When Water Makes Mud: A Story of Refugee Children: Book Review and Craft Chat with Janie Reinart by Kathy Halsey

Book Review

It's a pleasure to review author Janie Reinart's debut picture book, When Water Makes Mud: a Story of Refugee Children, illustrated by Morgan Taylor and published by Blue Whale Press. (Please note that the publisher's profits are being donated to UNICEF.)

A lyrical, heartfelt picture book, this story of Big Sister and Little Sister highlights the refugee situation in South Sudan via the resourcefulness of children and the strength siblings can give each other through kindness and imagination.

Author Reinart creates a reassuring, child-centric problem for the two sisters that kids around the world can identify with - what to do when you're sad, when you have to move, or worse, when you may even have nothing but the clothes on your back and little else? The immediate problem is solved as big sister relies on critical thinking, problem solving, and her environment to soothe her sister's feelings. A stick sketches a story from home, pebbles create a puzzle, a bag becomes a balloon, and finally Big Sister creates a doll that brings happiness to Little Sister.

The magic of creativity and reality is woven together by Janie's poetry, illustrator Morgan Taylor's warm, yet realistic illustrations, and a stunning final photo by Nora Lorek of ten-year old Susan James with a real clay doll. (See the true ingenuity of Bidibidi's children and their toys photographed here in the National Geographic article.) Although Amazon indicates the book is for ages 4-8, this fictional account grounded in real world problems is a perfect introduction for older children to discuss poverty, imagination, and the design process. The perfect question may be, "How can first world children make something out of nothing and help others as Big Sister has?"

Authors Marcie Atkins, Sherri Jones Rivers, Kristen Fulton, Kathy Halsey and Janie Reinart kick up their heels at a nonfiction retreat in Georgia, 2014.

Craft Chat with Janie Reinart

Chatting with Janie about children's books and writing is something we've done together since we first met at the WOW Nonfiction Retreat, 2014, with amazing writers, many who are now published authors. Today I'm kicking up my heels for Janie's debut picture book and the years of writers' craft that brought When Mud Makes Water to fruition.

Kathy: I notice lots of repetition and parallel structure  in your lyrical text, such as “something from nothing” and the structure of “something is something until . . .” Here's an example ,“A bag is a bag until . . .” Was that a “happy accident” or did you plan it?

Janie: Kathy thank you so much for interviewing me on the GROG. The repetition and parallel structure was more like a “happy plan.”  I wanted the text to be playful and invite the child reader to interact and say the lines with me. 

Kathy: Please share the inspiration that photographer Nora Lorek and writer Nina Strochlic’s National Geographic piece had on your story. Many writers wonder how to get photo permissions. Did you reach out to the NatGeo team or did your publisher? How does that work?

Janie: The photos pulled me in and the story grabbed my heart. In my case after reading the article, I noticed that Nora was on Instagram. I gathered my courage and contacted her. Nora gave me her email and we began to correspond. She became my inspiration and resource. Nora asked to see my story when it was done. She loved the story and said it reminded her of this photo. When I clicked on the link it was the very picture of Nora’s that started the story for me. I wanted the picture in the back matter.  It was so important to me for children in the USA to see that photo to empathize with children in other places in the world. Nora directed me to her agent in London. I purchased the photo. 

Kathy: Illustrator Morgan Taylor’s work is evocative, yet realistic. What surprised you most when you first saw Morgan’s art?  Are you collaborating with her for book promotion? 

Janie: I saw sketches early on and was blown away by Morgan’s talent.  Her use of color and the emotions captured in each picture takes my breath away. Morgan and I are collaborating on book promotion and hope to do some virtual author/illustrator visits together too!

Kathy: Janie and I would like to share a post that highlights illustrator Morgan Taylor's illustration background and process for this collaboration with Janie here.

Kathy: I know  you’ve begun virtual author visits. Will you share some of your highlights and challenges for our readers, please? How did you tailor the visit to different age groups? 

Janie: I love working with all ages. I divide my author visits: K-2nd grade, 3rd-5th grade,  6th-8th grade, and high school.  I include singing and reading the picture book story with K-2nd grade. With 3rd-5th grade and up, I include a readers theater version of the story and more writing prompts. These are some of the best responses I received this year to the question--Why do we write? 

“We write to change people’s lives.” 3rd grader in Minnesota

“We write to bring joy.”  3rd grader in Cleveland

“We write to express our emotions.” 5th grader in Cleveland

I loved a response from a kindergarten group in Cleveland. The students were sitting on a rug. Interspersed during the visit, I told jokes. There was always a pause--then they would literally fall on the floor laughing. It was so much fun to laugh with these students! 

A challenge was having kindergarteners on individual computers. They all had to be muted to keep the noise level down. I also couldn’t see anyone when I was sharing my screen. The teacher sent me little videos of the kids following along singing and doing the hand motions.

Kathy: What are you working on now? 

Janie: My husband and I previously traveled to France to walk in the footsteps of a saint. I am working on a rewrite of that story.

Janie revels in playing with words. As an author, educator, storyteller, and poet, words are her tools. Janie’s passionate about encouraging emergent writers of all ages to find their voice, share their stories, and experience the sheer joy of writing. She lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio with her charming husband. Janie relishes reading historical novels and poetry, writing picture books and singing, and delights in playing with her 16 grandchildren.

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Interview with Author Nadine Poper and Her TWO Picture Books from Blue Whale Press by Tina Cho

Welcome to the Grog Blog, Nadine Poper! She is busy marketing her TWO picture books from Blue Whale Press! Randall & Randall debuted October 1st, and Porcupette & Moppet debuts in November. I've had the privilege of reading both stories, and they are delightful, full of scientific facts in a fun fictional way!

1. Tell us how you got started writing for children.

I have always loved reading and writing. One day while my own children were small, a title popped into my head and I said to myself “I am going to make that a book someday.” About 10 years later, in 2013, my first self-published book called Dachshunds in Moccasins came out. I am a dachshund lover and have two of my own. Since Dachshunds in Moccasins, I have written two other dachshund books and I now have my first two traditionally published picture books coming out this fall. I just decided that it was time to pay attention to this quiet passion I had that was sort of sleeping. While my children were small, I really couldn’t devote the time to writing. But as soon as it felt like the right time, the passion reignited.

2. How did you connect with Blue Whale Press?

I had seen their call for submissions. I had queried several agents at the time and was waiting on replies from a few of them. When I saw Blue Whale’s opportunity I decided to query a publisher directly. I took my chance because I saw Blue Whale was a very young press and was looking to grow their list. 

3. I see you have two books with Blue Whale Press coming out. Can you tell us a blurb about each one?

Yes, I would love to!  RANDALL AND RANDALL is about Randall, the pistol shrimp, who is a master at excavation. Randall, the goby fish, is his skittish, yet happy-go-lucky watchman. The problem is that both have quirks that drive each other bananas until one day their relationship is driven to the breaking point. This very funny informational-fiction story about one of the sea’s naturally-existent odd couples illustrates how certain species depend upon their symbiotic relationship for survival. It also shows children how two very different beings can embrace each other’s peculiarities and become best of friends.

PORCUPETTE AND MOPPET is about a young but clever Porcupette who loves to spend days alone in the quiet forest reading. But when Moppet, a bumbling predator, comes along with his silly antics and non-stop rambling, Porcupette’s sanctuary is turned topsy-turvy. When Moppet finally makes his move, they both get a big surprise that suggests Moppet should read more, and Porcupette should listen more carefully.

4. And wow, your first two books with BWP are publishing just a month from each other. How did that happen?

Not really sure LOL!!!  They are releasing just one month apart and it is making my head spin. Sometimes I forget which book I am talking about and I send the wrong book information to the wrong person. The publishing dates have to do with many factors that just lined up this way. You want book reviews from reputable sources so that takes time. You want to time the releases with when the reviews are slated to come out. Blue Whale has been great at that timing factor. 

5. Where did you get your story ideas for Randall & Randall and Porcupette and Moppet?

I knew that I wanted to write stories featuring animals that were not well-known. I am not sure why exactly, but when I began to write more seriously, my research kept taking me towards these types of animals. I wasn’t confident in myself that I could pull off writing a story about a rabbit or a bear or a dog. Those characters are plentiful in children’s books and so many are done so well. I felt at the time I couldn’t be original enough if I chose these more common animals. The goby fish and pistol shrimp in RANDALL AND RANDALL were two species that I knew nothing about and I just sort of stumbled upon them one day during some research.  I instantly felt this connection that their natural relationship was interesting enough for a story.

PORCUPETTE AND MOPPET actually came to me first, almost a year and a half earlier than R&R. I learned only as an adult that a baby porcupine was called a porcupette. Can you get any cuter than that name?  So again, I felt there was a story inside me about a young porcupine. And I wanted the story to be somewhat factual without being true nonfiction so upon further research about porcupines, I learned that the fisher is one of the only known predators of the porcupine. DING! I have read many, many picture books in my career in education and I cannot ever recall a fisher being in any of them. I now had the beginning of a story.

6. What kinds of marketing strategies are you doing/going to do?

Oh, yes. The marketing!  This is probably the most exhausting and time consuming part of it all.  Before sitting down to answer these interview questions, I had composed and answered emails to and from zoos, aquariums, local book stores, state parks, and libraries. RANDALL AND RANDALL features two ocean animals so I am in contact with The Baltimore Aquarium in Maryland and the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. Hopefully a book reading and signing event can be arranged in both of these places. I have plans to do a book event for PORCUPETTE AND MOPPET at two local libraries in conjunction with Nolde Forest, a local state park, who will have staff on hand that will bring along a fisher pelt and porcupine quills and provide more information to the children and families. I am hoping to arrange an event with the Cape May Zoo as well. 

Blue Whale Press has sent me an extensive list of bloggers and other outlets to contact for interviews BWP promotes their authors on social media and sends the books out for reviews.  They will also contact literature festivals on the authors’ behalf.

7. How has being a librarian helped your writing?

Being a children’s librarian has been the most amazing and inspirational part of my whole journey in becoming an author. I know what is current in children’s literature at all times. I know what publishers are publishing. But most importantly, I know what children want to read. One of the reasons I wrote my two latest books is because I see that my students are drawn to factual information when it is done in a creative nonfiction sort of way. For example, when I read Bethany Barton’s I AM TRYING TO LOVE SPIDERS, my students were so engaged. They were getting spider information delivered to them with humor, and illustrations that allowed them to linger on the page. I loved how they interacted with me, their peers, and the text when I read that book and others like it. I want my books to get that type of reaction from readers. But I can’t do it with just my words alone. Illustrators Polina Gortman for R&R and Alicia Young for P&M have given the books that extra layer the readers need. They have made my factual information come alive. These ladies are so incredibly talented. 

8. Do you have an agent?

Not at this time, but I am actively seeking one.

9. What writing advice would you give to our Grog Blog audience?

I am going to pass along advice that was given to me from author David Elliot who I was fortunate enough to have as my mentor for an entire weekend at Andrea Brown’s Big Sur retreat in Cape Cod.  I have a post-it note in my writing space with his words on it…”Keep it organic”. He critiqued two other manuscripts that I am working on when he said this to me. Upon talking with him more I finally figured out what he was truly saying. Write from your heart. Don’t force something onto a page because you want it to fit or to work. He picked up on a few things in these pieces of mine that I didn’t realize I was forcing upon the story. When I recognized it, I felt this sort of freeing sensation. But I didn’t realize it fully until days later when I was alone at home looking at these stories. Yeah!  Wow!  So, write with wholesomeness, be organic. 

Nadine Poper is an elementary librarian for an urban Pennsylvania school district who loves how fortunate she is to be surrounded all day by books and children to share them with. She is a  mom to three handsome young men and two dachshunds. Nadine is a huge wiener dog fan and self-published three children’s books about dachshunds. She is also a foster home for Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue and donates portions of her book sales to the rescue. She is a committee member for the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award through the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.

Connect with Nadine:

http://nadinepoper.weebly.com

Twitter: @NadinePoper

Facebook: @NadineBooks

Lovely Lydia Lukidis talks about NO BEARS ALLOWED By: Sherri Jones Rivers

     It is my pleasure to be able to interview Lydia Lukidis about her upcoming book NO BEARS ALLOWED from Blue Whale Press. As an added bonus, she will be giving away a copy of her book to one lucky GROG participant who is a US resident. Now, without further ado, let's get started:

(The winner of the book give-away was chosen by my cat Sophie. Jilanne Hoffman, you are the winner! Congrats!)

GROG: Tell us a little bit about your writing journey.

LYDIA: I'm never low on inspiration, that's for sure. I get ideas all the time and my creativity is always spinning wildly. Sounds great, right? But the issue is that with so many ideas, I get pulled in many different directions. I'm learning the art of being selective, and of spending more time developing the best ideas.

