An Inside Look with Maria Scrivan
(Author of Nat a Chance)
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Nat?
While Nat is based on my childhood self, she has evolved as a character and taken on a life of her own. I came up for the idea for Nat Enough, the first book in the series, by writing vignettes of my own experiences from middle school. In retelling those stories, I realized there was a lot of humor in challenges that felt insurmountable at the time.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
Nat is willing to take on challenges, and looks at them through the lens of humor in the sketchbook pages that are dispersed throughout each book. Nat a Chance is about the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens if we challenge those false beliefs. Although Nat does not consider herself an athlete, she is willing to step out of her comfort zone and try training for a triathlon with her best friends, Zoe and Flo. She faces many challenges along the way, but is resilient and committed to try something that is seemingly impossible for her.
Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
It would be nice for Nat not to have any challenges, or have her issues resolve sooner, but it is through these challenges that she is learning the most about herself and the world around her.
What do you think Nat can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
The Nat books are fun to read and help kids feel less alone in their feelings. So many parents have told me these are the first books that their child has read cover to cover. I have also heard so much feedback from parents that Nat has helped their child move through fear and anxiety. One parent told me that her daughter created a drawing of her own doubt gremlin, from Nat for Nothing, named Harry and tossed him in the ocean to stop negative thoughts from getting in her way of enjoying camp. Another parent told me her daughter used Absolutely Nat to help herself get over the fear of getting her ears pierced. Kids appreciate the humor, and love that each chapter opens with a panel comic of Nat’s pets, Cat and Treat.
How did you research Nat and the circumstances she found herself in?
Nat’s story of not being an athlete is based on my own childhood story. I also do a tremendous amount of research for each story. For Nat a Chance, I did a lot of research into triathlons for kids. For each book, I also do an amazing amount of visual research and find countless reference photos so I can get the drawings just right. In All is Nat Lost, I went to Philadelphia to research the book about going on a class trip on a day when there were about a hundred class trips. I put myself on one and followed a class into Congress Hall, where I had an amazing conversation with a teacher, much of which ended up in the story.
Do you and Nat share any similarities?
Nat and I share a tremendous amount of similarities. All of the books are based on real feelings and experiences from my childhood.
What was the hardest scene to write about her?
The hardest scene to write was when she got laughed at in the auditorium. I would have liked to be easier on Nat, but that scene had to play out the way it did.
Who do you think is her biggest supporter and why?
Some of Nat’s biggest supporters are her best friends Zoe and Flo. Flo is filled with endless nuggets of wisdom for Nat. Throughout the series she has told Nat to surround herself with people that lift her up, not put her down, that the most important relationship is the one she has with herself, and in Nat a Chance, that she can do impossible things. Flo is filled with boundless creativity and optimism. I am always surprised and delighted when she appears on a page, and I have learned so much from her.
Why do you think some young people can show such resilience, strength, and courage during difficult life situations; sometimes even more than the adults in their lives?
Maybe because they are not yet filled with self-judgement, or thoughts of limitations that we often pick up along the way.
What do you think Nat is doing at the present time?
Nat is probably flopped on her bedroom floor drawing a comic, surrounded by her pets, Cat and Treat, ready to share another story.
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)
Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)
Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)
Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)
Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)
Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)
Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)
Interview #141 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Brave Like That)
Interview #158 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The In-Between)
Interview #159 with John David Anderson (Author of One Last Shot)
Interview #160 with Tracy Holczer (Author of Brave in the Woods)
Interview #161 with James Bird (Author of The Brave)
Interview #162 with Marcella Pixley (Author of Trowbridge Road)
Interview #163 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Halfway to Harmony)
Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
Interview #165 with Lisa Fipps (Author of Starfish)
Interview #166 with Ann Braden (Author of Flight of the Puffin)
Interview #167 with Kimberly Willis Holt (Author of The Ambassador of NoWhere Texas)
Interview #168 with Elana K. Arnold (Author of The House That Wasn't There)
Interview #169 with Erin Soderberg (Author of The Great Peach Experiment)
Interview #170 with Donna Gephart (Author of Abby, Tried, and True)
Interview #171 with M. Evan Wolkenstein (Author of Turtle Boy)
Interview #172 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Bea is for Blended)
Interview #173 with Jess Redman (Author of The Adventure is Now)
Interview #174 with David Levithan (Author of The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden)
Interview #175 with Chris Grabenstein (Author of The Smartest Kid in the Universe)
Interview #176 with Ali Standish (Author of The Mending Summer)
Interview #177 with Holly Goldberg Sloan (Author of The Elephant in the Room)
Interview #178 with Jeff Zentner (Author of In the Wild Light)
SEASON #ELEVEN (Fall/Winter 2021)
Interview #179 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Willow)
Interview #180 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Born Behind Bars)
Interview #181 with R.J. Palacio (Author of Pony)
Interview #182 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Too Bright to See)
Interview #183 with Barbara Dee (Author of Violets are Blue)
Interview #184 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Troubled Girls of Dragonmir Academy)
Interview #185 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of We Could Be Heroes)
Interview #186 with Jasmine Warga (Author of Shape of Thunder)
Interview #187 with Joseph Bruchac (Author of Rez Dogs)
Interview #188 with Kathryn Erskine (Author of Lily's Promise)
Interview #189 with Elly Swartz (Author of Dear Student)
Interview #190 with Heather Clark (Author of Lemon Drop Falls)
Interview #191 with Veera Hiranandani (Author of How to Find What You're Not Looking For)
Interview #192 with Elizabeth Eulberg (Author of The Best Worst Summer)
Interview #193 with Cathy Carr (Author of 365 Days to Alaska)
Interview #194 with Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard (Authors of REAL)
Interview #195 with Gillian McDunn (Author of These Lucky Stars)
Interview #196 with Alyssa Colman (Author of The Gilded Girl)
Interview #197 with E.L. Chen (Author of The Comeback)
Interview #198 with J.M.M. Nuanez (Author of Birdie and Me)
SEASON #TWELVE (Winter/Spring 2022)
Interview #199 with Jamie Sumner (Author of One Kid's Trash)
Interview #200 with Chad Lucas (Author of Thanks a Lot, Universe)
Interview #201 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Where We Used to Roam)
Interview #202 with Rebecca Caprara (Author of Worst-Case Collin)
Interview #203 with Leslie Connor (Author of Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?)
