JOURNEY by Emma Bland Smith

The cover of a picture book has enormous power. It can drawn in a reader like a magnet. 

And the cover of Journey (Sasquatch Books, 2016) by Emma Bland Smith, (illustrated by Robin James) does just that. I could imagine being on the snow-covered field with this wolf in front of me and feeling an enormous sense of awe - and fear! 

Based on a true story, Journey (a picture book) celebrated its book birthday on Oct. 11, 2016. Today, I am happy to feature my interview with author Emma Bland Smith. (My questions are in red, and the author's are in black.) P.S. Ms. Smith is also a librarian! 

How did you come to write this book? 

Back in 2012, I’d started reading newspaper articles about this rogue wolf who’d made history by crossing the border from Oregon into California and becoming the first wolf back here since 1924. He traveled almost 2000 miles, and did not encounter any other wolves (as far as we know) for about two and a half years. He did hang out with coyotes for a while, which is pretty crazy, too. We know all this because he was one of a few dozen Oregon-born wolves (there are many more now) that wore radio collars, allowing biologists to track him. Biologists figured he was looking for a mate, but it was very unusual for wolves to travel so far from home. I thought this melancholy love story had the makings of a good book to begin with, and when I learned that he had finally settled down and had a litter of pups, the happy ending was in place. The fact that some people were unhappy about his presence, and that his very life was in danger, raised the stakes and made it an even more compelling story. Then I read about the naming contest, how children had played a role in making him safe, and that clinched it. This had to become a picture book!

How did you decide to include Abby's story? 

A group called Oregon Wild sponsored a naming contest, asking kids to send in possible names for this wolf, OR7. Their goal was to draw attention to the wolf in the hopes of making him “too famous to kill” (a phrase that quickly became associated with OR7). Two children in different states sent in the name Journey. I knew this would be a big part of my book: Kids can better relate to big subjects when viewed through a child’s eyes. So I took the two kids and turned them into Abby, a fictitious character. Abby follows the wolf’s progress on the internet and through other media sources, and the reader learns about Journey, and empathizes with him, through Abby.

How did your work as a librarian influence the writing of this book? 

Although I am a reader of fiction, as a librarian, I see a lot of kids who are super interested in nonfiction. Many of these kids will happily devour a Guinness Book of World Records, or check out the whole section on cats, and those books are important. But I also really like to see nonfiction subjects given a more creative treatment, and I was excited to be able to use lyrical language and fiction techniques to write about a real-life topic that would stimulate kids’ curiosity about the world. Another trend I’m a big fan of is picture books for older readers—and this is one of those, I think (although younger kids can appreciate it, too). I absolutely adore reading picture books to fourth and fifth graders. Don’t neglect the big kids! They deserve great art, too!

Can you tell about the back matter you included in the book? I especially appreciated the timeline. 

The back matter is great, because we were able to include all the fascinating info about Journey that we couldn’t fit into the text of the story. There’s so much to learn and be inspired by here, something for everyone! There’s history—the extermination of gray wolves in America, the Endangered Species Act, the resurgence of the gray wolf. There’s geography—the way the wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, then worked their way, over the next few decades, to Idaho, Oregon, and now California. There are photos of the real wolf OR7 and his pups (so cute!). I’m really glad you liked the timeline, too. It helps to put in perspective how long it’s been since wolves lived here, how long Journey was on the move, and also how closely biologists were able to track him thanks to his radio collar. I would love to hear of kids writing reports using the back matter!

What type of library did/do you work in? 

I work in the San Francisco Public Library system. I’m a roving sub, which means I work at a different branch every day, with different populations. No matter the branch, my favorite shifts are at the children’s desk, because I like nothing better than helping kids find the next good book to read. I also get to do story times, which is always exhilarating! The first thing I do when I get to a new site is check out the New Books shelf and read through all the picture books.

And can you complete this sentence? 

Libraries are a place where everyone is up to good! 

Thank you, Emma Bland Smith, for sharing on my blog today! 

To learn more about Smith's work, visit her website here.