Becky Scharnhorst and Best Buds: A Cool Summer Read by Kathy Halsey

As we move forward into summer, the GROGers are going on a summer break until mid-August. We hope you take time to rest, refresh, and find new leafy friends like author Becky Scharnhorst did in her book BEST BUDS. Keep growing with new reads.

Best Buds Book Review

In our last post before summer break, I’m excited to share Becky Scharnhorst and illustrator Jiarui Jiang’s upbeat, delightful book about moving, making friends, and growing new ones.

Lucky me,I discovered this book when Becky and I worked together to enhance her school visit presentations for the 2025-2026 school year. (Yes, it’s summer, but as a former school librarian, I used part of my summer breaks investigating authors for the upcoming year.) School librarians, this would be the perfect book and author for a fall or spring visit! 

Friendship stories are “evergreen” topics in children's literature. So how do you take this time-honored trope and make it new? Author Becky Scharnhorst and illustrator Jiarui Jiang’s combined skills create a story that cultivates a different POV when examining friendship.

While Spencer’s mom is worried about him making friends when they move, Spencer’s happily making friends with an array of plants: Fred's an excellent listener, Dottie’s a bit wild, and Eugene’s a jokester. Spencer has chosen excellent friends for all the right reasons. He takes his friends to lunch, storytime, and the playground, adding new friends along the way.

Can you find a friend in a box? What if your friend is another species? What if your family doesn’t understand? BEST BUDS answers all these questions and lays ground for rich conversations about friends that teachers, librarians, and family will enjoy reading and discussing with young readers. Spencer may be  “late bloomer,” as his mom says, but Spencer’s open-minded attitude reveals friends come in all shapes and sizes! Whimsical art, and plethora of plants with personality make this a great read-aloud. This picture book encourages readers to find their own plant companions and see nature as a loving entity that needs care, like best buds do! The last few spreads at the end make for a sweet, surprising ending! (Still time to preorder this book!)

Craft Chat with Becky Scharnhorst

Kathy: I’ve read your first three books: My School Stinks (2021), This Field Trip Stinks (2022), and How to Get Your Octopus to School (2023).  How do you see Best Buds  similar to your other books?  How is it different? 

Becky Scharnhorst: I love books that make me laugh, so I always try to incorporate at least a little humor into my writing. I think that is one way in which all of my books are similar. However, I would say the humor in Best Buds is more subtle than the humor in my other books. Also, all three of my first books feature a character who is feeling a bit nervous and unsure about something. In my first two books, Stuart is nervous about going to school with wild animals and then he’s nervous about taking a field trip IN THE WILD! In my third book, the octopus is anxious about going to school. In contrast, the main character in Best Buds is quite confident. Even when the adults in Spencer’s life question him, he remains true to himself and his choice of friends. That’s one of the things I love most about him!

Kathy: This is a book about plants and friends. How did you begin putting these two concepts together?  What were your inspirations in sparks?  Do you have any favorite plants?

Becky Scharnhorst: About a year before the pandemic, my family and I moved across the country. Making friends can be difficult in the best circumstances, but trying to connect after a move and during a pandemic was nearly impossible! A couple years later, I realized I still didn’t have a strong community around me. It was about this time that I decided to buy a gorgeous Aloe Vera plant I spotted in a local store. I did this despite my dismal record for keeping green things alive. To my amazement, Dottie thrived! And so did our friendship. My family thought it was ridiculous how much I talked to her, but I didn’t have any other friends to talk to, and it felt odd NOT talking to this beautiful, living, growing thing sitting right next to me. Soon, my whole house was filled with plants and taking care of them brought me so much joy! I eventually found human friends in my new town as well, but my plants kept me company in the meantime. So this story is very much inspired by my own move and my new best buds. Dottie, in particular, holds a special place in my heart, and while I don’t ever say this around the others, she is my favorite. 

Becky w/her Best Bud "Dottie #1

Kathy: I love how you explore the POV of friendship through adult and children’s lenses. Parents sometimes want their children’s friends to be “a certain way“. You brought this out in a subtle way. Was this comparison of adults vs. children’s views always in the story?  

Becky Scharnhorst: I’m so glad you picked up on that because this was something that was there from the beginning, and it was something I felt passionate about including. I wanted Spencer to be confident in who he was and in his choice of friends regardless of what the adults around him were saying. It’s clear from page one that his mom is worried about Spencer’s ability to make friends. But he’s not worried at all! It’s easy! And he’s not concerned about his ability to make more friends either. Spencer knows what he is looking for in a friend and he gently challenges anyone who questions his choices. He knows more about friendship than the adults give him credit for, which I think happens a lot. Often, adults think we know what’s best for the children in our lives, but kids have much to teach us if we are willing to listen. That was one of the things I wanted to explore in this story. 

