Researching STEM Kidlit - Welcome Guest Blogger - Carrie Pearson

FIVE STEPS TOWARD RESEARCHING THAT WHICH YOU CANNOT SEE -- AND NEVER WILL 

I grew up climbing trees. If I was nowhere to be found, my family knew to look for me in the sugar maple in our backyard. I hauled up my knobby kneed self by grabbing a limb close to the ground, then pulled, pushed, and shimmed higher and higher until I’d found the perfect crook in which to read my book of choice. Ah, bliss.

So it was no surprise I was drawn to a special tree -- this time, a coast redwood -- as the subject for my third nature book. 

But this ecosystem is a bit different.  

Coast redwood branches begin growing far off the ground so it’s impossible to grab a limb and haul oneself up into a tree. Instead, tall tree researchers stand at the base of a coast redwood and shoot an arrow with a line attached toward the lowest branch. Hopefully the line loops over the limb, falls to the ground and can be leveraged with mountain climbing carabiners to haul the researcher up, up, up. 

However, I’m not a tall tree researcher. And, as I’ve, um, matured, I’m less fond of heights. To make matters more difficult, I knew I would not be allowed to visit the main character in my manuscript -- the tallest tree on earth.  

To guard it from even well-meaning people like me, this is tree is protected and its location is kept secret. Even if it wasn’t, finding it in the midst of the 131,983 acres of Redwood National and State Park would be an extreme undertaking at the very least. But I was smitten with the life story of this tree. 

So, here we are at the title for this blog post. How does a writer of true stories research that which she cannot see and never will? 

Step One: choose a topic for which your passion knows few bounds. Somewhere inside, I knew I’d get there. Don’t ask me how I knew this but my need to create this book for children was as big as the tree itself.

Step Two: Begin with inquiry. I drew up list of questions that I felt I would need to answer before I knew enough to write the book. The who, how, when, where and why’s would guide my research. 

Step Three: Find the experts. I searched for people who had experienced the tree firsthand. I read and watched everything these people had shared in every format possible. Thankfully, the secondary research troves were deep. When I began to find the same answers for my questions, even though I approached the questions differently, I was ready for the next research step.

Step Four: Ask for help. I wrote and was awarded an SCBWI research grant to visit the Park because I knew other’s experiences could take me only so far. Even though I wouldn’t see “my” tree, I’d enlist all my senses to get as close a feel for it as I could. Fortuitously, the Park paired me with a guide, Park Ranger James Wheeler, who had spent 30 plus years in that world. 

Step Five: Stop researching and listen for the story. Mr. Wheeler’s insights, other experts’ knowledge, combined with my redwood forest immersion, allowed me to begin to hear the narrative for STRETCH TO THE SUN: FROM A TINY SPROUT TO THE TALLEST TREE ON EARTH. 

Even though I’d never seen the tree and knew I never would, in a way, I had. 

Carrie A. Pearson is a children’s book author, consultant, speaker, and former teacher. She is a Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a member of several literacy-focused organizations, and the recipient of the Gwen Frostic Award for Literacy given by the Michigan Reading Association. She is the author of two informational fiction picture books, A Warm Winter Tail and A Cool Summer Tail (Arbordale Publishing) and a narrative nonfiction picture book, Stretch to the Sun: From a Tiny Sprout to the Tallest Tree on Earth (Charlesbridge), a Eureka! Award recipient for outstanding nonfiction given by the California Reading Association. A picture book biography about medical trailblazer, Dr. Virginia Apgar, launches fall 2020 with Norton Young Readers. A picture book anthology about unexpected women who are changing the world will be announced soon. Carrie would love to connect with you on Twitter @carrieapearson, Pinterest carrieapearson, and through her website www.carriepearsonbooks.com.

For more about STRETCH TO THE SUN and the path to its publication, visit this page on her website: http://www.carriepearsonbooks.com/stretch-to-the-sun-picture-book.html

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Nancy Castaldo has been writing about the planet for over 20 years. Learn more about her award-winning books at http://www.nancycastaldo.com Purchase and pre-order autographed copies of Nancy's books here. 

