Books as a Force for Change: Author Christy Mihaly's Adventures in Learning

Author Christy Mihaly talks water, insect eating, and the first amendment as inspiration for her writing. We share ideas for kids (and their grown ups) about everyday steps that can make an impact for climate change. And we discuss Christy's fascinating adventures in learning.

“And I think that making kids feel empowered and helping them channel the energy that they have is what we want to do. Because kids do care. Kids have an immediate, visceral, emotional reaction when they see dirty water and when they see suffering animals. They want to help. And that's where I want to go. It's like, here's the information you need, and here's how we can be active in making things better.” 

— Author Christy Mihaly (@19:20 Adventures in Learning podcast) 

Author Christy Mihaly is a nature lover, a former lawyer, and a poet. She writes for kids because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising young people who love to read and giving them the knowledge and skills to lead. Christy has written more than 30 children's nonfiction titles on topics from hayfields to free speech to food. Her fall 2021 picture book with Barefoot Books Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa was awarded a Kirkus Star and a gold in the Nautilus Book Awards. I’m a huge fan of Christy’s work, particularly the nonfiction she writes that helps educate kids about the environment and about the importance of making their voices heard. Please listen, subscribe, and leave your comments. You can check out the full show notes here.

[02:07] Connecting Past and Present — From Environmental Lawyer to Children’s Book Author

[05:17] Taking on Big Issues and Making Them Accessible and Fun for Young Readers  Free for You and Me and The Supreme Court and Us

[08:08] Building connections with Water. A Deep Dive of Discovery. 

[14:02] How Eating Insects Might Help Combat Climate Change (And other ideas for you to digest with Diet for a Changing Planet: Food for Thought)

[17:20] Action Steps for Reducing Carbon Footprints 

[24:34] A Writer's Process

[24:34] Dr. Diane: So what are you currently working on? Are you able to share?

[27:34] A Possible Hint to Christy's Next Project?

[28:55] What Brings You Joy?

What Brings You Hope?

Hope. I find hope comes from the kids. Again, talking with kids about these issues and just seeing them and seeing their emotional reactions to nature, to the world,

Transcript

[00:00] Dr. Diane: Welcome to the Adventures In Learning, podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Diane, and I am so excited to welcome author Christy Mihaly to the show today. Christy Mihaly is a nature lover, a former lawyer, and a poet. She writes for kids because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising young people who love to read and giving them the knowledge and skills to lead. Christy has written more than 30 children's nonfiction titles on topics from hayfields to free speech to food. Her fall 2021 picture book with Barefoot Books Water. A Deep Dive of Discovery, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa was awarded a Kirkus Star and a gold in the Nautilus Book Awards. We are so excited to welcome her to our show today, and I can't wait for you to hear about Christy's Adventures In Learning.

[00:45] Dr. Diane: Wonder, curiosity, connection. Where will your adventures take you? I'm Dr. Diane, and thank you for joining me on today's episode of Adventures in Learning.

[00:59] Dr. Diane: So welcome to the show, Christy. I am so excited to have you. I've been a huge fan of the work that you do, particularly in educating kids about the environment and about the importance of making their voices heard. And so I'm looking forward to a wonderful conversation on the Adventures In Learning podcast today.

[01:19] Christy: Thank you so much, Diane. I'm happy to be here.

[01:21] Dr. Diane: So a question for you that I like to start with everybody. What did you want to be as a kid, and how did you get to where you are today?

[01:30] Christy: Oh, my goodness, that's a big question. As a kid, I would say I was a little unclear on what I wanted to do in life, but I knew that I loved to be outdoors. I loved nature. So high on my list was to be a park ranger. That was one of my early goals. And interestingly, I never considered being a writer, like, a job, like an option. In fact, I was thinking about this recently because my grandmother wrote. She wrote and self-published a memoir, and we never considered her a writer. It was just like something Grandma does, right? There's a weird sort of sexist thing, like when women do arts and things, they're not really considered artists.

[02:26] Dr. Diane: They're dabbling.

