Congratulations, Jen Swanson, on Atlas Obscura!

Thank you so much for sharing the recent release of Atlas Obscura: The Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World with us! Young readers love STEAM books and I’m sure yours will find many happy readers. Can you share with us a bit about the inspiration for this book? What was your initial spark? A few years ago, I was in Chicago visiting my daughter. She was doing a summer internship at her college. We decided to visit The Field Museum, and that is where I first saw the exhibit about the Rapid Inventory Project. We sat down to watch the short video about the project and I was hooked. The vivid images, the amazing conservation efforts, and the team of awesome scientists made the Amazon come alive. As I walked through the rest of the very informative and descriptive exhibit I was enthralled to learn how these scientists would count every single animal they saw, collect samples, and literally take an inventory of the biological creatures of that area. But I think the coolest part was that the social scientists made great effort to include the local communities and Indigenous Peoples in their reports. The people who live in that area should have a lot of say in how it would be set up as protected lands. Why write this for kids? Because I think it’s a great way for them to see how people from different backgrounds and different countries can come together and collaborate to protect one of the world’s most amazing resources: the Amazon rainforest.

Writing STEAM books requires a substantial amount of research. Often it is the most fun part of our writing process. Did you meet any challenges in your research journey? While I started writing this book in 2018, it was sold at the end of 2019, I began writing it in early 2020. We all know what happened then. Because of the pandemic, I wasn’t able to go to the Field Museum to interview the scientists in person. Talking to them all at once or all in once place would have been better than scattering the zoom interviews over a longer period of time. That made things difficult and also slowed down the project.

Often one of the most difficult parts of crafting our books is not deciding what to include, but deciding what to leave out. What did you choose to leave out of this book and why? I had many more stories from the scientists that just couldn’t be included in the book. The book was only so many words long, and we wanted to leave room for many, many pictures. I don’t remember specific stories, but I do remember that we had even more amazing photos that we could have included. To see more, you can go here.

What tip can you share with teachers who want to use your book in the classroom? There are so many things you can do. You could have the students take an inventory of the classroom just like the biologists on the Rapid Inventory Team. You could have them interview people in their neighborhoods to find out anything they would like changed or improved, like the social scientists did. You could have them visit local environments in their area and journal about what they see: animals, plants, people, etc. The idea is to use this book to bring attention to the immediate world where you live. To see what you can do to improve your place on the planet.

Congratulations on this book release! What comes next for you? Can you give us a peek at what you are currently researching ? I am currently working on a book for Harper Collins called ‘How to Talk to an Alien (Should you ever meet one). It’s TONS of fun! This book is for curious middle graders who want to learn more about space, astrobiology and astrogeology, biosignatures, language, and of course, aliens! It’s also going to have activities so that you can create your own “alien language.

Learn more about Jen Swanson and her books: Science Rocks! And so do Jennifer Swanson’s books. She is the award winning author of over 50+ nonfiction books for children, mostly about science and technology. Jennifer’s passion for science and technology resonates in all her books but especially, BRAIN GAMES (NGKids) and Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner, Save the Crash-test Dummies (Peachtree Publishing) and her 2021 Kirkus Best Nature book, Outdoor School: Rocks, Fossils, and Shells (Odd Dot). Her books have received many accolades including the starred reviews, Booklist Best Tech books list, Green Earth Book Honor Award, four Florida Book Awards, and multiple California Reading Association awards, National Science Teaching BEST STEM awards. her BRAIN GAMES book was even #13 on The Planets.org 50 Best Science books Ever Written. An accomplished and exciting speaker, Jennifer has presented at National NSTA conferences, the Highlights Foundation, the Atlanta Science Festival, the World Science Festival in NYC, the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center, and the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival. Jennifer encourages kids (of all ages) to engage their curiosity and DISCOVER the Science all around them! Jennifer lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and their dog, Tibs.