Congratulations, Lynn Street, on THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST!

Thank you so much for sharing the release of THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST 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 photograph of a blue jay carrying an acorn in its beak inspired this book. I sensed a mystery—and a story. That an oak can grow from a tiny acorn is amazing. That one bird caching acorns over a lifetime can impact the growth of forests is astounding. The connection between blue jays and oaks is an example of mutualism, a symbiotic relationship between two different species that benefits each of them and encourages survival and growth. Oaks supply jays with food and shelter, and the trees rely on jays to transport acorns far away so that seedlings flourish in new places. Both blue jays and oaks are keystone species—a species critical to the survival of other species in an ecosystem. I hope that readers will be as excited as I was to learn about this relationship between blue jays and oak trees. Throughout the research process, I paid close attention to the birds in my neighborhood, and I’ve been able to watch blue jays gathering acorns each fall. Anne Hunter did an amazing job illustrating the blue jays and the oaks. One of the experts specifically mentioned that the page spreads are true-to-life. 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? The bulk of the research for THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST came from academic research papers and interviews with the experts who wrote them. There aren’t any books written for the general public summarizing this research. I made some of my own observations as well. I watched blue jays in my backyard as they interacted with an oak just over the fence. From a second story window, I was able to see into the oak’s canopy as jays pried acorns from the tree. Over several fall seasons, I spotted more and more of this acorn gathering process in real time.

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? Picture books feature one big idea, and I focused on the interaction between the jays and the oaks. The story follows a flock of jays over the changing seasons as they collect and carry, hide and bury, thousands of acorns as a winter food source. The acorns left behind may sprout in spring and become the beginnings of a new oak forest. I did not include information about how jays build their nests or raise their chicks. Instead, the extensive back matter provides more information on blue jays and oak forest ecosystems, and how readers can help wildlife by planting an oak tree. What tip can you share with teachers who want to use your book in the classroom? Students might use the book as inspiration to write their own class field guide to birds, with each student choosing to become an expert on one species. Another activity is to create a bird bingo card, featuring images of common birds in the school’s location. Teachers might encourage students to draw a blue jay, labeling the bird’s anatomy (head, beak, crest, back, wings, feathers, tail, feet). How would a student tell a blue jay from another type of bird by sight? What sounds does a blue jay make? Use allaboutbirds.org to listen to blue jay calls and see if students can hear these same sounds in the landscape. Compare a blue jay’s call to another bird’s call, and see if students can identify which bird is the blue jay. Help students create a plan to plant native oaks to support local insects, mammals, and birds. Congratulations on this book release! What comes next for you? Can you give us a peek at what you are currently researching? My next book is also about birds—specifically birdwatching. It will be released in spring 2027. About the author

Lynn Street is a science-inspired author sharing lively, lyrical STEM stories with young readers. She loves concepts that cross disciplines, and personal narratives set against a sea of facts. Her passion is writing for curious observers who want to discover the wonders of their world.