Guest post

Author Guest Post: “Why Simple Stories Aren’t Really Simple” by Brad Barkley, Author of The Reel Life of Zara Kegg

by
Share

“Why Simple Stories Aren’t Really Simple”

When handed a novel or short story to read, students are quick to make decisions about the characters. She’s the hero. He’s the villain. One character is a jerk. Another gets angry, so they must have anger issues. End of story. It’s a clean way of seeing things, and for a while, it works.

They do the same thing in real life (most of us do), so that’s what they’re bringing to the story. It’s just easier that way. But fiction gives us a place to slow that down a little, to see how quickly our judgments start to break apart, and how much more complicated—and more interesting—things usually are once you get close enough to someone on an emotional plane to start looking inside them.

In my YA novel The Reel Life of Zara Kegg, Zara lives in that same space for most of the book. The big line in the sand for her—there are people who tell the truth, and people who don’t. For the ones who don’t (including her mother’s doctors and nurses and, for a time, her father and boyfriend), you keep your distance. They are liars, so you don’t let them in. And that’s not just a rule, but a way of holding things together when everything around you is falling apart.

During all of this, she’s doing her job in the projection booth at the Palace Theater, showing old black-and-white movies—B movies, ’50s and ’60s sci-fi and horror. The kind with low budgets, bad rubber masks, and worse dialogue. In almost every cheap film of that era, a UFO falls out of the sky or a hidden monster crawls up from the swamp, and everyone—the military, the local science teacher, a few kids from the high school—spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out what it is and how to stop it. On the surface, these stories seem simple. A threat shows up, but in the end, it’s handled and order is restored.

But those movies were never so simple, never really just about the monster. Not exactly. They expressed Cold War fears of invasion, of annihilation, of something coming from above that you couldn’t defend against. In the movies, it’s a creature or a spaceship. In real life, at that time, it was nuclear weapons or foreign invaders. The movies gave those fears a shape, and, for a while at least, a way to contain them and make them manageable.

Watching them over and over, Zara starts to see that the lines we draw in real life aren’t as clear as she thought. There’s a movie she shows one night, The Hideous Sun Demon, where a scientist exposed to radiation turns into a monster, kills a few people, and terrorizes a lot more. On the surface, he’s exactly what you’d expect—a threat, something that has to be stopped. But as the movie goes on, that begins to shift. None of it was really his fault, and he spends most of the film trying to manage what’s happening to him by staying out of the sun, staying away from other people, doing what he can not to hurt anyone. By the end, Zara finds herself crying in an empty theater, because all he really wanted was to live his life in the dark, to be left alone.

It’s not hard to see why that resonates with her. She’s up in that booth most nights, by herself, working in the dark and trying to hold her life together in the wake of her mother’s death. The monster isn’t just a monster anymore, and the lines she’s been drawing—about who people are, what they’ve done, what that means—don’t hold in quite the same way.

I see other versions of that in the classroom. Students read a story or novel and want to put the entire work inside boxes with labels—who’s right, who’s wrong, what the story is “about.” And I get it. Our brains crave that kind of black-or-white thinking. But that’s also where much of the life of the story gets flattened. As teachers we start looking for theme, or symbols, our own labels, so we can name them and move on, instead of staying with the character long enough to understand what’s actually going on with them, what motivates that person, what their interior life is like.

What tends to matter more is slowing that down. Not asking what the story means, exactly, but what this person is doing, what they’re feeling, why it doesn’t always line up. That kind of attention—trying to understand before you label—goes a long way, not just with literature, but with people. It’s more interesting to stay with the character a little longer. To get students to ask what they’re doing, what they’re not saying, what doesn’t quite add up. Not to excuse it, necessarily, but to understand it. That shift—from labeling to paying attention—changes the conversation along with our own understanding. It changes how we read and how deeply the right book can resonate. It also changes how we read and understand people, even those we are quick to label. And that’s a life skill that will stay with us always, making our lives that much deeper and richer.

The Reel Life of Zara Kegg
Author: Brad Barkley
Published June 16th, 2026 by Regal House

About the Book: 16-year-old Zara still feels like an outsider in Carolina Beach. Working during the beach’s off-season as the lone projectionist at the Palace—a rundown retro cinema that shows only vintage ’50s sci-fi and horror flicks, including a major Godzilla marathon—she spends her nights in a dusty booth, fueled by coffee, pushups, and the occasional existential crisis. Then she meets Zachary, who might be the most interesting person she’s ever met. As their friendship deepens into something more, Zara learns about the struggles Zachary hides beneath his charm and wonders if trust is possible.

About the Author: Brad Barkley is the author of the novels “Money, Love” and “Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual,” named as Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and Library Journal. He has published two story collections, and his short work has appeared in 40+ magazines including The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Oxford American, and Virginia Quarterly Review, which twice awarded him the Emily Clark Balch Prize for Fiction. He’s also the co-author of three YA novels — Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, Dream Factory, and Jars of Glass — recognized by the American Library Association and the New York State Reading Association. Before becoming Professor of Creative Writing, he worked a string of odd jobs—from short-order cook and roofer to telemarketer, dairy bottling line worker, and even hang-gliding instructor—work that keeps his fiction grounded in real places and people. He has received multiple Maryland State Arts Council awards and a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Find out more about him at www.bradbarkley.com.

