Claire Eamer Talks About Science Books for Kids

Claire Eamer stopped by for tea at Annick a few weeks ago, and now she's back to answer some questions about researching and writing science books for kids. Enjoy!

Claire: In November, I got the chance to visit Ontario schools during TD Canadian Children's Book Week. The picture above is a display of my books and a welcome sign in the library at the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto Middle School. I also dropped by Annick Press's Toronto home and we got talking about writing non-fiction. So we decided to take a bit of the discussion to the blog. Here are a few questions -- from kids, teachers, and a blog reader -- and my answers.

From a kid: Which of your books is your favourite?

Claire: I guess I have a short attention span because my absolute favourite at the moment is the book I'm still working on. It's called Snakes in the Sky: Animals Where You Least Expect Them, and it is full of some of the weirdest and most surprising animals you can imagine. And I can imagine some pretty weird animals! Apart from it, I think my favourite is Super Crocs & Monster Wings, mainly because it was my first book for kids and everything about the process was new and exciting.

From a kid: What's your favourite animal in the books?

Claire: I think my favourite is the giant ground sloth, which I talked about in Super Crocs & Monster Wings. They were so amazingly BIG! And they lived in the Yukon, where I live. I've even seen a skeleton of a Jefferson's Ground Sloth. A close second is the giant sea scorpion from Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales. They were huge and weird and left their footprints behind for us to see. There's something about footprints locked in stone that brings the creature to life for me.

From Mommy C: I am interested in the research that goes behind finding so many cool creatures. I can picture [Claire] travelling the globe like an Indiana Jones of prehistoric animals, searching through the catacombs of museum basements for rare giant beavers and enormous insects.

Claire: I wish! Gotta get me an Indiana Jones hat! Actually, I do haunt museums whenever I get the chance. I love them, and I find loads of ideas in them, both for science books and history books. However, most of the research for the books involves reading -- books, magazine and newspaper stories, articles in academic journals, and websites. I also do a lot of emailing to experts all around the world. Experts are amazingly generous with their time when you explain that you're writing for kids.

From a teacher: What's the best part of writing?

Claire: The research. I love learning things. I think I became a writer for the sake of the research, not for the writing itself. Although I do enjoy turning what I've learned into a story for other people to enjoy. Writing non-fiction is telling a story, just as much writing fiction is. You just have to stick to the facts.

Speaking of research, I'd better get back to it. The next book beckons!

Claire

Claire Eamer Joins Us for Tea Time

Let us not forget that this blog is called Tea Time at Annick Press for a reason: the Annick staff enjoy taking a tea break together in the afternoon, and sometimes we're lucky enough to have one of our authors or illustrators join us.

Yesterday, Claire Eamer stopped by after spending the previous week touring 6 schools and 3 libraries across Ontario for Canadian Children's Book Week. The tour included her impressive collection of stuffed animals--a 3-toed sloth from the Vancouver Aquarium, a platypus, an armadillo, and a giant squid from the Newfoundland Museum--and Claire reported that her favorite part of touring was meeting so many kids that were excited about animals.

After having some tea and and sharing her Book Week adventures, Claire signed some of her books (Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales, Super Crocs & Monster Wings, and Traitor's Gate).

Claire also volunteered to do a guest blog post for us, so we're taking topic requests. Interested in how she became an author? Wondering how she does her research? Looking for tips on writing science books for children, or using science books in the classroom? Post your questions in the comments section!

Fall 2009 Titles Arriving!

One of the best things about working at a publishing house is watching manuscripts evolve into finished books. When the advance copies from the printers start to roll in, everyone gets pretty excited! I've got to say: our Fall 2009 books are looking good.

Allow me to introduce you to some of the new books on the block, available in September:

Shadow of the Leopard: Set in Mozambique, this is the sequel to Henning Mankell's award-winning Secrets in the Fire, and it's just as haunting and unforgettable. (Fans of crime fiction may know Mankell as the author of the bestselling Inspector Kurt Wallander series.)

Spiked Scorpions and Walking Whales: From Claire Eamer (@ceamer on Twitter!), author of Super Crocs and Monster Wings, comes a fascinating look at land animals that used to live in the sea. For example, did you know that our seas used to be inhabited by scorpions the size of crocodiles? Eek!

Chicken, Pig, Cow On the Move: The first book in this series, Chicken, Pig, Cow, just came out this spring, and author/illustrator Ruth Ohi is working on more for next season! Which is great, because I can't get enough of gutsy Chicken, easy-going Pig, and timid Cow. And who can forget drooly, snorty Dog? These picture books are destined to be classics.

The Chinese Thought of It: Most people know that the Chinese invented gunpowder. But did you know that playing cards and toilet paper are also Chinese inventions? In this latest addition to the We Thought of It series, Ting-xing Ye explores the fascinating origins of many everyday items. Other books in the series are A Native American Thought of It and The Inuit Thought of It.

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road: This exciting tale by Priscilla Galloway and Dawn Hunter takes readers back in time on an action-packed trip along the legendary pathway that brought people, culture, and trade from Asia to the West. Follow Chinese Buddhist Xuanzang, Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan, and Italian merchant Marco Polo as their travels take them to places they had never imagined.

That's all for this week: but stay tuned, as I'll be blogging about more of our Fall 2009 list next week!