[02:28] Christy: Exactly. But anyway, it took me a long time to realize that writing and writing for kids was an actual job. Before that, I went to college, and I studied environmental science and policy studies. So I was both policy and science, and I took a course in environmental law, and that was it. I was like, this is what I want to do. And so I ended up going to law school. I was, for about 20 years, an environmental lawyer working for environmental groups and with local governments that wanted to preserve their resources, and it was great work. And then about 20 years, years ago I don't know how all the years pile up I moved to Vermont and then eventually, after about five more years working at the state Attorney General's office, I did make a huge career transition. I was homeschooling my daughter for a year and decided, this is my chance. I'm going to start doing this writing for kids thing that I'd been thinking about. And so I got into it seriously starting in 2012, and I've been doing it since.

[04:01] Dr. Diane: Would you say that the work you did as an environmental lawyer has influenced the work that you write now?

[04:07] Christy: Absolutely. Both being a lawyer and being familiar with the whole legal system and the way the laws are supposed to work and the power of using laws well to achieve policy goals, all those things are topics that kids don't think about a lot. But I realized I wanted kids to start thinking about those things. Things like, we have a right to freedom of speech. We have a right to criticize our government leaders. What does that mean in our society and in our government? And so those are some of the topics that I have woven together with the environment, outdoors, nature, topics that I also have always wanted to write about.

[05:04] Dr. Diane: You just alluded to some of the writing you've done for kids about our legal system. Can you tell us a little bit about Free for You and Me and The Supreme Court and Us and what age that's intended for and how that's been received?

[05:17] Christy: Yeah. The evolution of Free for You and Me, which is about the First Amendment, it started in 2016 or so when I was starting to hear people in the government say things about our system that just weren't true. There were statements that anybody that burns the flag should go to jail and their citizenship could be taken away, and this is just not true. It's just not what our laws say. And so I talked with my literary agent, and I said, I really want to do something about the Constitution. And she laughed and she said, oh, what we need is a board book, and we're going to send it to all the members of Congress. And that was kind of a joke, but it evolved into a picture book that focuses on the First Amendment. 

So how was I going to do that? You have to make it kid friendly. I ended up writing poems. So the First Amendment enshrines into our Constitution five freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, et cetera. And I wrote a little poem about each of them. And then I added this sort of narrative about a group of children, elementary school children, who were addressing a local concern by using their First Amendment rights. And it was a little bit of a hybrid book, but I did find a publisher, Albert Whitman, and this is the kind of thing they really like to do. And we got an illustrator that really made it animated, and I'm really pleased with the way it came out. 

And then Albert Whitman came back to me, and they were the ones that asked if I would like to do a book about the Supreme Court. And this was before the big shift in the Supreme Court, but I again struggled with how to introduce young kids to the Supreme Court in a way that was engaging and fun. But then I realized that court cases are basically little stories. And so I picked a bunch of little stories that were fun and involved children, and it again became sort of it's almost a cartoon format. It's a little bit of a picture book, graphic novel kind of format, and again, really fun the way it turned out, and a good way to start some of those difficult conversations with children about the role of the Supreme Court in our country. The Supreme Court and Us

[08:08] Dr. Diane: What a fun way to engage them with the civic process and to help them understand the Constitution and to understand the way that our country runs. That is a great way to use all of your various skills and bring them forward. So the book I fell in love with initially was Water. A Deep Dive of Discovery. I've done a lot of STEM education with kids talking about our local watershed and helping them to sort of understand your watershed address. What you do here affects the people downstream and what the people upstream from you do affects you, that we're all interconnected. What led you to water as a concept?

[08:47] Christy: Yeah, water is connection, isn't it, Diane? It really is. And that was what I really came to in working on this book. Again, I was really lucky. But Barefoot Books, which is the publisher, was looking for a writer to write a book about water. And eventually they found me, and I found them, and we talked, and they hired me to do it. And they had a general idea. So Barefoot Books, publishes these gorgeous atlases. They've got one of space and they've got one of the earth, and they've got holiday atlases and all kinds of beautifully illustrated big books. And that was kind of the model that they wanted to use. And they were the ones that said, oh, there's all these kids books about the ocean and the animals that live in the water and the water cycle, but where's the water atlas? And so that was the seed of the project. And it was a fascinating process because we agreed on an outline, we agreed on the number of pages, and then I was basically writing a couple of pages at a time because it's a double page spread and then sending them to the editor, and she was in England. So we were zipping our docs back and forth across the ocean, and it got written over the course of a year at the same time as it was being illustrated by this amazing artist in Spain, Mariona Cabassa. And I was sort of in there watching the whole book take shape over this period. It was a pandemic project. The proposal came in in March of 2020, and I was like, oh, guess what? I have a lot of time because all of my schedule has been canceled. And yes, I would love to write this book at home. And then it came out in the fall of 21.