Thank you, Brad, for this reminder that there is more to stories than what is first seen!

Author Guest Post: “Reading and Writing About Family Dynamics” by Jeanine DeHoney, Author of This Sunday My Daddy Came to Church

by
Share

“Reading and Writing About Family Dynamics”

When I taught kindergarteners in an early learning center many years ago, I loved the fact that in all of our classrooms there were curated picture book selections in our reading area that highlighted family dynamics.

I enjoyed reading classic children’s stories such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, Strega Nona by Tomie dePaolo, Stone Soup by Marcia Brown, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema, among others as my young students sat on what we called our magic reading carpet. But I always felt the need to read stories in which they could hear narratives and see realistic images of families whose stories and family make-up were similar to their own.

Some of my student’s familial makeup included being in a single parent household, blended family, foster or adoptive family, or being raised by grandparents or other family members due to a parent not being able to. There were also families who were unhoused and living in a shelter. Often that affected how each student dealt with their emotions, concerns, fears, hurt, anger, or stress.

It was important for me to find and read books to students that touched on not only the conflicts in a family, where all of the young character’s heartfelt feelings were seen and heard in all of its bluest hues, but at the close of the book gifted the young reader with hope and a resolution however complicated or nontraditional their family dynamics are.

When I began seriously pursuing writing children’s picture books, I wanted to write books that touched on family dynamics and helped children navigate the myriads of feelings they often experienced when they perceived that their family wasn’t like their friend’s families or there were fractures in their families or trauma or anxieties. I wanted to write picture books that convey to children that they are seen and heard and their truths matter and their uncomfortable questions deserve an answer. No child should ever feel as if they have to shove their feelings in a box and put it on some high unreachable shelf.

My children’s picture book, This Sunday My Daddy Came to Church, part of Sleeping Bear Press’s Own Voices Own Stories collection, deals with the family dynamic of how others experience faith in the same household. The themes for this picture book are spiritual diversity, acceptance and family bonds.

This Sunday My Daddy Came to Church, is narrated by its young character Omar, who poses a question to his mother about why his father doesn’t attend church on Sunday with them. Omar’s mother lovingly explains that although they enjoy going to church that his father worships in his own way, in how he serves others and how he quietly spends time with God at home on Sunday morning.

This story was written because of my own family dynamics as a little girl with my father. He too didn’t attend church with my mother, sister, but was still a faith filled man and husband and father. Always under foot my father as a little girl, I never wanted others to be judgmental about him not attending church with us and to accept his choice as I eventually did. In my picture book though, I do end it with Omar’s father surprising him and attending church, but Omar also acknowledges that even if his father doesn’t attend church the next Sunday, he knows his father worships in his own way.

Our families shape us, be they our biological or chosen families. There are beliefs and traditions and expectations of the other each family member has. It is beautiful and empowering when those expectations are meant in a young child’s life, but when they aren’t meant it can cause several problems that play out not only at home but in an educational setting I have seen.

I hope that all libraries whether at home or school always have a liberal sprinkling of books for children that deal with family dynamics, both the inspiring ones, the amusing, heartwarming ones, but also the complicated and unhappy ones. Especially books that display how family members show empathy, have open, nonjudgemental discussions, resolve conflicts, seek support, and quell fears, in a healthy and reassuring way.

It is my hope that no matter the structure of a family, children can pick up a picture book that resonates with them and what their family looks like, its strengths and weaknesses, sorrows and joys.  A book that makes them feel seen and heard, not alone, and optimistic about the days ahead individually and as a family.

This Sunday My Daddy Came to Church
Author: Jeanine DeHoney
Illustrator: Robert Paul, Jr.
Published August 1st, 2025 by Sleeping Bear Press

About the Book: A sweet story about accepting the different ways we all worship.

Omar loves going to church every Sunday with his mother. He loves putting on his best clothes, and meeting up with neighbors and his best friend, Imani, as they walk together to services. But his daddy doesn’t join them. “Some Sundays are meant for doing much of nothing or a little bit of something,” says his father. Or maybe the lawn needs mowing or a ballgame needs watching. Omar’s mother doesn’t get upset. Each Sunday she reminds Daddy that his suit is in the closet if he would like to attend church. But he never does and Omar wonders why. It bothers him that his father doesn’t join them at this special place.

When Omar asks his mother about it, she talks to him about faith and belief. There are different ways to worship, and they don’t have to take place in a building. But even with Mommy’s reassurances, Omar still wishes his father would join them.

This new entry in Sleeping Bear Press’s Own Voices, Own Stories collection celebrates the bonds of family. An honor winner in the Own Voices, Own Stories collection.

About the Author: Jeanine DeHoney has always been a dreamer. At the age of seven she dreamed of becoming a writer, and after her stories landed in the pages of tons of notebooks, she’s grateful they’ve now landed in the pages of magazines, both mainstream and literary, online, and anthologies such as Chicken Soup for The Soul. Her children’s stories have also been published in Skipping Stones, Devozine, and Australia’s The School Magazine. Jeanine has won or has been shortlisted in several literary contests and was the 2022 Honor Award Winner for Sleeping Bear Press’s Own Voices, Own Stories Award. A former art enrichment teacher and Family Services Coordinator at a preschool learning center in the Brooklyn neighborhood where she grew up, she now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and looks forward to being the dream keepers of both young and old, with her stories.

