Cry of the Sea - DG Driver

Tell us about yourself and why you write for young people.

I am a member of SCBWI and have been a published author since 1995. When I first started writing, I was in college getting my degree in Drama, planning to be an actress. I wrote for fun. A friend asked me to write a children’s play for his theater, and I was hooked. I did and still do perform, but I have been a teacher (in Special Education) and writer foremost over the past 20+ years. As Donna Getzinger I published many books, including six highly acclaimed non-fiction works with Morgan Reynolds publishers. Cry of the Sea is my first YA novel and first novel as D. G. Driver. I also had a short story titled “The Jamaican Dragon” published in an anthology of pirate stories called A Tall Ship, A Star and Plunder.

Cry of the Sea is intended for readers 12 and up. Juniper Sawfeather is 17, but the story is very PG.

What made you decide to write Cry of the Sea and create Juniper

I originally came up with the idea for Cry of the Sea in 1999. It was the 10th anniversary of a major oil spill on the West Coast and was all over the news. I wondered what would happen if a mermaid were to wash up on the beach with the other injured animals. The story slowly came to life after that. I chose to make Juniper American Indian because we studied the American Indian cultures every year in the 3rd/4th grade class I taught, and the tribes of the Northwest were always the most interesting to me. I also was a huge fan of X-Files back then, so I really didn’t want to create a paranormal story about a talking mermaid, but more of a Science Fiction type story about what it would be like if mermaids were real creatures.

Tell something Juniper you want young readers to grasp.

Juniper is a smart, sensitive girl, but she has a hard time because her parents are very outspoken environmental activists. She is unpopular more because of that than because she is American Indian. At the beginning of the book she wants nothing more than to get away from her current life and start somewhere new. The mermaids allow her to find her own cause and her own voice. She realizes that she is more than what others think of her.

How do you see your book fitting into schools and into the concept of Windows, Mirrors and Sliding glass doors.

One of the things I’ve been reading over and over in the articles about diversity in books is that readers want novels, particularly fantasy novels like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, but with non-whites in the leading roles. People are looking for stories that are not about the race of the protagonist but rather a regular story that features a protagonist of color. Cry of the Sea is not a story about a girl being American Indian. It is a story about a girl who happens to be American Indian finding herself in the middle of an adventure. She is a bright girl with a good heart, and she faces a lot of the same pressures any teen girl faces: difficult parents, a crush, bullies, best friend trouble, and homework. But she also faces a whole lot more once she stumbles upon the mermaids.

Tell us a little about your research and efforts to make the character accurate

Juniper is definitely not a stereo-typical American Indian. She is a modern, teenage girl from the suburbs. I looked into which Tribal Nations were in the Washington State area and decided which one made the most sense for Juniper. However, her mother is not American Indian, so I don’t have her living on a reservation. There are references to Juniper’s heritage, and her father is very proud of his heritage. However, as mentioned above, Juniper is less concerned about being seen as American Indian than she is of being seen as the daughter of these extreme environmentalists. Once the plot of the story really kicks into gear, no one is focusing on the color of her skin.


I wanted Juniper’s father to tell a legend that would make him wonder if American Indians had been somehow aware of the mermaids far in the past. I read a lot of mythology from the area about the sea animals and life on the Northwest Coast. I wound up inventing the myth I used for the novel, but it was loosely based on a real legend of warriors who were turned into killer whales. Additionally, I found out about a real event called the Potlatch, where people make necklaces and throw them into the sea to celebrate the killer whales. I decided to adapt that to fit my story as well and have it told by a news reporter who has both Spanish and American Indian ancestry.

What you have done to insure quality in terms of content, editing, and appropriateness for the age range.

My novel is not self-published. My publisher, Fire and Ice is an indie press, an imprint of Melange Books. I had an editor, Megan Orsini, who helped me fine-tune the book and make sure it was in the best shape possible. She had me rewrite the first chapter six times and the first page two more times after that. I was thrilled at the cover art by Caroline Andrus and that she found the perfect image for Juniper’s face. I have a daughter who just turned 13, so I admit that I wrote it “clean” enough so that she and her friends could read it. I’ve already presented it at a couple schools, one being a public middle school, and it has been well received.

