Lydia Lukidis Dances Through Space ~Christy Mihaly

I'm very pleased to welcome Lydia Lukidis to GROG. Lydia has written 50+ children's books including her most recent, Dancing through Space: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights, illustrated by Sawyer Cloud. I had a few questions for Lydia:  

Welcome, Lydia! Please tell us about your writing life and why you write for kids. 

LL: I began reading at age 4 and writing at age 6. I loved writing poetry and was self-taught, it was my biggest hobby, though I didn’t consider becoming an author until years later!

I love writing for children because of their innocence, imagination, and wacky sense of humor. I somehow connect to children and I suppose my mind still thinks like a child's. I prefer writing nonfiction but I don’t want to put myself in a box either, and I still like writing fiction. I have a new early reader graphic series coming out next year based on a comic I created when I was 10. I’m lucky that my agent, Miranda Paul, allows me the freedom to write from the heart, wherever that may take me.

CM: I agree, I worry about getting tired of always sticking to the same genre -- it's fun to play around and explore. But I've noticed you love STEAM.

What do you love best about writing nonfiction?

LL: I prefer writing nonfiction because we live in such a wondrous world and I think children are naturally curious, just like I am. Having a degree in Pure and Applied Science, I love finding ways to make information about our world interesting and accessible for children.

CM: So you are a Serious Scientist, and also an Artistic Person.

How are you staying creative? What do you do to fill your creative well?

LL: I was always an artist first. I drew, made crafts, crafted jewelry, and wrote poetry. I studied science in college and I do have an analytical side. But I believe that to truly understand all facets of our world, we need to look at it through the lens of both art and science. Writing is a creative outlet for me, but I also love making graphics. I still craft in my spare time and make art with my daughter. Creativity is what drives me!

CM: Yes, making art with kids can be inspiring!

Okay, some questions about how you wrote this picture book biography of astronaut (and dancer) Mae Jemison.

How long did it take to get from inspiration to finished book?

LL: I began writing DANCING THROUGH SPACE in 2014 and it took TEN years for the book to get published! It went through many incarnations and I also went through several agents, it was part of my journey. I learned a lot about the kidlit industry and about myself as a writer with this book. Everything unfolded the way it was meant to!

A spacey spread from Dancing through Space

CM: Ten years ... but the book is better for it, right? Books often take a long time. I'm looking forward to the 2026 publication of a picture book biography that I started writing in -- wait for it -- 2012. Lots of drafts, many revisions, and a dose of publishing craziness.

In Dancing through Space, you highlight the twin passions of Jemison's life by telling a dual narrative. Tell us more about what sparked your story concept and how you made it work.

LL: I didn’t figure out the hook (the intersection of dance and science) for years. Yes, it took years to figure it out! My early drafts were probably terrible. But every time I read about Mae, I was drawn to the same thing; that she loved to dance and appreciated the arts. I finally realized that’s the hook I was missing! It brought the story to the next level and it felt right to structure this as a dual narrative.

Showing the dual narrative structure of Dancing through Space

CM: Anything you want to share about your illustrator, Sawyer Cloud, or the publisher, Albert Whitman?

LL: I’m really lucky because I felt that Josh, my editor at Albert Whitman, really understood what I was trying to do. The editing process was very smooth. I was equally lucky to be paired with Sawyer Cloud, whose mesmerizing illustrations captured both reality and magic.

CM: In reading your book, I noticed Mae’s parents were so supportive. Some of her teachers and peers were not. Can you tell us more? 

LL: Mae’s parents were instrumental in helping her discover her inner scientist. When she had a question, instead of answering that question, they would ask her to look it up. That helped her foster autonomy and confidence. Her parents encouraged her to study whatever she wanted, whether it was science or dance.

Unfortunately, girls were not encouraged to study science at that time, especially Black girls. Her Kindergarten teacher questioned Mae’s desire to be a doctor and asked her if she would like to be a nurse instead, which was offensive. And when Mae attended Stanford University, many of her professors ignored or belittled her, despite her brilliance.

But none of that mattered to Mae. The word “no” did/does not exist in her vocabulary. She doggedly pursued her dreams time and time again. She made history being the first Black woman to fly to space and accomplished whatever else she set out to do.

CM: Mae is amazing and kids are going to love this book.

For our GROG readers, do you have any wise writing advice? Recommended resources? Revision tips?

LL: Revising is not the easiest process for me. Sometimes, I know something is wrong with a manuscript but I have no idea how to fix it. There’s no specific equation that works for me each time, but here’s a breakdown of how I edit:

➜ Once I pound out the first draft, I put it aside.

➜ I revisit it and make any necessary edits, playing around with structure and voice (it’s important to experiment).

➜ When I feel the manuscript is the best it can be, I send it to my critique partners (if you don’t have any CPs, get some!! They are an essential part of the process).

➜ I take what critiques resonate, and then get back to editing.

➜ Again, I put the work aside (for me, this is an essential step).

➜ During this time, I read and write other books, this helps keep the creative juices flowing.

➜ When I return to the manuscript, I may realize it’s still not working, in which case I shelve it indefinitely.

➜ If I feel strongly about trying to make it work, I may pay an editor to take a look at it.

➜ If I feel the manuscript is “amazing,” then I send it to my agent Miranda to get her feedback, and then we usually edit some more until we submit it to editors.

CM: Y'all, this is all great advice! Thank you, Lydia.

What upcoming projects are you excited about?

LL: I’m excited to announce UP, UP HIGH, a companion book to DEEP, DEEP DOWN published by Capstone. It ventures up high into the Earth’s atmosphere to uncover its secrets. Though it may seem like there’s nothing up there, readers will be surprised at what you can actually find. That book spins into our universe in 2025.

