★ “A touching tribute to the pain of losing a loved one—and the joys of honoring them.”

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

What inspired you to write Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story?

I wrote Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story because I wanted to share a piece of México with my kids. When my family moved to the USA in 2016, my children were faced with several new traditions that we were not used to before. Since then, we have embraced them. However, for my husband and I it was also important that my kids had their own Mexican traditions. In this particular case, Día de Muertos allows us to feel connected to México, but also to our family and ancestors. It’s the perfect opportunity to share with our children the memories we have of our grandparents, great grandparents, and other dear relatives. This is a tradition I hope my kids will continue to celebrate as they grow up.

What was the most difficult part about writing the book? What part was the easiest?

The most difficult part was making sure that the theme of death was not the center of the story. I wanted the focus to be on the close and loving relationship between Julieta and Abuelita, and how Julieta was able to find a way to stay connected to her, even when Abuelita was no longer around. Highlighting the sweet moments the characters shared was key to building their relationship and add more heart to the pages. However, it was also necessary to show Abuelita had passed away and how Julieta was impacted by that event. Sara Palacios’ illustrations captured the emotion of that moment so perfectly, that not much text was needed to convey those feelings of life changing grief.

As for the easiest part for me to write, it was the ending. From the very beginning I knew how I wanted the story to end. With Julieta finding the right gift within herself and being able to feel the connection with Abuelita restored. However, I also wanted her to realize that she loved dancing and that she could find joy in it again, even without Abuelita. For this reason, the last two spreads of the book are my favorite.

“Dancing was Abuelita’s Gift to me,” Julieta said. “Now, it’s mine for us both.”

What element of the story do you identify with the most and why?

I would say the love of family is the element of the story that I identify with the most. I’ve always been a person who’s been close to my family (nuclear and extended). I cherish spending time together, making memories, taking photos of our special moments, and I enjoy keeping mementos in memory boxes just like Julieta.

Now that I’m living far away from México, it’s my family that I miss most. For this reason, this book about endless love and connection with loved ones resonates with me so much.

What do you want kids today to take away from this story?

First of all, I want readers to get a glimpse of what Día de Muertos is about, so they can have a better understanding of this beautiful Mexican tradition. For this reason, it was important for me to include detailed back matter in the book. However, I also want children to wonder about their own family and ancestors, to ask questions so they can get to know more about their past and about themselves. I hope they will remember Día de Muertos as a celebration of love and family, and that our loved ones never really leave us as long as we remember them and keep them alive in our hearts.

Another important take away to keep in mind is that the best gifts always come from the heart, and in that way the gift is not only for the person who receives it, but for the giver as well.

What are you currently reading?

I just checked out A Flicker of Hope from my local library. It’s written by Cynthia Harmony and illustrated by Devon Holzwarth. The text is heartwarming, sweet, and powerful while the illustrations are beautiful and go perfectly well with the lyrical words on the pages.

What was the process like translating Abuelita’s Gift into El regalo de abuelita, which was published simultaneously in Spanish?

The decision to have a Spanish edition of Abuelita’s Gift wasn’t considered from the beginning, so it was a pleasant surprise. Gianna Lakenauth, my editor, shared the news about the translation and asked if I would like to do it, since my first language is Spanish. I felt very honored and thankful for the opportunity and also really happy that our book about a beloved Mexican tradition would also be released in my own language.

Translating to Spanish didn’t take a long time, but it was a bit more complicated than I had anticipated. I realized it was not just a matter of finding the right words in Spanish, but I also had to make sure that children could understand them and that they had a nice sound and flow. I had spent a long time trying to find the perfect words in English while editing, and sometimes there are words or phrases that are just not translated to Spanish exactly the same. Through the process I learned it was a matter of keeping the essence of the meaning and feeling in the sentences of the English edition, and not just worrying about translating exactly word by word.

The Fresh Voices series is in coordination with the RHCB DEI Book Club committee.

★ “This work aptly communicates the issue of land acknowledgments . . . A memorable message.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review

What inspired you to write/illustrate This Land?

Ashley Fairbanks: I have a 13 year old, and seeing the lack of education about Indigenous people in her schooling was really difficult. I wanted to write This Land to give adults a tool to talk to children about the history of land theft and displacement of Indigenous people. I also wanted them to know why the history of the land we live on—and who lived there before us—is important.

Most American children aren’t taught about Indigenous history until late in elementary; I think it’s critical that the fact that Indigenous people were on this land since time immemorial is introduced long before that. This country has a long, long way to go in reconciling the history of what the US government did to Indigenous people, but we can’t have those conversations if people don’t know the basics of what was done to Indigenous people in their area.

