Cover Reveal!
And here it is: the cover for A Pandemic Is Worldwide, to be published in February 2022!
So much gratitude and respect for the illustrator, Taia Morley (do check out her website here), who managed to take on this sobering topic with such grace. The art conveys the seriousness of the situation without letting it get grim.
I have to confess to some sadness, as well. When I first proposed this to my editor, Tamar Mayes at HarperCollins in the summer of 2020, she had a little hesitation (which I shared). A trade book is not a quick undertaking. Even rushing it (which we did), it wouldn’t be on shelves for a year and a half. Would pandemics still be relevant, we wondered? Would the world have moved on?
I’m sad to say–I’m heartbroken to say–this book will be relevant and needed and timely in February of 2022.
Read MoreOdd E-Mails
Infographic-in-progress. Note HUGENESS of the Black Death.
Sometimes when you take a step or two back from a project, you can’t quite believe you are writing serious, professional e-mails to a colleague that go like this:
The page looks empty and the pandemics themselves seems kind of inconsequential in all that space. I mean, the Black Death should be HUGE…. We do need to do something about the circle for COVID…. Right now it’s about the same size as the 1918 Influenza, when it should really be between the Third Bubonic Plague and Ebola, closer to Ebola.
This is what it looks like when you’re finishing up a picture book on pandemics and you need to get the final infographic just right.
Read MoreAfraid of Mice? Not Quite…
Photo credit: keithlawson
More animal research tidbits. You know that old story that elephants are afraid of mice? In the first century A.D., Pliny the Elder claimed that elephants hate mice “above all other creatures.” Later scientists speculated that mice might run up elephant’s trunk.
This does not happen. And elephants are not particularly afraid of mice, although they have poor eyesight (and also eyes a long way around from the ground) and can sometimes get started by anything that scuttles unexpectedly around their feet.
But there is a tiny animal that elephants are actually afraid of.
Bees.
Despite elephant’s thick skin, bee stings can still hurt. If bees are flying around, an elephant herd may form up into a protective circle with the calves inside to keep them safe from the fuzzy little flying menaces.
Read MorePoop Research
Dogs do it. They’re not sorry. And they would do it again if they could. (Thanks to Claudia Peters from Pixabay for the image!
It’s remarkable how often my research for nonfiction leads me into the realm of poop. A while back, there was the question of how the Apollo astronauts managed with no toilet. And of course, the fascinating shape of wombat poop. This week I’ve been delving into the age-old question of why dogs eat poop.
a) Because their ancestors did.
b) Because it’s there.
c) Because dogs are just, by nature, gross.
d) And other reasons that may be revealed if I find a publisher for this new project one day.
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly