STEAMWORKS wth Jen Malia and JUNE'S SOLAR OVEN & Craft Chat with Jen & Kathy Halsey

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.

More About Jen!

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

Jen Malia's :Connor and Taekwondo Tournament + Book Review by Kathy Halsey

 
Book Review by Kathy Halsey

I first met author Jen Malia this past November at NCTE 2023 in a group of SCBWI Northern Ohio and Central-South Ohio friends. We were Facetiming with former SCBWI NO Illustrator Coordinator Merrill Rainey. Authors were spilling out of their chairs, onto the floor, happy to meet new authors and share experiences. 

Later I “met” her again as a member of the Soaring ‘20s Debut group that has stayed together since their debut for marketing purposes. (genius idea IMO). The GROG blog has reviewed debut group books before in our 10-year blog journey. I was thrilled to get an ARC of Jen’s newest book to review book 3 in her chapter book series The Infinity Rainbow Club.

 Even though Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament is the third book in the series,  it stands on its own even if a reader hasn’t read the other two books. From the beginning I was hooked by the main character Connor vs. his archenemy, Wyatt. They face off sparring in Master Park’s Taekwondo dojang, gradually get to know each other at school and finally support each other as friends. 

The Taekwondo scenes throughout the book are filled with authentic, action-packed scenes that will engage readers as well as teach them more about the art and practice of this Korean martial art form. Backmatter with Junior Belt ranks and Korean terms are a great addition to this book featuring a boy with ADHD and other neurodivergent characters who we get to know in the classroom, at home, and in their Taekwondo practice, teams, and tournaments. 

The themes of perseverance, focus, struggling through tough situations apply specifically to each character’s brain difference, but also apply universally to readers who don’t face these challenges. Peter Francis’s black and white illustrations detail the moves, stances, and forms of Taekwondo making this chapter book even more inviting.

As a former K-12 school librarian, I see this series as filling a need for more chapter books with neurodiverse characters going through typical chapter book experiences. Jen has also piqued my interest in Taekwondo, too.

(P.S. Don't forget to day is Day 7 of our 10 Year Anniversary Party. Check out today's prize & Rafflecopter here:)

Interview with Jen Malia

Kathy: Tell us a little about yourself. 

Jen: I’m the autistic author of the children’s chapter book/lower middle grade series, The Infinity Rainbow Club, and the picture book, Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism. I live in Virginia Beach with my husband and three kids. I love running, taekwondo, hiking, and outdoor adventures. I’ve traveled to 20 countries around the world and many places in America.

For four years, I lived and worked in the United Arab Emirates as an assistant professor of writing at the American University of Sharjah. I currently work as a professor of English and the creative writing coordinator at Norfolk State University. I have a PhD in English from the University of Southern California, and I’m currently working on my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Kathy: What inspired you to write Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament?

Jen: As an autistic mom of three neurodivergent children, I write the books I didn’t know I needed, but wish I had, as an undiagnosed autistic girl, and the books I want my neurodivergent kids and other kids like them to have now. I was diagnosed with ASD in my late thirties, and I’m self-diagnosed with ADHD and OCD.

My family of five, including my husband and three kids, has different combinations of ASD, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia. In The Infinity Rainbow Club series, I draw on my own and my kids’ experiences with neurodivergence. Each book is told from a different point of view and centers the voices of neurodivergent kids.

Jen, family, Connor (book3) and Taekwondo!

Kathy: How did you get the idea for this next book in the INFINITY RAINBOW CLUB series?

Jen: For Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament, I knew that I wanted to focus the internal plot on Connor, a fourth-grade boy with ADHD, who has to work on his focus at the taekwondo dojang, in school, and at home. I also wanted to develop the external plot around Connor’s goal of earning his taekwondo junior black belt and competing in a taekwondo tournament.

In this chapter book, I draw on my own and my kids’ experiences with ADHD and taekwondo. A lot of the scenes with Connor in the dojang are based on my experiences testing for my taekwondo black belt and sparring in tournaments.

Kathy: How long did it take to write this story?

Jen: I wrote three books for the Infinity Rainbow Club series in a little over a year. I had about four months between contract deadlines, and each book turned out to be around 18,000 words. While I was drafting Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament, I was completing copy edits for the first book in the series, Nick and the Brick Builder Challenge, and developmental edits for the second book, Violet and the Jurassic Land Exhibit. It was the ultimate test of multitasking book projects!

 

Kathy: How long did it take to sell this story? 

Jen: Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament was part of a 3-book deal. My agent sold the series on proposal to the same editor that I worked with for my debut picture book, Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism.

Kathy: What do you hope readers take away from reading this book?

Jen: I hope that neurodivergent kids see themselves in this book and that their neurotypical peers understand better what it’s like to have a different brain. Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament is not so much a book about ADHD as a book about a boy who happens to have ADHD going about his everyday life at home, in the taekwondo dojang, and at school.

I hope kids will be inspired by Connor’s story of perseverance. In his words, “to not give up even when it’s hard to keep going.” I want to encourage more kids to participate in sports like Connor too. Some parents have already told me that their kids signed up for taekwondo or other martial arts after reading Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament.

Kathy:What do you like most about Peter Francis’ illustrations? What surprised you about the illustrations?

Jen: I love the level of detail in Peter’s illustrations. The characters really come to life on the page. I got to see every stage of how the illustrations for the book developed and to provide feedback along the way.

For Connor and the Taekwondo Tournament, Peter and I went back and forth via my editor to get the forms, stances, kicks, punches, board breaks, and sparring moves right. I was surprised with how much I fell in love with the illustrations for this series. I can’t picture the stories being illustrated any other way.

Peter Francis, illustrator

Kathy: What advice do you have for writers interested in chapter books?

 

Jen: Chapter books are a tough sell because they are almost always part of a series, which means a publisher has to commit to buying multiple books from an author. To stand out, aspiring authors need a unique concept that can be explored across multiple books.

 

Using the concept for my series as an example, I created a club-based series, which is clear from the title, the Infinity Rainbow Club. The infinity rainbow is the symbol for neurodivergence. In this series, I wanted to center kids with different brains—the roughly 1 in 5 kids who are neurodivergent. I emphasized in my series proposal that hardly any chapter books have neurodivergent protagonists despite the large number of kids with diagnoses like ASD, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia to show the need for more books like mine in the market.

 

Kathy: What’s next for you?

 

Jen:I’m currently working on a middle grade horror novel and some picture books.

Kathy: Anything else you’d like to tell us?

Jen: You can learn more about me, my books, essays, and speaking on my website at JenMalia.com.

Biography: Jen Malia is a professor of English and the creative writing coordinator at Norfolk State University. Originally from Pittsburgh, Jen currently lives in Virginia Beach with her husband and three kids. Jen has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, New York Magazine, Woman's Day, Glamour, Self, and others. Jen is the author of Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism as well as the Infinity Rainbow Club series. Jen was diagnosed with ASD in her late thirties and has three neurodivergent kids with different combinations of ASD, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia.

Contact Information for Jen Malia 

Website: jenmalia.com

Twitter: @JenMaliaBooks

Instagram: @jenmaliabooks

Facebook: @MomWithAutism