Thank you, Jeanine, for this focus on families and everyone’s looks different and all deserve to see their family reflected in books!

Author Guest Post: “Mahmoud, Aunt Melodie, and the Fight Against Censorship: Including LGBTQ+ Characters in Books for Kids” by Kristine Rudolph, Author of The Twin Stars and the Soccer Superstar

by
Share

“Mahmoud, Aunt Melodie, and the Fight Against Censorship: Including LGBTQ+ Characters in Books for Kids”

Writing for children has always been fraught. All authors are expected to conform to their chosen genre, of course, but writing for kids adds an additional layer of convention depending on the age of the readers we’re targeting. Once the book is written, if it passes through the ever-narrowing pipeline to publication then it needs to be sold. If we want to sell it, we must market and publicize it. But the selling, marketing and publicizing are also more complicated when writing for kids because until you get into the YA space, there are middlemen between you and your reader. You need a product that will delight your core consumer, the child reader, but it must be a product of which the middlemen approve. After all, they are the ones who hold the purse strings.

It’s a maxim of writing for children, then, that if your book can’t be shelved in a school, it’s not likely to sell. And by sell, I mean get published at all. Editors know not to spend time and money on a manuscript that its targeted demographic won’t be allowed to access.

Understanding all this, I’ve worked hard over many years to develop a platform to engage parents, teachers and librarians. I’ve specifically targeted upper middle grade readers, paying close attention to the lives, developmental phases and reading interests of 10–12-year-olds, especially girls. I’ve written four manuscripts for middle grade readers featuring diverse ensemble casts encountering realistic, contemporary challenges.

So, when the Supreme Court released its decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, I was gutted.

Technically speaking, Mahmoud, decided in June 2025, held that the petitioning parents were entitled to a preliminary injunction based on their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. The practical consequence of this decision is that parents of public school children in Maryland may request their child be removed during classroom readings that feature LGBTQ+ characters or issues.

On its face, Mahmoud is not far-reaching. The trouble comes from the chilling effect it will have on all publications for children. My fear is that despite the good intentions of authors, agents, editors, bookshop owners and librarians, Mahmoud will be a death knell for books with LGBTQ+ characters, themes or plotlines.

Remember, if a book for kids can’t be shelved in a school, it won’t sell.

The decision in Mahmoud is one of the reasons I opted to publish my debut middle grade novel, The Twin Stars and the Soccer Superstar, with a hybrid publisher. My manuscript benefited from the professionalism of publisher Brooke Warner and the team at SparkPress. The product is high quality. But because I was the only financial investor in the project, I didn’t have to worry that someone would ask me to change or tone down the storyline involving Aunt Melodie, my protagonist’s beloved aunt who is married to a woman.

The Twin Stars and the Soccer Superstar is set in the Texas Hill Country. One blogger with whom I recently spoke said the Hill Country basically serves as a character because the story is so deeply ensconced in the geography, food, architecture and culture of the area. But the Texas Hill Country is also at the heart of a statewide movement to oppose books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes. In fact, my fictional Barons Creek sits only tens of miles from two book restricting hotbeds – Llano County and New Braunfels, Texas.

Despite my fierce belief in the importance of representation and my strong desire to get my book into the hands of readers, I will admit that I cringed somewhat when a reviewer noted, “Aunt Melodie is gay and married.” It’s true! It’s important to the story! Aunt Melodie is awesome! Kids need to know people like Aunt Melodie exist! And yet, I was still struck by a moment of panic.

Chilling effect, indeed.

I am not going to stop writing books with LGBTQ+ characters, plot lines and themes. I just know too many kids who have found their truth through the pages of fiction, and I know too many families who deserve to see themselves on the pages to self-censor. I’m also not going to stop setting my tales in places I know and love, like Texas and my current home state of Georgia. But I also know the winds of change are blowing against LGBTQ+ representation in children’s fiction and that reality is taking a personal and professional toll on many.

“You know, it’s not your job to go around fixing everything that’s broken,” Aunt Melodie tells Cassaty in The Twin Stars and the Soccer Superstar. I hear you, Melodie. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

To learn more about the fight against book restrictions in Texas, visit Texas Freedom to Read Project.

Published June 9th, 2026 by SparkPress

About the Book: Perfect for fans of Laurie Morrison and Jenn Bishop, this lively middle-grade mystery follows a vibrant group of teens and tweens navigating grief, authenticity, and—above all—soccer, while taking an enjoyable romp through the Texas Hill Country.

Every year, spring in Texas means two very different things to sixth grader Cassaty Greene: her beloved Barons Creek High School soccer team, the Battling Billies, will contend for the state title, and the anniversary of her twin brother’s death will plunge her family into a deep, unspoken grief. But this year, the script changes when the Battling Billies’ star midfielder goes missing right before the playoffs begin. Presented with this mysterious disappearance, Cassaty seizes the chance to heroically bring the missing girl home—and hopefully, in doing so, help fill the hole her brother’s death left in her family so many years ago.

A person in a blue shirt AI-generated content may be incorrect.

