Infinity Rainbow Club, and the picture book Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism. After four years in the United Arab Emirates as an assistant professor of writing at the American University of Sharjah, she joined Norfolk State University, where she is now a full professor of English. She has a BA in English from Bowdoin College and an MS in TESOL and a PhD in English from the University of Southern California. As a freelance journalist, she covers autism and neurodiversity and has written for or appeared on the New York Times, the Washington Post, New York Magazine, NPR, Parents, Glamour, Woman’s Day, and others. Originally from Pittsburgh, she currently lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, three neurodivergent kids, and their Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier named Teddy. For more information, visit jenmalia.com.
Find Jen Here!
You can find me on my author website, JenMalia.com. I'm also on Instagram @jenmaliabooks
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