[10:53] Dr. Diane: What was the central message that you all were hoping to convey with water?

[10:57] Christy: Yes, the central message was how wonderful, how filled with wonder water is. We wanted to be letting kids know about the environmental challenges that we face and how they affect water, including climate change and a whole bunch of other things. Water pollution, water shortages, lots of things are all interrelated, but we didn't want to make it too depressing and upsetting for children. So what I wanted to do was just focus on how amazing and really magical water is and how important it is and let the kids learning this and appreciating this come to understand that water is something that we really do want to protect and steward. So, yeah, we didn't hide any of the problems, but we didn't want to lead with the problems. We wanted to lead with the beautiful stuff about how water works and how important it is to life and to connections and all those things.

[12:21] Dr. Diane: Well, and I know that, like, when Jane Goodall does her talks for kids, one of the things that she really tries to focus on is the beauty and the joy. But she doesn't sugarcoat the stuff that's affecting climate action and climate change either. And it sounds like you're kind of going along the same lines as you're looking at your writing.

[12:37] Christy: Exactly right. Right.

[12:40] Dr. Diane: We're going to take a break, but when we come back, we're going to find out how eating insects might be a way to help combat climate change.

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[14:02] Dr. Diane: So you've also written for older children. You've got a book, Diet for a Changing Planet: Food for Thought, which I'm debating whether my husband is getting for Christmas, because it does talk about eating crickets and he would do it. But can you tell us a little bit more about what led to that?

[14:18] Christy: Yes, absolutely. I had been thinking about writing a book for children about eating insects, the practice of entomophagy, because I met a local activist in Vermont who was hosting these insect based dinners. And really being an evangelist for this is a really good way to be kind to the planet because it uses so many fewer resources to raise insects than it does to other kinds of protein. For some reason, I couldn't find a publisher that wanted to take on a picture book for children about eating insects. They seem to think there might be some problems with that. 

At the same time, my writing partner, I'm in a critique group with Sue Heavenrich, and she had been independently thinking about a book about entomophagy herself. So the two of us decided to collaborate on a proposal for a nonfiction, maybe middle grade book. And eventually the publisher that was interested, 21st Century Children's Books,  wanted to do it for YA (young adult). And so we were happy to raise the level up a bit and have it more oriented towards high school kids. And working with the publisher, we expanded it. 

So it wasn't only about insects. It was about all the ways that our diet affects the climate and all the ways that we can, you know, have a smaller carbon footprint through our diet. So we looked at weeds, invasive plants especially, and invasive animals arguing. And it was supposed to be a fun way, it was intended to be a fun way to get high school kids into thinking about activism and how we can make a difference. We can make things better even with something as fundamental as what we eat. So there's various invasive animals like wild boars and lionfish that cause tremendous environmental damage. And so we had little sketches of many of these animals and suggestions for ways you could responsibly add them to your diet. The book also has recipes, which is kind of fun, and again, it gets that hands on element of really digging in and being active.

[17:03] Dr. Diane: So based on the kinds of books you're writing, it seems like climate change is a very important topic for you as you're doing your work. Do you have some suggestions for folks who might be listening about ways they could start reducing their carbon footprint or making a difference? Some steps they could take?

[17:20] Christy: Today, if we're talking about kids, kids have a little less leeway in terms of what they can do, but they can start being conscious of the carbon that we use and how we use it. So, for example, in the book we talk about plastic and how plastic uses to manufacture it, not only a lot of water, but also a lot of energy. A lot of carbon is required to make things like that in manufacturing. So we suggest that a small thing like using a reusable water container instead of a single use plastic can make a difference, and it can make more and more difference the more people do it. 