About the Author: Kristine Rudolph lives in Atlanta, Georgia and Austin, Texas. She earned a B.A. in History and Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University, a J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law and a Graduate Certificate in Children’s Literature from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of the Atlanta Writers Club, the Broadleaf Writers Association, SCBWI and the Children’s Literature Assembly of NCTE. She’s a Girl Scout troop leader and CASA/GAL volunteer. Her middle grade debut, The Twin Stars and the Soccer Superstar, is slated for publication in June 2026 with SparkPress. Learn more about Kristine at kristinerudolph.com.

Thank you, Kristine, for fighting for childrens’ freedom to read!

Author Guest Post: “How Fiction Provides a Safe Place for Young Readers to Explore Celebrity, Fame and Fandom” by Mima Tipper, Author of Channeling Marilyn

by
Share

“How Fiction Provides a Safe Place for Young Readers to Explore Celebrity, Fame and Fandom”

When I began writing my YA paranormal fantasy novel Channeling Marilyn, I wasn’t thinking of celebrity or how young people relate to fame and fandom. Through drafting a book that included Marilyn Monroe’s spirit as a main character, however, I grew more and more convinced that fiction could provide a safe place for young readers to explore these concepts. With fiction, young people are able to experience the lives of characters from their safe reader position. And how great for those readers to have the possibility of exploring fame and fandom from the shoes of a fictional or fictionalized celebrity in a completely made-up story? The magic of fiction, too, is that it allows those readers draw their own conclusions about whether the experience felt positive or negative.

In Channeling Marilyn, part of the inspiration behind the book was me acknowledging the fact that even though Hollywood superstar Marilyn Monroe has been dead for over 70 years, a huge number of fans are still obsessed with her and her films. That fandom spoke to me. I wanted to look more deeply at it—at the why of it. Because these Marilyn fans are not necessarily young people, I became even more interested in the possibility that focusing on a celebrity like Marilyn Monroe could be an inspired bet for a YA audience: to take a celebrity from long ago, and imagine how her persona and her fame could affect a young person, and tell that story.

My main character, seventeen-year-old Lexa, is one of those non-obsessed with Marilyn Monroe people, yet via the story—no spoilers—she becomes aware of Marilyn, and then encounters Marilyn’s well-known allure. Ultimately, Lexa is not immune to the power of Marilyn (after all, her influence on pop culture is everywhere), and that’s where Marilyn’s fame comes into play in the story. That is also the place where Lexa’s teen sensibilities reflect what I’ve come to learn are documented observations about how young people relate to the concepts of fame, celebrity and fandom.

Between social media and reality tv, everyone is obsessed with celebrity these days—their own and that of others. For most people, the fascination is merely a diversion, but let’s look more closely at some reasons young people fixate on celebrities. Common Sense Media points out, “Celebrity obsessions are a natural part of growing up. As kids enter adolescence and begin forming their identities, they begin to seek out media figures for cues on how to look and act… Tweens in today’s media environment can feast on an endless supply of information.”

This observation didn’t surprise me, or that celebrity crushes for young people are deemed by some authorities to be a natural and even potentially positive aspect of growing up. Dr. Alan Ravitz of New York’s Child Mind Institute states: “As kids individualize themselves from their parents, which is a natural part of development and growing up, they try to establish psychological and emotional independence … No matter the culture, they need somebody to look to, aside from their parents, for guidance and a model for becoming an adult. In our culture, this is often a sports figure, an actor, or a pop star.” In recent articles in both Psychology Today and at www.modernrecoveryservices.com, writers agree with Dr. Ravitz’s statement, going a step further to suggest that in our modern world, fandoms often provide a positive and inclusive community for teens.

These observations suggest a teen’s fascination with a celebrity is most likely harmless: Harmless until people—young or older—take their fandom too seriously. In a recent article in The Teen Mag on how fans feel about their celebrity crushes, journalist Arrohi Shah says, “When a celebrity looks like us, loves like us, or struggles like us, it validates our own experiences. It’s not just about them– it’s about what they represent to us. But we often forget that what we see is carefully constructed: behind every photo is lighting, editing, media training, or even cosmetic enhancement. If even they need help to appear that way, why do we hold ourselves to those impossible standards?” Even more harmful, the Common Sense Media article goes on to point out that a young person’s fixation on a celebrity can, “… go to extremes that have a negative impact. They may spend all their money to try to look like their favorite stars. They may engage in risky body alterations to imitate them. Or they may actually inflict physical harm on themselves … to demonstrate the depth of their feeling.” In the Modern Recovery Services article, it’s noted that, “For teens already struggling with heavy psychological burdens, being a member of a toxic fandom can intensify their trials. It can be particularly tough for fan girls, who often face more scrutiny and pressure than boys because toxic fandom communities tend to be sexist.” And, “The development of parasocial relationships—one-sided relationships in which fans feel deeply connected to a celebrity based on illusions of intimacy—is another way fandom can become unhealthy. Teens might start to believe they have a special connection with a pop-culture icon, which can lead to unrealistic expectations and crushing heartbreak when their fantasies inevitably don’t come true.”

Fandoms have always existed, but it’s perhaps due to the wealth of information now available on social media that heightens and intensifies the celebrity adoration teens experience today.

