An Inside Look with Shelley Pearsall
(Authors of Things Seen from Above)
*Welcome to my favorite feature of my blog.
*Season #ONE (June of 2016 to March of 2017)
*Season #TWO (Summer of 2017)
*Season #THREE (School Year 2017/2018)
*Season #FIVE (School Year 2018/2019)
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
*Season #SEVEN (Fall 2019)
*Season #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)
*I'm excited to be back for season #NINE with brand new interviews/authors.
*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.
*This is the EIGHTH interview in which I'm calling Season #NINE.
*Thank you to Shelley for being the One-Hundred Fiftieth author I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.
*Here is my Review of the Novel...
Things Seen From Above
by Shelley Pearsall
(February 4, 2020)
How did you come to know April?
By reaching back in my imagination (many years...) to talk to my very awkward sixth grade self -- and also by reaching forward to interview a group of current sixth graders who agreed to chat with me about their lives today. I was surprised that some things (like the Friday night football social drama) actually hadn't changed that much since I was a kid.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
Persistence in searching for answers -- and empathy.
Is there anything you wish April would have changed or done differently in her story?
To be honest, I wish that she'd had the time to get to know Joey even better. I feel like she and Veena (another recess helper) really only scratched the surface of who he was, but that's the reality of life. It was the reality of who Joey preferred to be -- like his art, he was a fleeting presence.
Or maybe I was leaving room for a second book about Joey himself.
What do you think she can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
I think April and Veena both demonstrate the values of empathy and compassion. Despite the fact that they weren't always treated with empathy by others, they persisted in reaching out to Joey. Their single-minded focus led them to discover a marvelously gifted person who ultimately changed their lives and community. That's the lesson -- reaching out to others may ultimately help you too.
How did you research April and the circumstances she found herself in?
The research for this book and its characters was really wide-ranging. In preparation, I read about Indian art and culture, crop circles, wild plants as foods, Kellogg's cereal, visual-spatial learners, dyslexia, Polaroid cameras -- you name it! I even visited Stonehenge in England (an example of land art) and interviewed a Welsh artist who creates spectacular designs on beaches.
Do you and April share any similarities?
Definitely. Like April and Joey, I was an outsider. (And yes, I'm still that way as an adult.) April and I share the same fierce persistence, curiosity, love of learning, and commitment to kindness.
What was the hardest scene to write about April?
Getting her perspectives to integrate and work together with Joey's. Joey sees the world through simple words and complex illustrations. April sees the world in a more personal, narrative way. Art vs. words, insider vs. outsider, looking down vs. looking up, little detail vs. big picture -- I wanted to show the variety.
But it was SO tough to get those perspectives to connect smoothly. I did a lot of rewrites and chapter shuffling. (I also don't have the same visual-spatial ability that Joey does, so sometimes I had to climb on ladders or make models to picture what he might be seeing.)
Who do you think was April’s biggest supporter and why?
Mr. Ulysses, the janitor. He's an ever-present background figure who notices all and doesn't judge -- and I love that about him...and about janitors in general.
Why do you think some young people, like April, are willing to go the extra mile to help a peer, when some, or most, other people look the other way and do nothing?
I think there is an innate ability among some young people to easily imagine or relate to someone else's life. Maybe that comes from upbringing, personality, or being in a similar position in the past. But I think it is a skill that can be taught and encouraged in all kids. That's a major reason why I write books with this theme.
What do you think April is doing as the present time?
I picture her being in the Peace Corps or volunteering on a service project somewhere in the world. She will always be a learner and a "giver" I think. I imagine Joey being just like Marc Treanor, the amazing beach artist I met in Wales. A gentle gifted soul "a rare bird" who is just creating art somewhere in the world for the sake of beauty, peace, and joy.
*Here are links to the One Hundred Forty-Nine interviews...
SEASON #ONE (2016-2017)
SEASON #TWO (Summer 2017)
SEASON #FOUR (Summer 2018)
SEASON #FIVE (2018/2019)
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
SEASON #SEVEN (Fall 2019)
SEASON #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)
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)
SEASON #NINE (2020/2021)
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