Introducing the topic of displacement in a way that children can understand helps lay the foundation for having hard conversations down the road about the wrongs done to Indigenous Americans, and for figuring out together how we can undo some of that harm.

Bridget George: I was inspired by the need for a book like this to exist! The idea of a book that both acknowledges the uniqueness of the different nations that have always called this land home AND encourages curiosity and perspective shifts about colonization in such a loving, community building way is so exciting.

What was the most difficult part about writing the book? What part was the easiest?

AF: Because the most important part of this book was talking honestly about which tribes originally lived in certain places, it was really important for me to get their names correctly, and for Bridget to illustrate each tribal member in a way that was accurate to their traditional or contemporary dress. Since we are both Anishinaabe, we made sure to talk with people from every tribe mentioned in the book to ensure that all the details were correct.

The easiest part was creating the framing of how to present the story. I’ve done a lot of storytelling and art work about land acknowledgments and the history of Indigenous people on the land, so it was very natural to think about how to explain to children that they weren’t the first people to live where they live, and why it was important to think about it.

BG: As an Anishinaabe person, I’m able to illustrate Anishinaabe design motifs and clothing details easily. When it came to illustrating the other nations in the book I spent a long time trying to get the details right!

What element of the story do you identify with the most and why?

AF: My grandma was an incredibly important part of my life, so the idea that the wisdom in this story is coming from TJ’s feels familiar and warm. Learning from elders is a really critical part of Anishinaabe culture, so it was important that the children learn from TJ’s grandmother.

BG: I think what strikes me the most about the book is the love and gentleness that it carries while approaching a difficult to understand and sometimes uncomfortable subject. You can really feel through the book that there is a beautiful potential for understanding and community building.

What do you want kids today to take away from this story?

AF: My greatest hope for This Land is that it makes kids (and their parents) curious about the Indigenous people that lived in their communities before colonization, and that it makes them ask where those people are today. Are they still there, as neighbors and friends, teachers and shopkeepers? Or were they forced off the land? Where did they go? I’m excited that the answers to this will be different for every child that reads This Land, and where that curiosity takes them in the future.

BG: I hope This Land inspires children and their grown-ups to explore the world around them with a new lens. I hope they finish the book with a new curiosity about the hundreds of different Indigenous Nations that have always called this land home.

What are you currently reading?

AF: I am currently reading and rereading the draft of my next book, which is a middle-grade book about the government-run boarding schools that Indigenous children were forced to attend. [Note: This is another Race to the Truth book, scheduled for Summer 2026!] When I put that down, I’m going between Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig and the array of romance novels I speed read as a treat. I am always reading something serious and something light-hearted to keep things in balance.

BG: I’m currently about to finish The Art Thief by Michael Finkel and am currently having Charlotte’s Web read aloud to me by my little one 🙂

The Fresh Voices series is in coordination with the RHCB DEI Book Club committee.

“Cameron’s sentences are laden with magic, stuffed to spilling with the stuff of dreams. Through them, he takes us on a journey that’s personal, poignant, phantasmagoric, and profound.”

—Carlos Hernandez, Pura Belpré Award winning author of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

What inspired you to write Daydreamer?

I saw them, Charles and Glory. Characters show up unannounced from the Otherplace. Guests from this country—to which I’ve never been invited personally, little rude to be honest— simply appear. This often happens when I write without direction and let my hands do what they will on the page.

Charles was staring at something only he could see, like if he blinked it would get away, a tricky fish on a hook. His expression was one-part awe and one-part intense focus. I just knew he was the kind of child who would run the sky on clouds.

I immediately knew Glory was bigger inside than out. Eyes of green. Skin of black. Smoke of gold rising from between his teeth. If Samuel L. Jackson was a dragon, he would be Glory (I have no insider knowledge to confirm that Mr. Jackson is not in fact a dragon). I also knew he’d lived more life than he could possibly contain inside of himself. Too much history to remember; a problem to be sure. But the important thing to remember about Glory is that he flies when he wants to. You would know him by his laugh, nearly identical with thunder and rain.

I saw Glory and Charles. But I hadn’t heard them yet. Then happenstance pulled on strands of fate. I was teaching fifth grade at the time and all the classes went on a field trip to see author Patricia Polacco speak. Patricia grew up in a home where reading and telling stories was elevated to ritual, a ritual that she could not participate in because of her neurodivergence. She felt cursed until an arts teacher helped her break it. And now she writes and paints. Her experience helped me unlock Charles’s voice and Glory’s reaction to it.

What was the most difficult part about writing the book? What part was the easiest?