The darker sides of teens’ relationship to celebrity, fame and fandom reveal where fiction could come in, providing that safe space for young people to explore these concepts outside of social media, without the baggage of an actual celebrity crush or of belonging to a fandom community.

In Channeling Marilyn, Lexa has the opportunity to see Marilyn Monroe as a real person, not as a celebrity. To see her as a human being who makes mistakes, who has needs, who wants friendship and love. Through the fictional lens of Marilyn’s spirit coming back as a kind of fairy godmother to Lexa, the book avoids the cliché of more common storylines like: Marilyn’s rugged early years, her abuse by handlers, her physical and mental health, her lack of privacy, her dealing with fans, etc. Instead, this story is about Lexa bonding with Marilyn as a spirit, and Marilyn guiding her through a tough time. And, wonder of wonders, through the power of fiction, Lexa is able to help Marilyn’s spirit move forward on her journey, too.

Bibliography

Leno, Michele, PhD, “The Healing Power of Pop Culture Communities” www.psychologytoday.com July 17, 2024, The Healing Power of Pop Culture Communities | Psychology Today

Shah, Aarohi, “Why are we so obsessed with Celebrity Drama? The Psychology Behind our Obsession” https://www.theteenmagazine.com  May 8, 2025. Why Are We so Obsessed with Celebrity Drama? the Psychology Behind Our

“Should I be Concerned about My Kid’s Celebrity Obsession?” www.commonsensemedia.org June 4, 2020 Should I be concerned about my kid’s celebrity obsession? | Common Sense Media

“The Psychology of Fandom—Pop Culture’s Influence on Teens” www.modernrecoveryservices.com The Psychology of Fandom – Pop Culture’s Influence on Teens

“Why Teenagers Obsess Over Pop Stars?” www.childmind.org May 5, 2011, Why Teenagers Obsess Over Pop Stars – Child Mind Institute

Publishes June 1st, 2026 by She Writes Press

About the Book: Seventeen-year-old Lexa Donovan’s timid, plus-size life goes sideways when the spirit of Marilyn Monroe takes up residence in her body.

High school senior Lexa Donovan longs to be more than a bit player in her own drab life—and when she’s chosen to be part of her school’s spring production of Bus Stop, she thinks her wish has come true. But her thrill turns to panic when she’s tapped to play the leading role, sexy showgirl Cherie. One thing tall, plus-size Lexa knows for sure is that she is the exact opposite of the most famous Cherie ever: sex-goddess Marilyn Monroe.

Lexa wants out before she makes a fool of herself in front of everyone. But then something entirely unexpected happens: the spirit of Marilyn Monroe appears, ready and willing to be Lexa’s personal acting coach. Before the curtain rises on opening night, Lexa and Marilyn learn to trust their own hearts and act on what each truly needs to move forward—in life and in death.

About the Author: Half Greek, half American, Mima Tipper and her writing reflect her heritage—a little bit old-country, a little bit rock and roll: one foot wandering through the dreamy realms of myths and faerie tales, the other running on the solid ground of fast-paced, contemporary story. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is the award-winning author of the YA novel Kat’s Greek Summer (SparkPress, ISBN-9781684633067). Mima has also published YA fiction in Hunger Mountain and Sucker Literary Magazine. Her novel Kat’s Greek Summer was the 2025 silver medalist for YA fiction in the 2025 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, her YA short story “A Cut-out Face” received an honorable mention from Hunger Mountain’s Katherine Paterson Prize, and her work-in-progress version of Channeling Marilyn came in second place for Paranormal Romance in the Chesapeake Romance Writer’s annual Rudy contest. Beyond devoting most of her time to writing, Mima helps at Inklings Children’s Books in Waitsfield, Vermont, volunteers at her local library, and is committed to promoting literacy and supporting the writing community. Currently, Mima lives in Vermont with her family; find her at www.mimatipper.com.

Follow Mima Tipper on social media:
Facebook: @mimatipper | X/Twitter: @meemtip
Instagram: @mimatip  | Substack: @mimatipper

Thank you, Mima, for this thought-provoking look at a topic that affects many teens!

Author Guest Post: “Illness is a Part of Life. A Good Book Can Help Kids Cope.” by Priya Swaminathan, Author of Deepa M.D.

by
Share

“Illness is a Part of Life. A Good Book Can Help Kids Cope.”

“Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick,” Susan Sontag writes in her seminal 1978 essay Illness as a Metaphor. “Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.”

Disease is something every child will encounter, as Sontag eloquently points out. Yet it is often shrouded in taboo. An illness in the family might be kept a secret or buried under mysterious language. Our bodies can become scary, dangerous – even shameful – when we don’t understand how they work in sickness and in health. Avoiding the subject leaves kids ill equip to talk about discomfort, pain, and the swirl of emotions that come with it.

As a child, my family talked a lot about disease. My father, a surgeon, discussed tough cases and triumphant ones at the dinner table. I remember paging through his medical textbooks and marveling at anatomical drawings of my insides. But novels like Little Women and The Secret Garden gave me a deeper understanding of the experience of illness.

While the classics have much to offer, a handful of middle-grad novels have broadened my understanding of “the kingdom of the sick,” as Sontag calls it. Reading them with my 11-year-old daughter has given us a shared language to talk about illness as a part of life.

