Actual Q&A With Loree:

Here you go, Alison. I hope these answers help!

Best, Loree
1. W hat inspires you when you write a new nonfiction book for children/ young adults? Do
your own children play a part in the process?
For me, each book start with a story I cant stop thinking about. I find these stories everywhere:
in newspapers or magazines, at the museum, out in the woods, in my garden. Sometimes they
arrive in fairly complete form, like the newspaper article about Colony Collapse Disorder that
launched the research that eventually became THE HIVE DETECTIVES, and sometimes they
arrive as a small, interesting nugget. A good of example of this last kind is the trip I took to the
Museum of Science with my kids back in 2009 or so. During our visit to the indoor Butterfly
Garden, I spotted a pair of mating butterflies, asked a few innocent questions of the museum
docent on duty, and stumbled into the world of pupae farming for the butterfly exhibit industry.
When my children were younger (they are now 16, 16, and 13), they were very involved in all
facets of my books. While I was researching CITIZEN SCIENTISTS, for example, they were my
constant companions in the field as I participated in every citizen science project that struck my
fancy. It was incredibly fun for me, and I hope for them. Now that they are older and have busy
lives of their own, I rely on them in other ways. Im working on a science book for older readers,
for example, and my sons have been reading my early drafts and sharing their thoughts on
what works and what doesnt. Im also working on a new Scientists in the Field book, and as I
begin to ready myself for the first draft, Im constantly asking my daughter questions designed
to figure out which parts of the story are interesting to her. (Ive learned from experience that
they are usually not the parts of the story that are most interesting to me.) I dont know what Ill
do when these three grow up and move out on their own!
2. W hy is it important as a nonfiction writer to align yourself with a particular genre for your
writing? Would you ever consider crossing subgenres? Melding them together? Is this
especially important for young adults, so they can separate truth/science from fiction/science
fiction?
Im not sure what you mean by genre here, but assume you are referring to my books all being
about science? This kind of alignment is not terribly important to me, to be honest. It may be
important for marketing reasons, I guess, but I just cant make myself believe that is a good
way to choose what I should write about next. My own personal process requires a story. A
really good one. It doesnt have to be a science story, although my own personal interests tend
to find and fiddle with science stories. If I found a story about, for example, language, and it
really

! !
!
!
resonated with me and led me to ask questions and explore in ways that were exciting and that
I thought could be pulled together to make an incredible reading experience, then Id try to
write that story ... even though its not in the genre people associate me with.
3. When you go into classrooms or libraries to make a presentation, are you focused on getting
the children to read, to love science, both?
Honestly? Neither! I am focused on telling them a good story, on pulling them into something I
find incredibly interesting and hoping that they will become interested, too. Of course there
will be ideas in my presentations that I hope they pick up onfor example, I almost always
include themes of regular people, including kids, as observers of the world, and I hope one or
two of them will realize that this means THEM. I very often mention how long the writing
process is, and how very many times I revise a book before I even show it to my trial readers,
never mind my editor. But it is more important to me that my students are completely
enthralled for an hour, that something about the story Im telling pulls them in, nudges them to
ask questions, infects them with a bit of the passion I feel for what Im talking about. Thats my
job in a classroom presentation. I can tell if Ive done my job well by how the Q&A session
goes. If they have lots of questions, Ive got them. If not, Ive bombed. Honestly, if some of
those kids leave wanting to read more of my books or loving science, that is just a bonus ...
although a very welcome one, of course!
4. What are your top 5 nonfiction recommendations for books for children/young adults?
TEMPLE GRANDIN, by Sy Montgomery
THE RACE TO SAVE THE LORD GOD BIRD, by Philip Hoose RED MADNESS, by Gail Jarrow
BLIZZARD OF GLASS, by Sally M. Walker
BOMB, by Steve Scheinkin
Its really hard to pick just five! But the books Ive listed stood out to me for two reasons.
1) I learned something in the pages of each one, something I hadnt known before and which I
was glad to know afterwards. Do you know why the bread we buy in the grocery store is
enriched? I didnt until I read Gails book. Its a fascinating story that everyone who eats
bread or uses flour should know.
2) I had to read each title on the list twice. The first read was just to get through the story, by
which I mean that the book was so good I couldnt concentrate on anything but finding out
what happened next. I was reading as a reader. The second time through I went because Im a
writer, and I had to figure out how the author hooked me so fully. I have learned a lot about the
craft of writing nonfiction from reading Sy, Phillip, Gail, Sally, Liz and Steves books.