Diet is another thing. There's more and more discussion out there about how if we do eat less of certain meats or less and more of meats that are raised responsibly or more just plant based food, it can reduce our carbon footprint. It can help to get back to the balance that we need. And children can also. I think they know this, and they've seen a lot of great examples recently. They can raise their voices, they can write letters, they can demand action. And adults are starting to listen because this generation coming up, they're the ones that are going to be stuck with this mess. And I think that making kids feel empowered and helping them channel the energy that they have is what we want to do. Because kids do care. Kids have an immediate, visceral, emotional reaction when they see dirty water and when they see suffering animals. They want to help. And that's where I want to go. It's like, here's the information you need, and here's how we can be active in making things better.

[19:41] Dr. Diane: And then as adults, it's our responsibility to support and encourage them, but also to take steps within our own lives to model and make those changes as well.

[19:51] Christy: Exactly. And to listen and to listen to our kids.

[19:54] Dr. Diane: That makes a lot of sense. So as you're working, what are some of the things you've seen teachers do with your books? Have you had a chance to go on author visits and see how teachers are integrating your work into the classroom?

[20:10] Christy: I have, and it has been so much fun. I was lucky because there's a summer reading program that the National Library Organization runs, and they have a theme each summer. And the summer after Water. A Deep Dive of Discovery was published, the theme for the reading program was Oceans of Possibilities. And so many libraries invited me to talk to them about water and sort of incorporate it into their summer reading program. I visited about seven or eight libraries over the summer, and I just love librarians so much, especially children's librarians. They're just like, they're superheroes, right? And I saw so many creative activities that these folks were doing with children in their summer reading programs. One of my favorites was, she had a whole series of activities over six or seven weeks focused on the book. And one of them was, she called it build your own water filter. And so the children, and these were six to eleven year olds, took fresh, clean water and made it polluted, and they added glitter and, I don't know, plastic and whatever else to crud up the water. And one of the things that the librarian was telling me about how this had gone, and she said the kids were so upset to see the water get dirty. But the project, the activity was she had all these materials, coffee filters and cloth and different screens, and the kids worked in little groups and they tried to clean up the water, figure out how to clean up the water. So it's this very emotional, it turned into a very emotional activity because they were so invested in making the water clean again. And I have to say, I just love that. I mean, it's just such a hands on, oh my gosh, the water is dirty and what can we do?

[22:55] Dr. Diane: Well, and that's the best of STEM learning. STEM and STEAM learning is when you can really link the imagination and the emotion to the critical thinking and the problem solving. You're preparing kids to live in the 21st century and to hopefully make some of the critical changes we need.

[23:12] Christy: Right, well, that's exciting.

[23:14] Dr. Diane: We're going to take a break, and when we come back, we're going to learn all about guest Christy Mihaly's upcoming Adventures In Learning. 

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[24:34] Dr. Diane: So what are you currently working on? Are you able to share?

[24:40] Christy: Currently, no. I have some things that I am really struggling with and sometimes writing is just like that. Sometimes it is a complete struggle and I'm having to dive into the research and start back again at the beginning because it's not working. I do have some books in the pipeline that also I can't announce yet, but I will say that I am working on a variety of picture books on a variety of topics that relate to nature and the earth. Also farming, which is a topic that I keep coming back to from different angles. And so some times are more of a struggle than others. But I have learned to accept that as part of the process, and hopefully I can be announcing and sharing some new projects before too much longer.

[25:49] Dr. Diane: So when you're diving in to do your work, what would a day in the life of a writer look like? And I know that there is no typical day, right?

[25:58] Christy: And there is no typical day, but if I'm at the research portion of a project, I often will sit and read books for hours at a time. And the way I do it is I'm at the same time going online to check on things and going back and forth with, okay, here's what it says in this book, but what else does this scientist do, and what is the latest on this, back and forth between the printed page and online? I also try to identify experts that I can talk to. So finding the professor who might want to talk to me about the topic, and I might send some emails out to people asking if they'd be willing to share their wisdom. And I also am planning for this current project, a couple of museum visits, because that can be a way to both get that hands on, oh, here's what things feel like and look like. And also, again, find some experts who are deeply passionate about the topics and often willing to help. I do find that experts are always, almost always happy to share their knowledge. And if you tell someone you're writing a book for kids, they often are very enthusiastic about helping to do that.