There is absolutely nothing easy about writing a book. This July I went to Readercon, my absolute favorite convention. My writers group, Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers, has attended every year since 2012. I was sitting in my hotel room by the window when there came a sudden knock, knock, KNOCKING at my door. There stood a hockey dad and his wife. Their kid’s team was staying at the hotel. They’d seen me from down on the patio and their friends just knew I wouldn’t let them in to wave. The dad paid me $20 for the pleasure of proving his friends wrong. When he saw my novel Daydreamer on the table, he grabbed it and started flipping pages.

“Oh my god, these are so many words! How do you even do this!? Here’s twenty more dollars. And I’m going to buy your book. Love that you’re doing this, bro! RESPECT.”

There is nothing easy about writing a book. Hockey dads agree. Reading for a book is a different matter.

I’ll make a point of talking about them more, but some of the books I almost got lost in were: The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Borges, The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, Legends of Belize by Grissy G. and Dismas, Fairies by Allan Lee and Brian Froud, Jabberwocky by Lewis Carol, Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, and Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller.

It’s worth mentioning that I was also watching Pan’s Labyrinth, David Bowie’s Labyrinth, and the imprint that published the book is Labyrinth Road, helmed by Liesa Abrams. Planets aligned.

What element of the story do you identify with the most and  why?

So many things. Being in a room full of people talking to you. Sometimes it all turns into white noise, even though you’re expected to be attentive. It happens to me, so I try to stay open to that experience for my students when I’m teaching.

My deep, deep love for dragons. Truly loving anything, mythical or not, also means attempting to understand it, returning to it with fresh eyes, like rereading a favorite book.

The pull to create. I drew sooooo many dragons.

Oh, also there is a scene in the book referencing when, as a young boy, Charles electrocuted himself. That part is biographical. Don’t ever play with electricity.

What do you want kids today to take away from this story?

After you read Daydreamer, I hope you have come to know that:

1. Your feelings are valid and should be explored, not locked in a suitcase.
2. “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – Semisonic
3. You are not defined by the things that you cannot do.
4. There is good love and there is bad love. It takes work to see the difference.

Can you speak a bit to the idea of the theme of how kids can navigate facing dragons—both literal and metaphorical?

This is for everyone. Relative to a dragon, an adult is just a slightly taller kid. You must be careful when hitching your star to a dragon’s tail. The thing about dragons is that no matter how beautiful or scary or lovable they are, it’s impossible for them not to be self-centered and stuck in their ways.^[1] Eventually, you will have to put some distance between yourself and the dragon (that does not mean killing it!).

Doing so may be scary, may be dangerous. But it can be done. I strongly recommend that you don’t try to do it alone. I strongly recommend that you do so by holding hands with people you trust. Who will be your companions?

What are you currently reading?

My reading list is wild. They mostly have to do with projects I’m working on.

1. Maria Dahvana Headley’s translation of Beowulf.
2. Spiderman & X-Men comics!
3. Dear Medusa by Olivia A Cole
4. Meet Me on Mercer Street by Booki Vivat (reading that with my oldest daughter)

^[1] The exception that proves this rule is a luck dragon. Luck dragons are amazing. If anything, they’ll recognize when it’s time for you to move on and gently nudge you in the right direction. Loves me some luck dragons. 

The Fresh Voices series is in coordination with the RHCB DEI Book Club committee.

“Christopher Pike and Riverdale vibes will entice readers looking for subtle supernatural romance and small-town drama, all topped with a face-off against a menacing secret from the past.” —Booklist

What inspired you to create SIX OF SORROW?

I was just coming off of writing STARLINGS which has some pretty heavy themes of generational trauma and sacrifice, lots of death, etc, and I wanted to create something light and fun! The funny thing is, this always happens—my stories begin as a response to a previous story that went darker than I anticipated and has left me *slightly* emotionally exhausted. So, I start the new, shiny ideas and inevitably, through the process of drafting and revisions, end up in the exact position I was trying to crawl my way out of! Now, there is lots of fun in SIX OF SORROW—it’s got a kind of nostalgic lightheartedness of 90s teen horror/thriller novels that I loved growing up—but there are certainly some more serious threads woven throughout as well. There are girls fighting an evil entity, witchy magic, sickly cheerleaders, a dramatic school dance scene, and more—those are some “fun” elements that carried over. And I’m so glad they stayed! But personally, I think one of the best things about it is the contrast between those elements and the other side—the eerie atmosphere, the lurking villain, the body horror. Those ideas combined is what makes this book what it is. And the cover is such a perfect representation of the story. That gorgeously-girly hot-pink—complete with a little blood.

What was the most difficult part about writing the book? What part was the easiest? 