Wink by Rob Harrell

Harrell’s semi-autobiographical novel about a 7th grader diagnosed with a rare eye cancer is hilarious, heartbreaking, and life-affirming. In other words, it’s brilliant. Harrell’s deft sense of humor invites you to examine the stigma that surrounds illness and the liberating power of art and human connection.

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Merci is a heroine for the ages. A 6th grader navigating private school as a scholarship student, her family is her rock, especially Lolo, her wise and warm grandfather.

Only Lolo’s been acting differently. An angry outburst, forgetting things, tumbling off his bike –  Merci can see Lolo changing, but no one in her family will tell her what’s going on.

Ultimately, Merci learns that her grandfather has Alzheimer’s Disease. Meg Medina offers a delicate portrait of how cognitive disorders unfold and effect families. Ultimately, Merci’s understanding of her grandfather’s condition allows her to step up and take on more responsibility. This empowering story offers a blueprint for how families can face illness together.

Dust by Dusti Bowling

In Dust, Avalyn moves to Arizona with her family in search of a climate that would prevent another asthma attack like that one that almost killed her ten years ago. Her world is thrown into chaos when dust storms kick up, coinciding with the arrival of a new student at school. Breath and the experience of having a chronic respiratory illness are at the center of this novel (at least until the source of those dust storms is revealed…no spoilers!). Bowling uses magical realism to take you inside the experience of illness in a way that will change your understanding of health.

Published May 19th, 2026 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

About the Book: A precocious seventh grader whose cancer has recently gone into remission assists her “medical detective” uncle while readjusting to life in middle school in this heartwarming and funny middle grade debut novel that’s Front Desk meets Roll with It.

Twelve-year-old Deepa is ready to un-pause her life. After spending a year in the hospital, she’s itching for things to go back to the way they were before she got sick.

Only everything’s changed. Her parents treat her like she’s made of glass, there’s a mean girl out to get her, and her best friend Renée forgot to mention she has a whole new life now.

But when her Uncle Jai, a genius doctor that patients love to hate and the “Sherlock Holmes” of medical mysteries, needs her help with a tricky case involving a teenage patient, Deepa steps up to the plate—because she knows better than anyone what it’s like to be sick.

But why, oh why, did her first patient have to be her bully’s older brother?

As the case spirals and her illness flares up, Deepa quickly learns that if she wants to save her patient, she’ll have to diagnose what’s going on inside herself first.

About the Author: Priya Swaminathan lived the dream of making movies and TV shows for 19 years. She helped launch Higher Ground productions, Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, where she produced award-winning documentaries, films, and kids shows like Waffles + Mochi, Emmy-award winner Ada Twist, Scientist, and the NAACP award-winner We The People. Previously, she developed narrative films for Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville, George Clooney, and Bennett Miller and was the head of development at Annapurna Pictures. A few years ago, Priya decided to shake things up. She quit her job to write and go back to school. She graduates from UCLA School of Nursing in June and plans to work with oncology patients. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and hopes that someday she’ll convince her husband to get a big, fluffy dog. Deepa, M.D. is her debut middle-grade novel.

Thank you, Priya, for sharing this wonderful list and showing how books can help with tough times in kids’ lives!

Author Guest Post: “Why Middle Grade Readers Need Gothic Stories” by Melanie Dale, Author of Girl of Lore

by
Share

“Why Middle Grade Readers Need Gothic Stories”

In second grade I discovered a new book in my school’s library, In a Dark, Dark Room. Inside this little book was a story of Jenny, who always wore a green ribbon around her neck, and spoiler alert, it ended with her taking off the ribbon. I felt a delicious shiver down my spine at the last line: “and Jenny’s head fell off.”

WHAT!

In a world of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Carolyn Keene, and The Babysitter’s Club, this was new for me, and I knew I needed more. I immediately retold the story to my friends, one of whom was named Jenny and didn’t appreciate the nightmares. I couldn’t get enough.

Through stories with ghosts and candlesticks and billowy nightgowns and grand staircases and cobwebs dangling from chandeliers I discovered the power of gothic tales to delight and terrify. While the monsters are fun and fantastical, the themes are deadly serious.

The first time I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula I remember setting down the book and wondering how his original audience, who knew nothing of vampires, would have reacted. The story had a seemingly innocent core wrapped in gore: nineteenth-century propriety blushing at the intimacy of a bedside vigil. I was mesmerized by the gruesome terror juxtaposed with the purity of good versus evil. I rooted for the heroes to work together to defeat the demon.

When my son was in middle school I gave him a copy and he gamely tried to plow through but petered off when Jonathan Harker was still trapped in the castle in Transylvania. I thought, “What if I could make this story more accessible for him? What if these characters were teens living in Georgia?” So I did. Girl of Lore introduces my favorite gothic characters to the group of readers who maybe need them most of all.

Middle grade readers need gothic stories. Perhaps no other type of story resonates more with the unease and turbulence of burgeoning adolescence, a time when the world feels strange, we question our sanity, and we struggle with the creeping suspicion that something is wrong with us. Characters in gothic literature deal with outside forces like ghosts and the undead while battling inside struggles like “what if I’m crazy” and “what if things aren’t okay.” Through the pages of gothic books, readers can process death, mortality, and the darker side of human nature in a safe, healthy way.

