Sniffer Dog Super Powers

One of the most interesting stories I wrote for SNIFFER DOGS is the story of Zuma and Jax. Both are trained forensic sniffer dogs. These dogs sniff out OLD BONES. They can find ancient Native American burial sites, missing cemetery plots, and cremation remains, and know the remains are human. Pretty incredible! 

I watched and wrote about Zuma, a beautiful border collie, locating a small amount of cremation remains -- basically human sand -- in the woods of North Carolina. 

Zuma from Sniffer Dogs (HMH)

If that isn't mind blowing enough check out what Zuma’s teammates are doing in California after the horrific wildfires. 

Imagine having your house burn to the ground with all of your belongings, including the cremation remains of a beloved family member. Just heartbreaking. Well, Zuma's team of forensic sniffer dogs can actually find those treasured remains (cremation ashes) among all of the ashes of everything else in the house that burned. 

These aren't the only detection dogs in the news. Other dogs are searching today for people missing in the California mudslides. 

The skills of sniffer dogs are endless. I am proud of these working canines and their dedicated handlers, and so privileged to have spent time with many of them. 

If you'd like to find out more about sniffer dogs, check out my book and these additional tittles: 

Our National Monuments, Our Public Land

President Trump has announced his plans to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments this week.

National Monuments are lands that are protected from development by presidents through the Antiquities Act. This Act is the foundation of American conservation legacy.

Mr. Trump is not the first president to shrink our national lands. President Wilson reduced Mt. Olympus and FDR reduced the Grand Canyon monument at the request of ranchers. However, this act will put Mr. Trump in the record books for giving away the most public land.

As upsetting as this must be for many Americans, myself included, I know that there are many groups who will fight this in court, claiming that only Congress can legally shrink a monument.  And there is still time for the public to voice concerns. If Mr. Trump's action is not prevented this will change the landscape of our country forever.

With all of this in the news this week I thought I'd try to turn a positive look at our public lands and the scientists who work in them by highlighting Mary Kay Carson's book, PARK SCIENTISTS: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America's Own Backyard. This title is part of the well-known Scientists in the Field series published by Houghton Mifflin (my publisher). This well-researched title introduces readers to Yellowstone's grizzly bears, cacti and Gila monsters in Arizona, and fireflies in Tennessee.

Spend some time exploring our public lands -- their beauty, their value, and their protection. 

 Here are a few groups working on protecting our public lands who could use your support:

The Sierra Club

NRDC 

Center for Biological Diversity 

Environmental Defense Fund 

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40 Gallons of Sap to Make 1 Gallon of Syrup -- Research to Book

It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. That's a lot of sap! It's not too different from creating a nonfiction book. It takes gallons of research to make one small book.

When I recently went to nErDcampNNE I brought one of my book boxes. Every book I create with Houghton Mifflin has its own box. Some boxes are bigger than others. They get filled with ticket stubs, receipts, articles, books, drafts, photo release forms, and all sorts of stuff that pertain to the writing of the book. They do NOT include all of the articles I have read online or in libraries, or the piles of books that I am not able to keep, including rare editions and such. It also does not include the hundreds of photos I take and download to my computer. 

It does take many "gallons" of research for each book. Every nonfiction writer will tell you the same thing. But we enjoy it! It's a treasure hunt -- an extreme sport  -- a time to EXPLORE! 

There are so many ways that teachers can spur on this exciting phase of writing with students. Loree Griffen Burns, Melissa Stewart, and I discussed having students interview each other, parents, teachers, and community members. Teaching students interview etiquette and how to write questions and ask follow-up questions is part of the learning process. 

Thinking of the research phase more like a quest than finding three sources for a project is the goal. Making discoveries and letting those discoveries lead to more questions and on to more discoveries is the joy we nonfiction authors feel every day. 

And then after all that research we have to distill it down  - just like boiling down the sap  - to find the  jewels we want to include in shaping the book we write. 

Ask any nonfiction author about their research and you will be in for a treat! 

The Reading List

I am so excited to spend some time this week reading! I've finished two very hectic months of book festivals, conferences, and school visits, and now I can settle back into spending time researching my next Houghton Mifflin title and READING!

On my list -- I just purchased Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Even though I spent years researching THE STORY OF SEEDS and spending time with botanists and other seed scientists, the subject will stay with me forever. And this book looks beautiful. 

Following that theme - I'd love to read Elizabeth Gilbert's Signature of All Things. These three would make a great trilogy! 

On the kid lit front: 

I also downloaded the audio book of The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brusker Bradley. This book has been on my TO READ list since it came out. I am so happy to have the time now to listen to it. 

Nonfiction Monday -- On the Trail

I'm excited to be working on another book for Houghton Mifflin. I had a blast working on Sniffer Dogs and my forthcoming YA title, The Story of Seeds. I thought it might be fun to blog while I research the next one, since nonfiction is really all about the research.

After a thorough online search to find as much information about my subject as I can, I usually head off to the library. Sometimes I visit my local library, but often I need to go to a bigger library at a university.

For this book, I headed to a university science library.

The Roman goddess of wisdom - Minerva graces the SUNY Albany Science Library entrance
with the Latin motto "sapientia et sua docent cause" meaning "Wisdom for its own sake and for the sake of teaching" 









This is the spot where I can find, not only current information on my topic, but historical texts that can provide me with the history of my subject. And it's a great library because I can roam through the stacks to find the book I'm looking for. Many libraries don't have open stacks. You have to give a list of books to the librarian and then the books are retrieved for you. The problem  is that you don't get to find neighboring books that might provide you with the jewel you never expected.

This first stop on the research trail is much different than the other stops I'll take later on when I'm meeting scientists in the field, but it's a very important first step.  And for me - it's loads of fun as I make my initial discoveries.