5. In C itizen Scientists, you note that Young people see the world differently than older
people do, adding that an adults focus on the world is much different than a childs. Do you
find that adults are an enthusiastic part of your audience along with their children?
Yes. Im thrilled when adults tell me they liked a book, or that they learned from it. I just wish
they werent so surprised. The nonfiction books being written for children and young adults
today are high quality literary works that make a great read for adults, too. I dont think enough
adults realize this!
6. Have you stumbled upon any social/cultural/spiritual narratives along with the beekeeping?
This is in relation to T he Shamanic Way of the Bee, w hich offers many ancient cultural/spiritual
(Celtic/European, South American, Egyptian, etc.) incorporations and interactions with the
honey bee as kind of an otherworldly, creaturethatexistsinbetweenworlds. In your research, did
you come across any of these residual ideas and/or respect for honeybees?
Im not familiar with this book. The closest I came to its narrative was interactions with a few
folks in my local beekeeping club who practice apitherapy. In most cases they were seeking
relief from the joint pain of various forms of arthritis, and all swear that bee venom therapy was
incredibly helpful to them. I have no doubt they are right.
Initial Questions for Loree:
1.

What makes you write scientific books for children? Do your own children play a
part in the process?

2.

Do you have any horses yet? Will there ever be a horse book?

3.

Do you ever consider writing fiction? What would a fiction book about a scientific topic
look like to you?

4.

Whats the best feedback or story from a young adult youve received from your
writing?
Has anyone told you that theyve been inspired to write or research or be a scientist
from
reading your books?

5.

When you go into classrooms or libraries to make a presentation, are you focused
on getting the children to read, to love science, both?

!
!
!

6.

Talk about your process once you get an idea for a new book: research, writing, editing,
fieldwork. How do you collaborate with an illustrator/author?

7.

Can anyone write narrative nonfiction? What about young adults who have a passion for
a particular topic? What would your advice to them be?

8.

Youvetalkedabouthowyoucreatedialogueforyourcharacters :howdotheideasfor each

character come to you? How do you know when one bee will stand out above all the
rest?

9.

You recently wrote a series of nature inspired haiku for national poetry month. How did
the poetry inspire or make you think differently about your own nonfiction writing? Any
plans to incorporate it into book form?

10. What are your top 5 nonfiction recommendations for books for children/young
adults?

11. What is the most misunderstood natural character? What do you plan to write about
next?

12. Why is it important as a nonfiction writer to align yourself with a particular label
for your writing? Would you ever consider crossing subgenres? Melding them
together? Is this especially important for young adults, so they can separate truth/
science from fiction/science fiction?

13. Have you s tumbled upon any social/cultural/spiritual narratives along with the
beekeeping? This is in relation to T he Shamanic Way of the Bee, w hich offers
many ancient cultural/spiritual (Celtic/European, South American, Egyptian, etc.)
incorporations and interactions with the honey bee as kind of an otherworldly,
creaturethatexistsinbetweenworlds. In your research, did you come across any of
these residual ideas and/or respect for honeybees?

14. In C itizen Scientists , you note that Young people see the world differently than
older people do, adding that an adults focus on the world is much different than
a childs. Do you find that adults are an enthusiastic part of your audience along
with their children?

15. How do you focus yourself when working on a project, or talking to a class about your
work or being a citizen scientist? Do you find it a meditative process, doing research for
your books?

16. I love the care you take in showing how to handle something like a butterfly so carefully,
so that the young scientists arent hurting the natural world with their explorations.
What is the #1 idea youd like to convey to citizen scientists?

Book Citations
Burns, L. G. (2010). The hive detectives: chronicle of a honey bee catastrophe. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.
Burns, L.G. (2014). Beetle busters. Boston: HMH Books for Young Readers.
Burns, L.G. (2010). Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion
(Scientists in the Field Series) Boston: HMH Books for Young Readers.