Welcome, Bienvenido, Osiyo! I’m a world traveler, explorer, and social justice advocate who writes books about historical journeys, family traditions, and the immigrant experience for children and youth. I invite you to explore this web site to learn more about my writing and how much I love books.
With my family
When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
As soon as I figured out how to make words out of letters, I’d go home from school, staple some pieces of paper together to make a book and would write stories and color illustrations. I still have one of my earliest books, which consists of a few very short stories I called Your Ducky: for Easter a book about ducks and bunnies. I was young (probably second grade, possibly third) and had the terrible penmanship of someone new to cursive writing. The stories are also plagued with punctuation and grammatical errors. What’s important to me, however, isn’t whether I was a perfect or imperfect writer but 1) I loved words and was happy creating my own books and 2) my mother cared enough about my creative efforts to save the book for me to enjoy later. I have always written prolifically, whether in diaries and journals, letters, magazine articles, school curriculum, books for adults, and now, children’s literature.
Who was your favorite teacher in grades K-7 and why?
My fifth-grade teacher, Mr. George Willems, encouraged me to think of myself as a writer through our weekly writing assignments. Mr. Willems was very creative. One week he put on a scary piece of classical music called “Danse Macabre” and asked us to write the story that came to us as we listened to the music. My story was about skeletons in a graveyard. Another week he took us out on the playground to lay on our backs and use the clouds for inspiration. Thank you, Mr. Willems!
What do I need to do if I want to be a writer?
What is your favorite part of starting a new project?
I love the initial inspiration of a new project, then the research into making sure my ideas, setting, language, and details are all accurate. For instance, in my research for my middle grade novel-in-progress, Plenty Powerful, I did more than read books. I spent two weekends in Arthurdale, West Virginia, a planned community that Eleanor Roosevelt helped found during the Depression. I spent time with the real-life people who, had my character been an actual person, would have been her classmates. They told me what it was like to move from extreme poverty in mining camps to a place where they had homes, running water, electricity, and a sense of community. Those are the kinds of details I love to include in writing fiction.
Do you feel hopeful for the future of humankind?
Like Anne Frank, I “believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” I try to look for and find the light that is in everyone I meet.
What’s the best invention of the last two hundred years?
The telephone, because it gave people opportunity to communicate with family and friends who were not geographically close. I use email and texts to stay in touch, too, of course, but there’s nothing as satisfying as hearing the voice of someone I love and getting to have a back-and-forth conversation when we are apart.
Can books change someone’s life?
Absolutely! Because of Blue Willow, the first book in which I realized what it might be like to grow up poor, I became more empathetic with people whose lives were scarred by hardship and poverty. I did a book report on Albert Schweitzer in third grade and learned about his ideas of “reverence for life” (respect for animals as well as people), which shaped my views on animals rights and peacemaking. Wonderful books like Brighty of the Grand Canyon helped me see things from an animal’s point of view. As a result of these books I am still concerned about poverty in our own country and abroad, I care about animal rights and believe in the possibility of world peace. All of these books are still on my shelves.