Interview #204 with Caroline Gertler (Author of Many Points of Me)
Interview #205 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of Susie B. Won't Back Down)
Interview #206 with Shawn Peters (Author of The Unforgettable Logan Foster)
Interview #207 with Aisha Saeed (Author of Omar Rising)
Interview #208 with Adrianna Cuevas (Author of Cuba in my Pocket)
Interview #209 with Jennifer Swender (Author of Stuck)
Interview #210 with Brenda Woods (Author of When Winter Robeson Came)
Interview #211 with Danya Lorentz (Author of the Book Of a Feather)
Interview #212 with Saadia Faruqi (Author of Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero)
Interview #213 with Ellen Hopkins (Author of What About Will)
SEASON #THIRTEEN (Summer 2022)
Interview #214 with Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner (Authors of What About the Octopus)
Interview #215 with Lauren Wolk (Author of My Own Lightning)
Interview #216 with Rebekah Lowell (Author of the Road to After)
Interview #217 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Honestly Elliott)
Interview #218 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Midnight Children)
Interview #219 with Melanie Conklin (Author of A Perfect Mistake)
Interview #220 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Different Kinds of Fruit)
Interview #221 with Tracy Edward Wymer (Author of The Great and Mighty Benjamin Teller)
Interview #222 with Louise Hawes (Author of Big Rig)
Interview #223 with Paul Acampora (Author of In Honor of Broken Things)
Interview #224 with Shannon Doleski (Author of Gabe in the After)
Interview #225 with Jennifer Ziegler (Author of Worser)
Interview #226 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Hummingbird)
SEASON #FOURTEEN (Fall 2022)
Interview #227 with Celia C. Perez (Author of Tumble
Interview #228 with Greg Howard (Author of The Visitors)
Interview #229 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Daredevils)
Interview #230 with Sashi Kaufman (Author of Sardines)
Interview #231 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of The Real Deal)
Interview #232 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of New Kids and Underdogs)
Interterview #233 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of The Hope of Elephants)
Interview #234 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Rover's Story)
SEASON #FIFTEEN (Winter/Spring 2023)
Interview #235 with Varsha Bajaj (Author of Thirst)
Interview #236 with Torrey Maldonado (Author of Hands)
Interview #237 with C.C. Harrington (Author of Wildoak)
Interview #238 with Margi Preus (Author of Windswept)
Interview #239 with Dayna Lorentz (Author of Wayward Creatures)
Interview #240 with Katrina Nannestad (Author of We are Wolves)
Interview #241 with Anika Fajardo (Author of Meet Me Halfway)
Interview #250 with Sally J. Pla (Author of The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn)
Interview #251 with Chris Baron (Author of The Gray)
Interview #252 with Dusti Bowling (Author of DUST)
SEASON #SIXTEEN (Fall 2023)
Interview #253 with Sarah Everett (Author of The Probability of Everything)
Interview #254 with Andrea Beatriz Arango (Author of Something Like Home)
Interview #255 with H.M. Bouwman (Author of Gossamer Summer)
Interview #256 with Kaija Langley (Author of The Order of Things)
Interview #257 with Elaine Vickers (Author of Half Moon Summer)
Interview #258 with John Gaspard (Author of The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks)
Interview #259 with Dana Kramaroff (Author of The Do More Club)
Interview #260 with Jessica Vitalis (Author of Coyote Queen)
Interview #261 with Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko (Authors of Dog Town)
SEASON #SEVENTEEN (Winter/Spring 2024)
Interview #262 with Chad Morris and Shelly Brown (Authors of The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry)
Interview #263 with Anne Ursu (Author of Not Quite a Ghost)
Interview #264 with Erin Soderberg Downing (Author of Just Keep Walking)
Interview #265 With Kate Albus (Author of Nothing Else But Miracles)
Interview #266 with Robin Gow (Author of Dear Mothman)
Interview #267 with Toni Buzzeo (Author of Light Comes to Shadow Mountain)
Interview #268 with John Schu (Author of Louder Than Hunger)
Interview #269 with Allie Millington (Author of Olivetti)
Interview #270 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of Once Upon a Family)
Interview #271 with Lynne Kelly (Author of The Secret Language of Birds)
Interview #272 with Lisa Yee (Author of The Misfits)
Interview #273 with Lisa Fipps (Author of And Then, Boom)
SEASON #EIGHTEEN (Fall 2024)
Interview #274 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall)
Interview #275 with Lois Lowry (Author of Tree.Table.Book)
Interview #276 with Rob Buyea (Author of Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth Grade Year)
Interview #277 with Gayle Forman (Author of Not Nothing)
Interview #278 with Kate O'Shaughnessy (Author of The Wrong Way Home)
Interview #279 with Shifa Saltagi Safadi (Author of Kareem Between)
Interview #280 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Deep Water)
Interview #281 with Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic (Author of Hummingbird Season)
Interview #284 with Kimberly Newton Fusco (Author of The Secret of Honeycake)
Interview #285 with Alison McGhee (Author of Telephone of the Tree)
Interview #286 with Anica Mrose Rissi (Author of Wishing Season)
Interview #287 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of The Witching Wind)