Gothic literature creates an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, a threatening feeling, and fear of the unknown. You know, kind of like navigating friend group drama, changing schools, test anxiety, and unrest at home. Often there’s a feeling of isolation, maybe physical isolation or internal isolation. In Girl of Lore, my main character, Mina, struggles with maintaining friendships, feeling different, and the longing to connect with family. She processes all of this in the mysterious, spooky, gothic setting of her hometown.

I had a blast creating Mina’s town of London, Georgia, and now it’s your turn!

Gothic writing exercise: turn your hometown into a gothic setting

Step one: Pick a building or area of your town and describe it like a gothic novel would.

Often you’ll hear that in gothic literature, the setting is a character in the story. The places the characters live and work can feel alive and menacing. They often are filled with decay, overgrown cemeteries, crumbling castles or estates. Architecture details are important, with gables, eaves, maybe even a turret or gargoyle. Secret passageways abound.

When I created my fictional town of London, Georgia, I spent time in the communities around where I lived, exploring cemeteries, walking around lakes and town squares, and touring Victorian houses with sprawling porches, gingerbread trim, and dormer windows. As I began to describe the setting for Girl of Lore, I pulled in shadows, draped cobwebs, and enhanced the spooky details to give London a Southern gothic feel.

“They stared at [SPOILER ALERT] from a safe distance, noticing its peeling paint and steep roof plunging down. The rickety porch looked rotted through, with weeds growing up between the spaces of the boards. The house was dark, but Mina thought she saw a curtain flutter.”

Step two: Picture the flora and fauna in your town.

Describe how the animals creep or slither, how the plants and trees decay. In what ways are they sinister or threatening?

My London for Girl of Lore is set in Georgia where I live, so I thought about how my own backyard spills into a marsh filled with wildlife like snakes and armadillos. I noticed the way vines entangle the trees, choking them. Where I live is lovely, but when I saw it through a gothic lens, it became the perfect setting for a ghoulish tale, with skittering, creeping animals and arachnids.

“Arthur let out a whimper when he nearly walked into the three-dimensional web of a massive Joro spider, her delicate legs perched in the middle of her creation, waiting for dinner.”

Step three: Add a supernatural or psychological element.

Is there a ghost lurking somewhere? A town legend? A tragic element? Is someone wailing?

Supernatural elements like ghosts, family curses, and shadowy monsters often show up in gothic stories. Sometimes the power of nature itself threatens danger. The monsters aren’t always vampires or creatures of the night. They can also come in the form of psychological trauma like mental illness, obsession, and manipulation.

“As she hurried home past the church, past the cemetery, she heard a growl in the bushes along the sidewalk. Mina turned on her phone flashlight and shined it toward the growl. Three shadows loomed in the cemetery, watching her. The hair on the back of Mina’s neck stood up.”

The concept for Girl of Lore began when I wondered what it would be like if characters from Bram Stoker’s Dracula went to high school in small town Georgia. Make your own gothic story. Turn your town into a gothic setting, add the monsters of your choice…and see what happens!

Publishing April 21st, 2026 by Aladdin

About the Book: A girl who’s used to battling the monster of her own mind discovers there’s a sinister evil lurking in her small town in this atmospheric paranormal novel that’s perfect for fans of Tracy Wolff and Maggie Stiefvater.

Stories of dark magic and even darker creatures have always swirled about Mina Murray’s town of London, Georgia. Mina knows they aren’t true—and are likely perpetuated only to drive the quirky tourist-trap ghost tours of downtown—but that doesn’t stop her from collecting the stories and drawing them in her sketchbook. Something about the possibility of real monsters helps her deal with the monster in her own head: her OCD, which convinces her danger lurks everywhere.

But when a body is found drained of blood and a classmate goes missing, Mina is thrust into a tangled web of London secrets…that she seems to be at the center of.

About the Author: Before embracing her love of monsters and sneaking into Mina’s fictional world, Melanie Dale published a bunch of nonfiction books, shambled around as a zombie on TV, and survived cancer. She’s written episodes for the anthology horror television series Creepshow and over a decade of essays for Coffee + Crumbs. While she has won no awards for literature, she won a Halloween costume contest one time and still feels pretty stoked about it. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching yoga or battling her own brain. She lives in the Atlanta area.

Thank you, Melanie, for this wonderful writing activity as well as the plea for middle school dark(er) books–I know many of my middle schoolers would agree with you!

Author Guest Post: “Planting the Seed: Why Sharing Stories with Diverse Representation in Medicine and STEM Matters for Children” by Dr. Candicee Childs, Author of Cece’s Sour and Sweet Journey to Medical School

by
Share

“Planting the Seed: Why Sharing Stories with Diverse Representation in Medicine and STEM Matters for Children”

I remember that day as if it were yesterday—the day I found out becoming a doctor was possible and, quite frankly, a real option. Oddly enough, it was when I was a college student. I asked a career counselor, based on my interests and grades, how I could find my purpose in life (not just a job). I explored what service I hoped to give to the community and what I hoped to gain, which, again, was a sense of purpose. When he shared his first instinctive suggestion of a career in medicine, it shocked me.