The most difficult? Loaded question! I definitely suffered from “second book syndrome” like a lot of authors. I had this idea in my mind of what the story was, not just the tone of it, but the plot points. Through revisions—many, many rounds—I realized a lot of things had to change. My first few drafts were too complicated, too many elements. Multiple villains, multiple layers that didn’t quite melt together. It didn’t feel cohesive and I had a ton of worldbuilding issues. I couldn’t answer important questions, and that weighed down the believability. With the help of my editor, I was able to unravel these threads and simplify. It was all worth it in the end! But of course, during the process, my self-confidence and my confidence in the story took a big hit. I kind of doubted we would ever see the end of the process, so to be here, just two weeks out of publication, feels pretty amazing. I’m really proud of this book.

What element of the story do you identify with the most and why? 

There really is so much of me in this story. So many of my loves threaded into it. My editor said it feels like “an ode to being a teenage girl” which I just had to repeat in the acknowledgments (and now here too, I guess), but really, to me, it feels like an ode to being teenage me. So many things that helped form me, so many past (and current) obsessions, made their way into the story. It’s like a dash of this old book, and this old book, and this old book. The vibes of this movie and that movie. The feeling I had while reading/watching/singing/listening to that, that, that. The ache of first love and the complexities of growing up. It’s all kinds of experiences and loves and delights rolled up into one and wrapped in some of my fears, too. And so much of it wasn’t even intentional! I am still discovering moments within it that light up a bulb in my memory. It is the kind of book that would have delighted me at fourteen—and still does at forty-one!

What do you want kids to take away from this story? 

I’d love them to fall in love with the friend group, to find them as precious as I do. To champion the sweet queer love story. To find a favorite character that they resonate with. Mostly, I hope that teen readers enjoy the book. I hope they have a good time with the story. And I wouldn’t be mad if they got goosebumps once or twice.

What are you currently reading? 

Last night, I finished I WISH YOU WOULD by Eva Des Lauriers, a fellow Writing With the Soul alumni—a perfectly-angsty summer YA second-chance romance. So that means today I get to start LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn, which has been on my TBR forever. I just know I’ll love it!

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

In the end, I hope I’ve captured the complexities of friendships, particularly those we develop as adolescents. I hope I’ve portrayed these girls authentically—because they sure feel real to me. None of them are perfect, and their relationships with each other certainly haven’t always been. But we know humans aren’t perfect. That’s why we are interesting. That’s why we want to read stories about other humans. If everyone made the right decisions all the time, the smartest decisions all the time, there’d be no growth. No story. Nothing worth fighting for or reaching toward. Their history is messy and full of mistakes, which I think a lot of readers will resonate with, but it’s also full of love. I hope that shines through the pages.

The Fresh Voices series is in coordination with the RHCB DEI Book Club committee.

What inspired you to write Rabia’s Eid? 

I wanted to see if I could explore this new genre of early reader books with an Eid story that says something new. I remember my learning to read journey. Back then the books were very limited! I never saw anyone in them that looked like me or celebrated Eid!

Right now, there are a plethora of lovely Eid books out there and I wondered if I could come at it from a new perspective. I think this is the first early-to-read book about the subject.

Click here to watch a Youtube video for Rabia’s Eid.

What was the most difficult part about writing the book? What part was the easiest? 

What was the most difficult? The format! With easy readers you can’t overwhelm the reader with too much text. There are all kinds of specifications that I wasn’t aware of. And fitting a story within those line breaks etc. was challenging. It’s really given me an even greater respect for these types of books!

What part was the easiest?

Remembering how a little girl like Rabia would experience Ramadan!

What element of the story do you identify with the most and why?

The moment I identify most with is when Rabia’s father asks Rabia to put the ‘Fitr’ (the mandatory charity of feeding one poor person for each person in your family) in the box, she looks out at the crowd and realizes all of them gave enough to feed a poor person for the day. That was the moment that I realized it, too.

I’ve been going to Eid prayer for over fifty years, and I witnessed thousands of people gathered. It never occurred to me that our very presence meant thousands of poor people had been fed. The focus was always on the end of the month of fasting, but that’s not what the holiday is called! In fact, Eid ul Fitr is the first day of the month AFTER Ramadan, Shawwal. And it’s called Eid ul Fitr because of that mandatory charity we give.

What do you want kids today to take away from this story?

I want them to know there’s a time for fun stuff (the henna and pretty dresses) and there’s a time to do good stuff (give charity to help others). The best times in our life do both!

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading about the idea of pride and honor in the antebellum South.

If you could share one aspect of being an observant Muslim with young children, what would it be?

When I first started practicing Islam it looked like it would be so hard. I find Islam to be simple and easy. If you pray five times a day, fast for one month in a year, help feed the poor, dress modestly, be honest and nice to people—God will love you and you’ll go to heaven.

The Fresh Voices series is in coordination with the RHCB DEI Book Club committee.