Josephine by Patricia Hruby Powell

1. A short bio about yourself and why you write for young people. 

Patricia Hruby Powell danced throughout Europe and the Americas with her dance company, One Plus One. She has earned advanced degrees in Dance (Temple University) and in Library Science (UIUC). Her awards include choreographic fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council; a storytelling award from Creative Arts Institute and for writing she has received the Boston Globe Horn Book Nonfiction Honor 2014, Parent’s Choice Gold for Poetry 2014, Bologna Ragazzi Nonfiction Honor 2014 as well as awards from Western Writers of America and the American Folklore Society. Her picture books are Blossom Tales and the bilingual Navajo/English Zinnia: How the Corn Was Saved and Frog Brings Rain. Her books with Chronicle are Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker (January 2014) and the forthcoming documentary novel Loving v Virginia in 2016.

1. Why you wrote this book and created these characters 

I write for young people because I just might have something useful to say to them. I started JOSEPHINE while working as a children’s librarian at the Urbana Free Library and got to know a group of unfocused preteen African American girls who attended the library daily. I thought Josephine who could do anything she set her mind to do, would be a good role model for all young people but especially marginalized young people. I want people to know who Josephine Baker was.

The book is advertised as being for readers second to fifth grade. There are some reviewers and many teachers who see JOSEPHINE suited to middle school kids, due to the mention of difficult subjects (the 1916 riots of St. Louis) and also suited all the way through high school readers. (It has been cited in Harper Bazaar’s UK July 2014 edition as a book for adults). Being a picture book draws people in; being 104 pages long, makes it a book for many ages.

Tell something about the characters you would like young readers to grasp. 

Josephine did just about anything she set out to do. She became a world-renowned dancer and singer, a civil rights worker, a mother to 12 adopted children, a war hero. We should all be so fearless.

How you see your book fitting into schools and into the concept of Windows, Mirrors and Sliding glass doors. 

When I show JOSEPHINE to large groups, I see the faces of African American (and Hispanic and Asian) kids light up. I realize they don’t often see themselves in the books they see in school. They see themselves in Josephine. It’s very gratifying.

A little about your research and other efforts to make the portrayal of your characters culturally accurate 

My first connection to Josephine is that of our both being dancers. I know dance intimately. I did many years of research on this book, reading all of Josephine Baker’s 5 autobiographies in French, many biographies about Josephine, watching hours of early and later footage of her dancing, listening to recordings of her singing, listening to her being interviewed. I visited the neighborhood in St. Louis where she grew up. I know her well. I have continued to do primary and secondary research into the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. It’s a cliché, I know, but I have many black friends.

Any words form your publisher, reviewers or readers you would like to share?

“Baker’s entire life spreads out in this tapestry of words.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A life devoted to self-expression through dance and racial harmony is celebrated in this lavish, lengthy picture book.” Kirkus starred review


“Clear and lively descriptions of Josephine’s story play out creatively in the text, introducing readers to basic principles of poetic structure in storytelling and offering an accurate portrait of a woman who fought for racial equality and civil rights through her life’s passion: performance. Reluctant readers of nonfiction and poetry lovers alike will be drawn to this book’s musical, theatrical nature, making for a fun, enriching, and holistic reading experience. This unique and creative work is a first purchase.” SLJ starred review

“Powell and Robinson create a biography of a woman whose life and art are inseparable.”—Shelf Awareness for Readers, starred review


“In this incomparable biography both Powell and Robinson convey the passion, exuberance, dignity, and eccentricity of their subject through words and pictures that nearly jump off the page.” Horn Book starred review

The Offenders - Jerry Craft

The Offenders: Saving the World While Serving Detention! is an action / adventure story designed to teach kids about the negative effects of bullying. It's the story of 5 school bullies who get superpowers, but instead of turning into cool heroes, they take on the characteristics of the kids they pick on.

