Elizabeth Rusch, Author Interview at Embracing the Child

ETC: The three new books you have out this year cover such a wide range of topics, from art and creativity, to astronomy, to volcanism. What connects these books?

RUSCH: On the home page of my website, I feature a quotation from Carl Sagan: "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." All three books are about discovery. A Day with No Crayons is about a girl's discovery of color in the world all around her. Will It Blow? is about what scientists discovered about Mount St. Helens when they detected earthquake swarms in 2004. And The Planet Hunter is about an astronomer who wondered if there were more planets in our solar system, and whose discoveries have radically changed the way we look at our solar system.

ETC: But your two fall books A Day with No Crayons and The Planet Hunter are so different. How did you go from one to the other?

RUSCH: Well, I actually started writing A Day with No Crayons about five years ago, after watching my children draw designs in a mud puddle at the park. I had been polishing it and revising it until eventually editor Theresa Howell bought it in 2005.

The Planet Hunter happened much more recently and much more quickly. In August 2006, when an international group of astronomers bumped Pluto to dwarf—planet status, I knew that they completely changed the way we view the solar system—and made every single children's book on the solar system out–of–date.

I was itching to write a book that would explain these changes for children. I banged out a short email to Theresa. "Have you been following the Pluto debate?" I wrote. "Would you be interested in a picture book on Michael Brown, the astronomer who, using an old telescope, found the object bigger than Pluto that brought the whole planet debate to a head? But we'd have to do it fast…"

I hit SEND and about a minute later the phone rang. It was Theresa saying she was interested and could I write up a proposal for an editorial meeting in a week. I did and got a contract giving me about two months to interview Mike Brown, write his story, and explain the science of the new solar system in 32 pages. It was fast, but fun!

ETC: What are you trying to accomplish with your nonfiction books such as Will It Blow? and The Planet Hunter?

RUSCH: I keep reading about developments in the news that I know would interest children. Who loves the solar system and volcanoes more than kids? In school, science is often taught as a done deal, as hard and fast knowledge that kids must memorize. I want to show through my stories that our understandings of our world are constantly changing and unfolding

I think I've developed a knack for writing creative, narrative nonfiction for children that breaks ground by presenting absolutely cutting–edge material or missed stories in fresh ways. When I think about the future of my career, I aspire to become the John McPhee of children's books. He writes nonfiction so well and so creatively that it reads like fiction. When I'm writing nonfiction I challenge myself by saying: How would John McPhee organize this information? What story would John McPhee tell to get the information across? Of course he's not telling me how to do it, but his creativity in presenting information in a gripping narrative is something I aspire to in my nonfiction writing.

ETC: I noticed that you use a lot of sidebars in The Planet Hunter and Will It Blow? Can you explain why?

RUSCH: Often when I'm telling a story, there's material I want to elaborate on but can't because it would disrupt the flow of the story. (For example: How exactly did Mike Brown search for more planets? What gadgets and gizmos do scientists use to gather clues from an active volcano?) So I write a sidebar, a little mini story with a punchy headline, a funny beginning or ending, and a nugget of information that deepens the reader's understanding of the story. Sidebars are generally fun to read, so they offer kids a great way to learn more about topics that interest them. Because sidebars are so short, I find them to be both a challenge to write and really fun to write. I think of them as "flash nonfiction."

ETC: How do you do your research for your nonfiction books?

RUSCH: I use the techniques of both a student writing a term paper and a journalist. First, I read all the books I can find on a topic. I also do thorough electronic searches to find relevant newspaper and magazine articles. I may read 50–80 pages of articles.

Then I write a bunch of questions. That's because I get my best material by talking to people. I've found that for virtually every subject, there is at least one expert: Someone has spent time studying and thinking about it, someone who keeps current. When I talk with people passionate about a subject they will often give me unexpected information or stories, real gems that give my stories extra sparkle.

For example, astronomer Mike Brown told me that when he was in 2nd grade he learned how meteorites formed craters on moon. He ran home, flooded his backyard and started winging rocks into the mud to see how it worked. I didn't read this tidbit in any articles or books, I only learned about it by interviewing him. But I thought kids would really relate to the anecdote and find it funny and learn a little something about lunar craters. So I made it the opening of The Planet Hunter.

ETC: We've talked a lot about your nonfiction. Tell me a bit about what you are trying to accomplish with your fiction?

RUSCH: I think my fiction is about truths, too, universal questions and universal truths. Coloring with crayons is a nearly universal experience. I read somewhere that the average child in the United States will wear down 730 crayons by his or her 10th birthday! A Day with No Crayons explores how children move beyond crayons and how they connect crayon colors to colors in their world.

Currently, I'm working on a middle grade novel called April Fool that poses all kinds of interesting questions about humor. What is funny? Why do people laugh at funerals? What is the role of humor in life and death? I'm also working on a chapter book called Muddy Boy about a boy who gets superpowers from mud. It's a madcap superhero story, but it also explores interesting questions: Does might make right? Are some people good and some people evil, or are we all a mixture of both?

ETC: How would you describe your voice in your writing?

RUSCH: Wow, that's tough. Do I have a voice? Or do I have many voices? A Day with No Crayons is about artistic exploration so I wanted the language to be beautiful, poetic, and creative. In Will It Blow? I tell the story of the current, on–going eruption at Mount St. Helens like the detective story it was for the scientists who were monitoring it. So the voice in that book is more who–dunnit, more film–noir. The Planet Hunter is essentially the story of astronomer Mike Brown, whose exploration of the solar system kicked off the whole "What is a planet?" debate. Because The Planet Hunter is Mike's story, I wanted to capture his voice and his personality. I was thrilled when I interviewed Mike because he's very funny, lively, curious and optimistic. His outlook on his life and his work gave the book a wonderful voice.

ETC: So what part of your writing voice comes from you?

RUSCH: My writing tends to be clear, with simple uncluttered language, and an occasional witty turn of phrase. I tend to be dramatic—even in my nonfiction writing I want the story to be dramatic. Editors have called my style lyrical—which means that the words sound nice together. I like for my writing to sound good in the ear or in the head—with nice rhythms and alliteration.

In a deeper way, though, my background and personality drive what I want to write about, what themes interest me, what stories and details I want to include, what questions I want to my work to pose. As a child, I wanted to be taken seriously, not talked down to, so I try in my writing to be more subtle than obvious, to show things without stating them outright, to trust the reader to figure things out.

You can learn more about Elizabeth Rusch and her other books at www.elizabethrusch.com.