Interview Questions
About Mount St. Helens, volcano monitoring, and the current eruption:
How did you become interested in Mount St. Helens?
What was your first visit to Mount St. Helens like? Tell me about your climb to the summit.
Who are the Volcano Detectives? Why do you call them detectives?
What kind of cool gadgets do Volcano Detectives use?
What’s a day in the life of a Volcano Detective like?
What did scientists learn from the 1980 eruption? From the current eruption?
How is the current eruption like or unlike other volcanic eruptions across the globe and across history?
What is it like inside a volcano?
How dangerous is Mount St. Helens?
How has volcano monitoring evolved over time?
About crayons and creativity:
How did you get the idea for A Day with No Crayons?
Is Liza based on anyone you know?
How much coloring do kids do these days?
What roles do crayons play in children’s artistic development?
Do crayons help kids develop artistically or stunt their growth?
Why are adults so nostalgic about crayons?
What are some creative children’s activities to do with crayons?
How do you recycle crayons?
How is a crayon made?
What is “found art”?
About the Pluto debate and the new solar system:
So, why isn’t Pluto a planet anymore?
What did you think when you first heard Pluto might not be a planet?
Why is the Pluto debate important for kids to read about? What drew you to this story?
What does the Pluto story mean for our understanding of the solar system now? For future space exploration?
Has a “mistake” like this been made before?
Are there people who still think Pluto is a planet? Why?
Why did you decide to write a book about Mike Brown?
What’s Mike Brown up to now?
What do you think could be discovered in space next?
About Generation Fix and youth activism:
Why do you call the next generation “Generation Fix”?
How is Generation Fix different from Gen X, Gen Y, or the Millennial Generation? What evidence confirms these differences?
Why should parents and teachers talk with kids about serious world problems including hunger, homelessness, violence, and discrimination?
What is the best way for parents and teachers to encourage young people to pursue solutions to problems they see in the community?
Why do kids between the ages of 8-18 have a natural inclination to community service?
What development stages do kids go through between ages of 8-18? How do these stages affect their interest and ability to contribute to their community?
Why should we look to young people for solutions to the world problems? What do young people bring to the table that adults don’t?
What messages do parents, teachers and the media send to kids about their ability to make change in their world?
What are some ways society can better inspire or encourage young people to become involved in community service?
How did you become a magazine writer?
How did you become a book author?
How did you get your first book published?
You write for both children and adults. How is writing for children the same or different from writing for adults?
You write both fiction and nonfiction. How is the writing of fiction different from the writing of nonfiction?
Where do you get your ideas?
Do you ever get writer's block? What do you do?
What is the research process for your books? For your articles?
How would you describe your writing process?
How did you choose what to write about?
How did you become interested in writing on science for kids?
How is your approach to science writing different?
Tell me about your revision process.
What other jobs have you had?
Who helped/hindered you in your early career?
What themes/ideas/concepts keep reoccurring in your writing? What ideas do you keep wanting to write about?
Where do get your inspiration/motivation to keep writing?
What advice would you give to writers just starting out?
What is the most useful writing advice you ever received? The least useful?
Do you write every day?
Whose writing do you admire most?
Were you a good student in school?
Did you like school? What was your favorite subject?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What were your favorite books as a kid?
What is your favorite part of writing a book?
What is the hardest part of writing a book?
If you could be any childhood book character, which would you be?
Where do you write?
What is your family like? Do they inspire your writing at all?
Do you keep a journal or diary?
Any advice for children who want to be writers?
What’s the craziest/silliest idea you ever wanted to write about?