Joyce Sidman, author of Hello, Earth! Poems to Our Planet, illustrated by Miren Asiain Lora
Children’s Literature Category, sponsored by Books for Africa
Each week leading up to the 34th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our 36 finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
Would you tell us one or two things about your finalist book that you are particularly proud of, and why?
Usually the text of a book is written first, then the illustrator creates pictures based on the text. This book started differently. Editor Kathleen Merz of Eerdmans approached me with the illustrations already done—they had been used in a book published abroad. Rather than translate the text, she asked me to write brand new poems. I was hesitant at first, uncertain I could do it. But after poring over Miren’s beautiful folk-style art, I fell in love. The spreads called to me—as did the curious, diverse, energetic children in them.
For months I searched for the right voice and the right story. I had many false starts and many weeks of shuffling illustrations. Finally, I was able to create a narrative that I felt truly honored both the evocative art and the profoundly huge subject of the Earth itself. I feel proud to have met this challenge.
What do you hope that your audience learns or takes away from your book?
There is a Robin Wall Kimmerer quote that helped inspire this book:
“Knowing that you love the Earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street to a sacred bond.” My hope is that my book will help children feel that love from the earth, and understand how its amazingly dynamic systems nurture us and all other living things.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer with an interest in your category?
Read! Read! Read! Immerse yourself in good picture books; notice what delights you and draws you in. Sit down and write whenever you can. Tell your own stories; don’t lose sight of your own voice. Join a class at the Loft or a critique group, to help you learn to edit your own work.
Tell us something about yourself that is not widely known.
I talk to my plants. And trees. And bugs. Pandemic life has accentuated this trait.
Minnesota enjoys a reputation as a place that values literature and reading. If this sentiment rings true for you, what about our home state makes it such a welcoming and conducive place for writers?
I moved from the East coast 30 years ago, and the thing I value most is the big-hearted enthusiasm I’ve found here. Readers support bookstores and libraries. Writers support and celebrate each other. There’s just a lot of good feeling around literature!
Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, virtually everything about our lives has changed in some way. Has COVID-19 (and its fallout) impacted your writing habits and preferences? Has the unique zeitgeist of the past two years influenced your writing output in any other ways that you can pinpoint?
In many ways, writers are used to isolation, but we all need some balance of human contact to keep up a positive outlook. I find that, even more than before, I have to deliberately make sure I reach out to others. I recently taught a week-long poetry residency, and it was so delightful to be in a classroom with 10-year-olds again!
Joyce Sidman is the author of many award-winning children’s poetry books and has received the NCTE Award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry for her body of work. She teaches poetry writing to children and is a previous Minnesota Book Award-winner.