[27:34] Dr. Diane: That's exciting. So are there any books that you're currently reading that are sort of sparking your imagination right now?

[27:42] Christy: Oh, my gosh. I'm reading The Hidden Life of Trees.

[27:47] Dr. Diane: That's a great book.

[27:49] Christy: Yeah, I love that book so much, and I just can't wait to read Finding the Mother Tree, which is…

[27:58] Dr. Diane: I'm about halfway through Finding the Mother Tree.

[28:00] Christy: It's good. There you go. So that's a hint about what I might be working on next. But these scientists who are just I mean, isn't that cool?

[28:14] Dr. Diane: They are amazing.

[28:16] Christy: Our understanding of plants in a way that it just sort of wasn't conceivable when I was learning biology.

[28:26] Dr. Diane: And the relationship between fungus and the trees and how they're all interconnected and that whole network, it makes you want to preserve the forests even more because those old growth trees are so vital to our environment.

[28:38] Christy: Exactly. Again, an example of how as we understand these systems more deeply, we care more about them and we understand their importance.

[28:52] Dr. Diane: Yeah. So what currently brings you joy?

[28:55] Christy: Joy. Water brings me joy. One of the things that was so fun, when I would go and visit these libraries, we would chat a little bit with the kids, and I would say, when you think of water, what do you think of? And lots of, oh, we drink it, blah, blah, blah, blah. But before long, someone would say, it's fun. We play in water. Right. So walking by water, swimming in water, I mean, we are at the end of the summer, but paddling in water, standing and looking at a great blue heron, listening to the loons, all those things around water. Water is a joyful thing. So that's one thing. 

I'm getting a lot of joy right now from my old dog. I have a dog who is almost 16 years old. She's been with us her whole life, and she is hanging in there. And every single day in the morning, I look at her and I'm like, are you still with us? Right? And she's up for it. Her legs don't work, her ears don't work, her eyes don't work. But she is filled with, like, the joy of being here. And I take her on these walks and oh, my God. When she first slowed down so much, I was frustrated because I like to go on quick walks, fast walks. She walks very slowly now, and she sniffs every blade of grass, as far as I'm aware. But I am learning from her. I am learning to slow down and be in the moment and observe as she does, though I don't smell as well, you know, what is out there, what is in the world. And I just feel like every day with her is a gift, because you get to the end of a life like this and, you know, we have limited time, and yet she is still herself. I tell people she has distilled down to her essence. I have the essence of her. And I'm just feeling like, such appreciation that I have this old dog. So she brings me joy.

[31:19] Dr. Diane: Oh, my goodness, Christy, I don't know if you know this, but I needed to hear that today. Behind me is my old dog, Lucky, who is sort of at the same point. She turns 14 in February. And I know that we're getting down to the end, but she's still so filled with joy and she's filled with personality, and she just brings joy because she's reminded me, just like you said, slow down, appreciate what's around you.

[31:46] Christy: Yes, the wisdom of the animals. Exactly.

[31:49] Dr. Diane: So, very last question for today. What brings you hope?

[31:55] Christy: Hope. I find hope comes from the kids. Again, talking with kids about these issues and just seeing them and seeing their emotional reactions to nature, to the world, to beauty and their instinct to make things better and to help the world. I don't think that there's anything else that gives me such great hope as watching, you know, being with the kids. The kids give me hope.

[32:37] Dr. Diane: Well, Christy, thank you so much for writing the books that give the kids the tools to be able to give us hope. And thank you for being on the Adventures In Learning podcast. We can't wait to see the top secret work that you're working on right now.

[32:51] Christy: Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure. And thank you, Diane, for the work you do making learning an adventure.

[33:00] Dr. Diane: You've been listening to the Adventures In Learning podcast with your host, Dr. Diane. If you like what you're hearing, please subscribe, download and let us know what you think. And please tell a friend. If you want the full show notes and the pictures, please go to drdianeadventures.com. We look forward to you joining us on our next adventure.

If you would like to browse the books discussed in the podcast, visit my list over at bookshop.org. As a bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission if you click through and purchase, but I put the list together as a way for you to browse and see what the author's body of work is all about.