When the inspiration behind NO BEARS ALLOWED was sparked, I knew it was a keeper. But it remained in my "ideas folder" for at least a year before I sat down and actually pounded out the first draft. The concept of the story was 100% character driven. At first, I didn't necessarily know what would happen, but I knew who it would happen to. Rabbit, who spends his time worrying and being afraid of everything, was the starting point. Soon after, a big, oafy yet lovable Bear was born.

GROG: Where did the idea come from for your cute story? What do you want the take-away to be for readers?

LYDIA:  Believe it or not, the idea came from an inside joke. 

Admittedly, it makes little sense, but somehow I always felt there was something there. My inspirations are varied; they can be sparked by an image or a word, or in this case, the phrase "no bears allowed."

I wanted the story to be about the power of friendship, and the importance of not judging others or letting our fears govern our actions. Bear and Rabbit are different, to be sure, but they eventually learn they have more in common than they ever thought. These themes directed the flow of the entire story.

GROG:  How did the story change from your first draft and do you have any idea how many drafts it went through?

LYDIA: Writing NO BEARS ALLOWED was a process. It took time, patience, and multiple drafts! I wrote about 30 drafts initially, but kept getting stuck on the ending. I had to shelve the text for a while so I could get the creative juices flowing again. I always knew I would go back to it. And when I did, I sent it out to all my critique partners to help me whip it into shape. When I was ready to query, I was overjoyed when Blue Whale Press saw its magic. And then, of course, it was edited further. I don't always feel this way about my books, but with this one, I'm happy with the final product and wouldn't change a thing.

GROG:  What do you think about the illustrations? Did anything surprise you when you saw the art work?

LYDIA:  Blue Whale Press was generous enough to allow me to have a say in who we chose as an illustrator, so that was a real treat. I was immediately drawn to the whimsical, unique style of Tara J. Hannon, and I was over the moon when she agreed to take on this project. She exceeded my expectations. She put her on spin on things. I can't express enough how critical a role the illustrator plays, especially with picture books.

GROG:  Is there one spread or page that you particularly like?

LYDIA:  For the first spread:

I love the start of the story, and how Tara captured Rabbit's fearful personality by having him hide beneath the burrow. Suspicious of the world, he inspects everything around him with his binoculars.

And then for the page with bear:

Here's an example of how important the illustrator can be. I never gave Tara directions to make a poster of Bear, or a survival list. That was her own idea, sparked by my story. And that's the magic of a true partnership: when you give space to the illustrator for his-her own creative visions. The book ends up including things you may have never imagined!

GROG: Are there other projects in the works you can tell us about?

LYDIA:  I just released my third STEM book, THE BROKEN BEES' NEST, published by Kane Press. It's part of the Makers Make it Work series that encourages young readers to not just think critically, but also engage. I do a lot of WFH projects as well and have some new books coming out this year on varied topics ranging from ghost hunting to the immune system.

I'm also hard at work on a slew of other trade books. I'm currently developing several picture books, and I seem to be drawn to the world of nonfiction as of late. And, I'm excited to be working on my first middle grade novel based on Greek mythology. Stay tuned for more details!

GROG: Any writing advice for our GROG readers?

LYDIA:  Being a writer is a wonderful journey, but it's also filled with ebbs and flows. I've learned, through the years and the huge pile of rejections letters, to not take anything personally. Not every editor or agent out there will fall in love with your work, and that's okay. As long as YOU love your work and are committed to learning your craft and becoming a better writer. Another thing I learned, through some hard times, is to NEVER compare your path to someone else's. You are on your path, and they are on theirs, so you need to honor that. It's not a race to get published; everything will unfold in due time. Work hard, research the industry, and persevere. And most of all, keep writing. That's where the true joy is, so don't forget to connect to that!

Lydia Lukidis is a children's author with a multi-disciplinary background that spans the fields of literature, science and theater. So far, she has over 40 books and eBooks published, as well as a dozen educational books. Her latest STEM books published by Lane Press include The Broken Bees' Nest
and The Space Rock Mystery.

Lydia is also passionate about spreading the love of literacy. She regularly gives writing workshops in elementary schools across Quebec through the Culture in the Schools Program. Her aim is to help children cultivate their imagination, sharpen their writing skills and develop their self-confidence.
For more info, please visit here.