Kathy: The ending was a twist for me. Did you envision this ending early on or did it change over time?

Becky Scharnhorst: Oh my goodness. I wrote so many different endings! I had an ending where Spencer doesn’t make any human friends, he just sticks with his plants and is perfectly happy. I had another ending where it looks like he and Daisy are going to become friends, but instead they both end up hugging Eugene (the tree). I had an ending where Daisy and Spencer bond over their mutual love of plants, not plants and insects. And I had many variations of this ending. So. Many. Endings. But I landed on this one because I wanted to show that Spencer wasn’t against having a human friend. On the contrary, Spencer is open to all kinds of friendships and he recognizes the value of each unique friend. He even refers to Daisy’s caterpillar as “your friend” because he knows right away that’s what Raymond is to Daisy. The reason Spencer and Daisy are a perfect match is because they both know love and friendship can bloom in unexpected places.

Kathy: Tell us about the way Jiarui Jiang’s illustrations add to and expand the story. Did you have any input on that?  It's such a beautiful book – words and pictures together! 

Becky Scharnhorst: I don't think I can overstate how much depth and beauty Jiarui's illustrations brought to this story. One of my favorite examples of this is how we see Spencer's room change throughout the book. Right after the move, Spencer's room is empty and lifeless. But as the story progresses, and Spencer makes more and more friends, we see how full and colorful his life is becoming. I don't know if this was Jiarui's vision or Lauren’s (the Art Director), but it was absolute genius! Originally, I imagined Spencer and Fred sharing a drink outside after they met. However, placing them inside gives the reader a chance to revisit his room and see the dramatic growth (both literal and figurative) that is happening in Spencer's life. 

Another small detail I love is how many straws there are in the glasses of water his mom brings in at the end. In the beginning, she is questioning whether he might want a friend who could talk. But by the end, she has come to see the value of all his friendships. That one small detail shows how Spencer is changing the world around him and influencing others in a positive way. And that’s just one of the many ways Jiariu’s detailed illustrations bring richness and depth to this story. I am so grateful to have partnered with her on this book because I feel like she really understood the story right from the beginning and she brought so much more to it. I only added art notes where they were necessary for clarity. 

Kathy: What are you working on next? 

Becky Scharnhorst:I have three upcoming picture book projects in the works, but unfortunately, I can’t share any specific details yet. I will say that one is a rhyming manuscript (my first, and perhaps only, one) and the other two include some fun nonfiction elements even though they are both fiction picture books. I hope I can share more news soon! If you’d like to stay informed, you can follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my newsletter. Thank you so much for having me on the GROG blog, Kathy! I appreciate your support and kind words about BEST BUDS!

Get your new friends here!

Still time to PREORDER your own BEST BUD! Check out these stickers!!!!

Anyone who preorders Best Buds through Bound to Happen Books in Stevens Point will receive two sticker sheets with plants from the book. Please include a note at checkout if you'd like your book signed and personalized. Here's the link! 

https://www.boundtohappenbooks.com/item/uhkEB3h562vFH3VtdGNtEA

"Dottie #2 . . .look how she GREW!

BIO

Becky grew up in Northeast Wisconsin and spent most of her childhood playing in lakes and reading books. Shortly after graduating from Luther College, Becky spent a year working as a children’s bookseller at Barnes & Noble and soon discovered she enjoyed reading picture books more than anything else. Much, much more! Now Becky spends her days writing children’s books and working at her local library. She is the author of My School Stinks (2021), This Field Trip Stinks (2022), How to Get Your Octopus to School (2023), and Best Buds (2025). When she’s not reading or writing, Becky can be found hiking through the woods or baking something sweet. She currently lives in central Wisconsin with her husband and two children.

SOCIALS

Instagram: @beckyscharn (https://www.instagram.com/beckyscharn/)

Bluesky: @beckyscharn (https://bsky.app/profile/beckyscharn.bsky.social)

See you mid-August. Hang out with your best buds for now!

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.

Debut Author CHARLES WATERS

Debut Author CHARLES WATERS
by JG Annino 

After a lifetime in entertainment,

including acting at Disney World here in Florida,

the multi-talented artist Charles Waters

ramped it up on the road earlier this year 

to share his poetry in his first children's book. It is the
phenomenally talked about 

CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?

The co-author is well-known poet/author/children's lit. guru 
Irene Latham,
a Poetry Friday regular whose work in several genres I admire, 

especially the picture books, 

Dear Wandering Wildebeest, Fresh Delicious, When the Sun Shines on Antartica.
And now I am a fan of both of these authors, with  CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?

The visual arts team members who add so many lovely layered nuances to                      

this story in verse

are Selina Alko and Sean Qualls, 

a well-known, accomplished couple,

who are also a multi-racial couple.