I also occasionally write funny fiction! I just landed a contract for a 2 book early graphic novel deal, GROUCHO THE GROUCHY GROUNDHOG, the first book releases in 2025.

Lydia, thank you for sharing about your book and your process today. Congratulations on all your writing -- and good luck with the writing (and revision) ahead.

Lydia Lukidis is the 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), DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) which was shortlisted for a Silver Birch Express (Forest of Reading) award, THE BROKEN BEES’ NEST (Kane Press, 2019) which was nominated for a Cybils Award, and NO BEARS ALLOWED (Clear Fork Media, 2019). A science enthusiast from a young age, she now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books.

Lydia's Social Media Links: 

Web: http://www.lydialukidis.com/

Purchase links: https://www.albertwhitman.com/book/dancing-through-space/

Blog: https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis

FB: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLukidis/

Yes, I Can! ~ by Christy Mihaly

You've probably been told that it's good to say "yes." (Not the kind of "yes" when someone tries to bully you into doing something that is not good for you. Rather the "yes, I can" that Shonda Rhimes pursued during her Year of Yes -- accepting invitations to do things that scare you.) 

Why should a writer say "yes"? The first reason is because that's how we grow. When I started writing, my fantasy of the writerly life involved sitting in glorious solitude and letting the deathless prose pour forth spontaneously, with no need to interact with actual people. 

This notion was, shall we say, incomplete. If you're writing for kids, interacting with young people helps bring your writing to life. And being a "real writer" requires interacting with adults. It means working with editors. It may mean agreeing to write something that you didn't expect to write, or providing critiques to colleagues, or promoting yourself to sell your darn book, or giving presentations to kids and adults. (It may even mean, ahem, writing a last-minute blog post despite worrying that you have nothing original or worthwhile to share.) 

Many of these things are scary. But I've learned that saying "yes" to scary things--things that weren't in my initial vision of "writing"--has made me feel more like a "real writer."

In addition, recently, I've experienced one of the best reasons to say "yes:" it's that a single "yes" can catapult you into whole new oceans of possibilities. "Yes" makes good things happen -- and offers more chances for more "yeses." Here's the story of my chain of yeses.

A Chain of YESes: The power of a "yes"

In early 2020 I received an email asking if I would like to write a book about water. Well, that was not on my to-do list. (A book about water??) But I soon realized it was an interesting idea, and that I had some relevant background. The more I considered it, the more I realized my answer should be "yes."

My "yes" led to a happy, year-long collaboration with Barefoot Books editor Emma Parkin and an amazing team of editorial and book design staff, along with super-talented illustrator Mariona Cabassa. Despite various setbacks, supply chain issues, and a ship blocking the Suez Canal, Barefoot Books WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery came out in the fall of 2021.

Serendipitously, around the same time as publication, the national 2022 library summer reading program theme was  announced by CLSP: "Oceans of Possibilities." So in early 2022, because of Barefoot Books Water, the Vermont Department of Libraries contacted me with an invitation: Would I deliver the keynote to kick off their "Oceans of Possibilities" summer reading training program for state librarians? Yikes. That was definitely outside my comfort zone, and my introvert brain screamed "no!" But it would be a virtual presentation, and I knew I should say "yes." So, my mouth said "yes," and my introvert brain went into panic mode to write (and practice!) the keynote.

Creating the slideshow for the Department of Libraries was a ton of work. And it was worth it. It made me delve deeply into Water and revisit what I'd learned in writing it. It helped me think anew about how librarians and educators could use the book to engage kids in discussing Earth's water, the almost magical properties of this element, how we use it, and how we can protect it. 

When it came time to deliver the talk, I was pleasantly surprised. It was fun! I love librarians, they appreciated hearing about the book, and I enjoyed sharing ideas for activities with them. We had some lively Q and A and I think we all came away feeling inspired.

But wait, there's more! Several librarians who saw the keynote contacted me afterward. Some invited me to do author visits at their schools. Others asked me to participate in their summer library programs. I don't consider myself a natural performer and I have no background in education. My brain said "no!" But these folks thought I could present an entertaining program, and I knew I had just developed a bunch of good program ideas. So I said "yes!" 

From the talk that I'd written for the Department of Libraries, I created a series of school visits. Then I adjusted it for library visits. I experimented with different activities from the book. Each new group of kids reacted differently, and I figured out more about how to get them engaged. I was learning and having fun. 

That wasn't the end of it. Last month at one of my summer library visits, a representative of the school district attended (because the local district had funded the program). A couple days later, the woman directing the district's after-school program asked if I'd do after-school workshops during the school year. Clearly outside my comfort zone, right? Brain says "no," right? She and I brainstormed some possibilities, and I said "yes." I'll be visiting each of the seven schools in the district to present poetry workshops. I'm excited! It's a chance to talk with kids about poetry, guide them in writing their own, learn more about what kinds of poems they love, and do some deep thinking about how to write better poems myself. 

(And ... it's about something other than water!) 

So ...

Lessons learned: 

👉 Say "yes" to get out of your comfort zone and learn. It can be a lot of work and make you nervous. But it's also energizing and fun.

👉 Say "yes" to expand your writing life and engage in different ways with kids, readers, educators, and librarians. It's inspiring! 

AND

👉 Say "yes" to create new opportunities for yourself and your writing. And when one "yes" leads to another, say "yes" again! 

As we head into a new school year, where can "yes" take you?

I'd love to see your comments: Do you have a good story about saying "yes"?