I write for young people because when I was a kid, I didn’t like to read. I only read Marvel Comics and whatever books I was forced to read in school. As an adult, I realize the importance of reading and do what I can to reach reluctant readers. I focus on creating characters that are interesting enough to get a kid to read a book on his or her own.


Guided Reading level – W
Grade level Equivalent- 5
Interest level- grades 5-8 (middle school reader) Ages 12-up

You can see more of my work and learn more about me on my website. http://jerrycraft.net/

Tell us why you wrote this book and created these characters

I wrote “The Offenders: Saving the World While Serving Detention!” because it seems as if bullying has reached epidemic proportions. Many books that I see are about kids who ARE bullied. My book is about the kids who are DOING the bullying. One teacher told me she read one of my books in class and a young girl gasped and said, “Oh no, I just did that to someone this morning! I didn’t realize it was bad. I have to go apologize.” I couldn’t ask for more than that.

Tell something about the characters you would like young readers to grasp.

Since I have loved superhero stories since my Marvel Comic days, The Offenders is about 5 school bullies who get superpowers, but instead of turning into cool looking heroes, they look like the kids they pick on. So one gets really smart, but physically uncoordinated; one gets super thin; one gains 100 pounds; one gets two large metallic buck teeth; and the girl who calls kids mousey shrinks down to the size of a mouse! Now they have to protect the school, but they’re too embarrassed to go outside. It’s a lesson in Karma!

Plus, when the kids transform, they trade physical characteristics with each other. So it’s hard to like a kid, or not like him because of how he or she looks. Because it changes.

How do you see your book fitting into schools and into the concept of Windows, Mirrors and Sliding glass doors.

One of the things I’m most proud of is that the main characters are 3 boys and 2 girls from very diverse backgrounds; both racially and economically. I did a LOT of research to avoid traditional stereotypes and to create characters that kids want to know better. It’s also a perfect book for schools because it makes kids aware of how their words and actions can affect other kids’ lives. There’s also plenty of humor and excitement, so it never comes across as a lecture. We all know how much kids “love” lectures. ;)

I tried to be descriptive enough where kids can see what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes, and enjoy the walk.

Share a little about your research and other efforts to make the portrayal of your characters culturally accurate

I am most proud of Dexter Diaz, who is Puerto Rican. As an African-American man, I have always been acutely aware at how stereotypes have shaped the way that our kids have been portrayed. So the last thing that I wanted to do was to be guilty of that myself. So after I wrote Dexter’s chapters, I gave them to two friends who are Puerto Rican, and asked them to be VERY critical. One is a male author, the other is a mom (obviously female).

They told me what they liked, and told me where they thought that my portrayal was inaccurate. So I kept working on it, until it had passed both of their tests. The same goes for Bobby Bonderman, who is a Korean boy adopted by White parents. In fact, this was probably the most research I have ever done for a book, and I’ve illustrated and/or written about 18.

I also hired my two teenage sons as co-authors to give authenticity to the characters. So if the characters are playing a video game, they made sure I didn’t have them playing Pac Man or Space Invaders. I had a mom email me to say that after reading the book, she finally knew what her kids were talking about!

What you have done to insure quality in the finished product in terms of content, editing, and appropriateness for the age range.

First, I never do any book that I don’t want my kids to read, so there’s never anything inappropriate in my work. I was also fortunate to get 2 schools to test my book, before releasing it to the public. One school in upstate NY chose it for their “One School, One Read” program. So not only did I hear from kids, but I also heard from teachers and librarians. To me, that’s the ultimate seal of approval.

Most recently it was chosen for PACER’s first ever bookclub. PACER is one of the world’s leading anti-bullying organizations. They are the ones who made October National Bullying Awareness Month.

Here’s what they had to say:

Creative, funny, and engaging – this book presents a unique look at the dynamics of bullying. With a diverse cast of characters, the book illustrates that bullying affects everyone – and that the students who are bullying can change their behavior and make their school a more positive place.

— PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center

So after gathering initial feedback, the version that I have now is EXACTLY the way that I want it.