In what I think will become known as a landmark

new classic, in the poem story
CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?

a black student named Charles,

and a white student named Irene,

who don't know each other,

work back and forth in class on

their 5th grade project. 

A poem project. A telling-your-feelings & family story project.

The two partners decide their poem subjects, such as church, school, shoes & 
as promised by the title - hair.  Each writes their own poem
in class, on the topic. (The last poem is a surprise.)                                                                                                  

Thoughts & questions of race are front and center, in a way that 

make the poems not only stand outs with pitch-perfect

writing, but also as touchstones for  

family, class & community conversations on race,  for 
thinkers & doers of all ages. Classmates pop in, as does a
famous visiting author. The book feels like a real visit to school.
I can see afterschool club leaders, scout groups, dance programs,
music, art, sports programs, all kinds of communities who work
with young people, wanting to have this by their side.
                                                                                 

I have never met Charles in person, but I feel know a lot about him
through Poetry Friday & now with 

CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?

Debut author CHARLES WATERS

So, hi there Traveling Author.

What do your feet say to you about all this

clear across the country fancy footwork,

presenting on CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR? 

A

Hi there, Jan. My feet, which are inside shoes with rainbow shoelaces, 

(shameless promotional book tie-in) are tired yet super grateful for how 

the book is being received and for the many school visits in Seattle, 

Mercer Island, Manhattan, Grand Rapids, Birmingham 

and Tuscaloosa, so far. 

  

Care to share a few potent/funny/poignant comments or questions from

the young readers.  

A

A kindergartner asked me today during a Q & A, 

"Why are you black?" 

"I've also been asked how many poems in the book actually happened to you and Irene? to How old are you?

A great comment was made at the same school I visited today 

when a student talked about how people stare at her and her 

Mom because they both wear hijabs.  

  

Surely a powerful moment for her, because of this book.

Please share some of your favorite ideas about writing poetry

& reading poetry.

A

As for writing: Don't be afraid of making mistakes in writing,

I'm a firm believer in getting it all down on the page in all its

messy glory, 

then you can work on revisions.  When it comes to reading, I try my best
to read each poem aloud, poetry should be read and said :-) 

What take- away can you share from the process in creating this

with Irene Latham?

A

I couldn't be more grateful to Irene for her patience, kindness,                                                                       good humor and fierce friendship. Much like the characters in

the book, we became    

better friends the more we       

rewrote our poems for the book.                                              

She's given me advice about writing, the book industry,

how to better my author presentations and so much more .

What a gem of a human!   

Irene Latham with Charles Waters

Beautifully said Charles, about your book partner.

You & Irene have received many significant bookings, such as at the 

unique Poets House in New York City, an entity created by 

Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz. Can you share an unexpected

location where you or both of you presented the book?

A

There's been no unexpected locations I can think of so far. 

I will say when I performed for Poetry Alive! years ago,                                                                                 myself and my former touring partner performed in 

someone's living room. That was ... interesting. 

Why do you think this book has caught hold so quickly & deeply?

A 

These topics in our book can be so sensitive to talk about that I

hope our book is helping people of different ages, genders and 

ethnicities feel comfortable in starting dialogue with one another. 

As a first time author, are there some steps you would have

changed along the way.

Are there practices you developed that helped.

A

I don't think I would change much. It's been vital to up my

social media presence to promote the book, as well as developing

a 56-slide Power Point Presentation to use at schools.

I have one; Irene and I created one together for our joint visits.  

I'm glad I didn't know how much work went into the power point presentations, 

booking flights and writing author contracts, among other bits of poetic business. 

Now, when my second book comes out, throwing that out to the universe, 

I'll be more prepared. 

What is your encouragement for authors who have experienced many

rejections, who are seeking hope on the horizon for publication?

A

Keep reading, keep writing, keep submitting, stay humble. 

It's the only way to go, in my opinion.

Oh, and if in fact opportunity comes knocking, 

be prepared to answer with every bit of gratefulness, talent and belief you 

have in your soul.   

What manuscript do you want to write next?

A

There are a few things I've got in the hopper that I'm excited about. 

It's too early to post what they are, however, they're in various forms of progress. 

Great - I will want those headlines when news can be shared.

Bravo! on this important book Charles. Appreciations for this visit. 

A

Thanks so much for inviting me to your poetic shindig, Jan! 

If everyone has some time, please check out me performing 

my poems from the book, 

as well as Seasons 3 and 4 of Poetry Time at my 

You Tube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCharlesWaters


This visit is a pleasure, Charles. Comments are welcome here &
it's great we can continue the conversation:

CHARLES WATERS website: https://www.charleswaterspoetry.com
IRENE LATHAM's website:

http://www.irenelatham.com/poetry_children.html

Jama Rattigan's blog for CAN I TOUCH YOU HAIR?

You are invited to this, also!