Environmental Issues - Past and Present

I wrote this in my journal while writing KEEPING OUR EARTH GREEN, August 26, 2007. It was one of the most difficult books to write because it highlighted every environmental issue we were facing at that time and what kids could do in response. I was delving deep into each issue every day. Some days were excruciating.  It led me to journal some of my thoughts.


As I sit hour after hour working on the E-Science book, I am overwhelmed with the environmental issues facing our planet. I haven't felt this overwhelmed since I was a teen. Each issue brings its own set of challenges and I try my best to write this book with a sprinkle of hope throughout each section. 

I do not want kids to pick this up and feel a sense of hopelessness. I want to move them to action - empower them to make a difference. 

In the back of my mind, I am repeatedly reminded of the ancient trees. They bring me constant inspiration and hope for the future. Why is it that in these last days of summer, in the midst of all that I have to do I cannot get my mind away from old trees? 

They constantly amaze me. I think of all they've seen, all who have seen them, and how many will see them for years to come, and I am amazed. 

Our lives, our random lives, are but a minute to them. Our overwhelming issues are just a hiccup in their lives.



It's ten years since that book was released and those issues are still with us. Who would have believed that we'd have even more?

Overwhelmed doesn't begin to describe how I feel about our environment these days.

But, I'm still writing. And I'm still trying to bring hope to my readers. And I still think of those trees -- their longevity, survival, and the challenges they face,  keeps me writing on.

COVER REVEAL - Stretch to the Sun by Carrie Pearson

I am so very excited to share with you the cover reveal for author, Carrie Pearson's new title -- STRETCH TO THE SUN: FROM A TINY SPROUT TO THE TALLEST TREE ON EARTH, releasing from Charlesbridge this fall.  This is the perfect title to pre-order this Earth Day weekend.  

Welcome, Carrie! 

Thanks, Nancy, for offering to reveal the cover of my next book. 

I say ‘my’ next book but like all books, it is a culmination of many – from the scientists and experts who found the tallest tree and shared its story, to Yolanda Scott, my fabulous editor at Charlesbridge who believed in the manuscript, to the amazing illustrator, Susan Swan, and the design team at Charlesbridge who brought the unique and vibrant ecosystem to life visually, and finally to the readers who I hope will love it! 

The book launches in October 2018 and is what I’m calling a tree-ography. 

I love that term, Carrie. What is a tree-ography? 

It’s a biography in that it is a life story, but it’s the life story of a very important tree. In my mind, all trees are important, but this one even more so because it is the tallest tree on earth. Just think of that! Of all the trees in all the places in the world, this tree has grown to be the tallest! 

WOW, the tallest? It is amazing that we even know that to be true. 

Plus, it is estimated to be over 1200 years old and has endured despite everything Nature could toss its way (such as fire, drought, storms, space to grow, etc.). However, the biggest challenge to this tree’s survival was people.  Over 95% of old-growth coast redwood trees have been harvested and in 1978, this tree was almost cut down. Thanks to the work of many people (who you will learn about in the book), the tallest tree, and other ancient coast redwoods, continue to grow. 

What an interesting and valuable story to share with young readers. 

STRETCH TO THE SUN: FROM A TINY SPROUT TO THE TALLEST TREE ON EARTH is a story of survival and a story of strength. 

While the tallest tree lives on protected lands, not all old-growth coast redwoods do. We can all do our part to protect coast redwoods and trees in our own backyard. My hope is that this tree-ography will inspire young naturalists and citizen scientists to learn more -- and do more -- on behalf of our natural world. 

My hope too! We all can make a difference. Let's hope that this book inspires young people to look at all their trees with appreciation and a desire to conserve them. 

You can pre-order STRETCH TO THE SUN: FROM A TINY SPROUT TO THE TALLEST TREE ON EARTH  now through  your favorite bookseller. 

Thank you, Carrie, for sharing this important and beautiful book with us today! I can't wait to add it to my shelf.