I later realized I was incredibly stunned not because of the type of job he recommended, but because the reason I had never thought of it myself came from never seeing anyone who looked like me in it. It was not because of the responsibility or the difficulty of the path to medicine, but because the idea literally had not occurred to me. Growing up, I did not see any physicians of color in my community, nor did I have any family members who pursued this career. I did not read about it in books. It was rarely portrayed in the media. Without realizing it, I had internalized the idea that this was not a space meant for someone like me. It was a hidden barrier I did not realize was there.

That was the day I secretly vowed to myself that if I ever made it, I would do what I could to advocate for this—to show that, yes, diverse representation in medicine and STEM matters.

Today is a different time. The landscape is slowly changing, with shows such as Doc McStuffins, a young Black girl who imagines herself as a doctor caring for her stuffed animals. Children can also see characters like Shuri in Marvel’s Black Panther, a brilliant young woman scientist and engineer whose inventions power the fictional nation of Wakanda. Whether we realize it or not, these characters model to children of color and diverse backgrounds that, yes, this is possible. These characters may seem small in the grand scheme of things, but they carry enormous power in the media. They introduce children to possibilities they may not otherwise imagine. Yes, you can do this, and the world can be your oyster. Yes, you could be an athlete or a singer, but you could also be an engineer or even a doctor. Representation does something subtle but profound: it expands the imagination.

When children see someone who looks like them in a role in science, leadership, or healing, the question shifts from “Can someone like me do this?” to “How do I get there one day?”

This matters in medicine and STEM fields, where diversity remains limited in many spaces. As a tall woman of color, I was often expected to be a basketball player, but that was not my passion. I loved science and later grew to love the idea of becoming a doctor. Now that I am in the medical field, the research still shocks me with how low diversity remains. A 2023 article by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reported that 5.7% of the U.S. physician workforce is Black/African American, and Hispanic physicians comprise approximately 6.9%, despite these groups representing 13.6% and 19.1% of the U.S. population, respectively.

There are many articles that explain why diversity in medicine matters, noting that it directly improves patient outcomes, reduces health disparities, and expands access to care for underserved populations. Beyond the statistics, representation matters because it shapes identity. When children are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” many learn about these careers through what they see and what they can imagine. Whether they realize it or not, their identity is already forming, and it begins when a child first imagines who they might become.

For some children, that vision comes easily because the path is visible everywhere—in their neighborhoods, classrooms, families, television shows, and books. For others, that path seems hidden until someone shines a light on it. That is why stories are so important. Stories can be that light.

When we write books, create media through television and movies, provide mentorship, or simply share our journeys through reflection, we are doing more than telling personal stories. We are planting seeds—seeds that may grow years later into a future scientist, engineer, researcher, or physician who once needed someone to show them that the door was open. For me, that door opened with a single conversation.

Now, through storytelling and representation, I hope to help open it for someone else—maybe a young boy or girl who simply wants to pursue something different from what they feel the world is offering them based on how they look.

References:

  1. Boyle, P., By, Boyle, P., Writer, S. S., & 12, Jan. (2023, January 12). What’s your specialty? new data show the choices of America’s doctors by gender, race, and age. AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/news/what-s-your-specialty-new-data-show-choices-america-s-doctors-gender-race-and-age
  2. Heath, V., & Price, C. L. (2025). Addressing health disparities: How having a more diverse biomedical workforce can contribute to addressing health disparities in communities that are often underrepresented in the healthcare system. British Journal of Biomedical Science, 82. https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2025.14973
  3. Rosenkranz, K. M., Arora, T. K., Termuhlen, P. M., Stain, S. C., Misra, S., Dent, D., & Nfonsam, V. (2021). Diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine: Why it matters and how do we achieve it? Journal of Surgical Education, 78(4), 1058–1065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.11.013

Publishing May 7th, 2026 by Book Baby

About the Book: From a young age, Cece had her heart set on learning new things, and discovering how she could make a positive impact on the world. As she grows up, her passion for helping others intensifies and she sets her sights on a big dream – attending medical school to become a doctor. But Cece‘s path to her goal is filled with both sweet victories and sour setbacks. As the saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” 

Through the highs and lows of her journey, Cece learns that failure is not the end, but a vital part of the process. In this heartwarming story, children will be inspired to embrace life’s sour moments, and find the sweetness that comes from never giving up and staying true to their dreams. Join Cece as she teaches young readers valuable lessons about overcoming obstacles and staying hopeful, no matter how tough the journey gets.

About the Author: Dr. Childs is passionate about sharing her story and, more importantly, wants to encourage any and everyone to find their passion and pursue their dreams – no matter how big or small. She has hope to encourage, empower and uplift any person who wants to truly work in their purpose. As a passionate author, she understands the importance of uplifting others through her words, actions, and creative works. In the future, she hopes to inspire and educate others by writing several books and becoming a podcaster. As a Christian, she also explores many ideas that embrace the role that spirituality plays in a person’s life.

Her hometown is the beautiful city of Savannah, GA. She has three degrees: a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a minor in Spanish from Valdosta State University, a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from Georgia Southern University, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Augusta University – Medical College of Georgia. She has two certifications in nutrition and personal training from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Learn more about Candicee Childs here.

Follow Candicee Childs on social media:
Twitter/X: @candicee_childs_md | Instagram: @candicee_childs_md

Thank you, Dr. Childs, for this post!!