Interview with BETH ANDERSON, a #kidlit #picturebook #nonfiction inspiration!

Carol Gordon Ekster: Beth, I’ve been on panels with you and part of the same book marketing group, PBRockiteers. I’ve always been impressed with your writing and professionalism. I’m so happy to highlight you and your new book here on Writers’ Rumpus!

Beth Anderson: Thank you so much! Connecting with other kid lit creators is truly one of the best things about this journey!

CGE: Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a children’s author?

BA: As a child, though I had found a love for writing, being an author didn’t even enter my realm of possibility. I had thought about writing for children on and off a few times in my adult life and took a few feeble stabs, but in pre-internet times, it was really hard to get the information on how to go about it and the resources available were nothing like these days. When I retired from teaching, the idea came back, and partly because of the encouragement of my students, I investigated writing for children seriously and decided to go for it. I still was quite naïve, but sometimes that’s the only way you jump in, right? Having taught writing to students and working with children’s literature for many years was a great head start, but I still had a lot to learn. Writing illustrated texts is a different form with its own unique challenges. If it wasn’t for the incredible community of kid lit people who encouraged, shared, and provided opportunities for learning, I wouldn’t be here!

CGE: What draws you to nonfiction and biography?

I did play with fiction for a bit, but I soon found my niche in narrative nonfiction and historical fiction, writing the kinds of books I liked to use in the classroom. I love it when kids react with “WOW!” or “Really?” and the whole world opens up a bit. Nonfiction opens up my world too, and provides perspective and a better understanding of today. I enjoy the surprises I find, but also the challenge of creating an engaging story that brings meaning and relevance to history, lets us see the humanity of people as they face the conflicts of their time and place, and bringing all that to young readers.

I think nonfiction also offers real-world integration of life through seeing how history and science intersect, and it spurs critical thinking. I like to go after little known people who made a difference and events that shift thinking. I didn’t set out to write bios—it just happened. 😊

CGE: Most of us know of Thomas Jefferson, but in your newest book that came out in May, Thomas Jefferson’s Battle of Science: Bias, Truth, and a Mighty Moose!, you focused on a different aspect of Thomas Jefferson. Can you tell us what drew you to this story?

BA: I always like seeing a new side of a famous person, and when I read about Jefferson’s obsession with mammoths and the incident with the moose, it really grabbed me. It was little known history, tied to science, and … quirky! Those three points are irresistible to me! As I dug in, I found SO MUCH that connected to today, a model and opportunity for critical thinking, and a path into history that offers a kid-friendly way to consider big ideas — like determining truth, assigning value, and admitting mistakes (just to name a few.) I always see so much more than I’m able to put into the manuscript, but even though I had to pare it down, I think we ended up with a range of themes and concepts to ponder, as well as engaging tale.

CGE: Thomas Jefferson’s Battle for Science: Bias, Truth, and a Mighty Moose! received wonderful reviews. Congratulations! How do those great reviews affect you and your writing and was this a story that gathered lots of rejection or did you sell it rather quickly? Please give us the scoop!

BA: Thank you! It’s a wonderful surprise! Illustrator Jeremy Holmes created fabulously fun, detailed, extraordinary art that meshes seamlessly with the text. You just never know how a book will be received. It’s always encouraging to get positive reviews, and stars are such a special confirmation, especially after more than a year of struggling to make the science part comprehensible, focused, and relevant for kids. When it went on submission in 2019, an offer came in the first round of subbing, along with five passes. I think having an agent who knows when a manuscript is really ready is huge. As always, Stephanie Fretwell-Hill provided valuable feedback a few times as I worked through revisions. And then I was fortunate Carolyn Yoder and her team at Calkins Creek loved it!

CGE: What kind of marketing promotion have you done for this title?

BA: I’ve been sharing it on social media and in blog articles and interviews. I participated in a panel on new bios with Books of Wonder (the recording is HERE. Also a few small book festivals in the area and book store signings. Along with writing an Educator Guide. I’ve been working on a few additional resources for teachers. One is a short Classroom Video Visit featuring a conversation between illustrator Jeremy Holmes and me from Second Star to the Right Bookstore in Denver that was featured in their educator newsletter. I look forward to more opportunities to share the book at fall conferences.

CGE: What advice can you offer our #amwriting readers of the blog who have experienced frustration and rejection in this crazy #kidlit publishing business?

BA: My best advice is to keep learning and growing as a writer. Explore new ways to approach a topic, examine books with similar themes or content, do some introspection to bring your own connection and unique angle, participate in a critique group, and take advantage of professional critique opportunities. I think it’s much harder than we ever initially imagined!

CGE: What does the future hold for Beth Anderson?

BA: I’ve got three books in the publishing pipeline with Calkins Creek/Astra. The first two are about spunky young women in history, and both connected to Abraham Lincoln. HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: KATE WARNE AND THE RACE TO SAVE ABRAHAM LINCOLN is about the first U.S. female detective’s role in foiling the Baltimore Plot, a rebel plan to assassinate Lincoln before his inauguration in 1861. (That was a story I started long ago. It lived in “the drawer” for a while until I decided to tackle it again.) I’ve gotten a peek at the art, and it is AMAZING!

The next one in 2026, SCULPTING PRESIDENT LINCOLN: VINNIE REAM CARVES OUT HER FUTURE, is about a teen-aged girl who persevered past being “too young, too inexperienced, and too female” to sculpt the statue of Lincoln that stands in the Capitol rotunda today.

CGE: Congrats on those upcoming books, Beth! We can’t wait to read them. Thanks for inspiring us here at Writers’ Rumpus.

You can connect with Beth here:

Welcome!

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