Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

As a children’s author drawn to nonfiction topics, I know the most difficult part of writing a book about real people and events in the past is to figure out the best way to tell a story to make it matter and connect to kids today. THAT is everything. And that challenge can lead a writer to new places. In this post, author Nancy Churnin shares how she dealt with it for one of her new titles, LILA AND THE JACK-O’-LANTERN.

Nancy is offering a book GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment after the post to get in on the drawing.

The Sweet Spot Where History and Fiction Meet: My Journey with ‘Lila and the Jack-o’-Lantern, Halloween Comes to America’ By Nancy Churnin

I love writing picture book biographies. I also love learning and writing about the origin of beloved holiday traditions. Those two passions came together in The Queen and the First Christmas Tree, Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England, the true story of the kind queen who introduced the first Christmas tree to Windsor Castle in 1800 and Valentines for All, Esther Howland Captures America’s Heart, about the woman who came up with the idea of creating and selling Valentine cards in America to help other people express big emotions. Valentines launches Nov. 7.

But when I turned my focus to another favorite holiday, Halloween, I hit a wall. The research was exciting. I couldn’t wait to share with kids the story of how Irish immigrants, fleeing the Potato Famine, brought beloved Halloween traditions to America in the 1800s, from the jack-o’-lantern to dressing up in costumes and trick or treating. But how could I turn this story into a picture book biography? There was no one person responsible for introducing these customs. I was stuck unless I tried a genre new to me – historical fiction. After studying the lives of Irish immigrants of the 1800s in general, I decided I would make up a child and her family to tell a story that conveyed what had happened.

Was I a little nervous? Yes, but once I started immersing myself in the history and time, Lila and her family started talking to me. I knew Lila had red hair like my husband, that she loved her little brother and sister, Billy and Grace and she was a storyteller who comforted the younger ones by promising them that their favorite tricky spirit, Jack, would follow them to America.

In Ireland, people carved turnips into jack-o’-lanterns. Why didn’t they do the same in America? Maybe it was because they couldn’t find turnips in America. Maybe they were intrigued by a new, strange orange, edible pumpkin at American peddler stands. Maybe Lila made a friend at the peddler stand and together she and her friend, Julia, put a new American twist on an old Irish custom. Lila and Julia, Ma and Da, Billy and Grace, and Julia’s Papa spoke to me. They became as real to me as the people I’ve researched for my picture book biographies. Soon I felt as if I was eavesdropping on their conversations, observing them as they wondered and worried and laughed and explored. And once Anneli Bray’s wonderful illustrations began filling the pages, I felt I had always known them.

Some of the greatest craft lessons I’ve learned on my joyful journey in historical nonfiction are:

• Get your history right, because that’s the foundation on which you build your story.

• Immerse yourself until you see, hear, smell, sense, feel things from your chosen place and time. One of the reasons I chose New York as the place Lila and her family settled is because that’s where I grew up. It wasn’t as big a leap to take a step back in time on those familiar streets.

• Listen to your characters. If they are alive for you, they will be alive for your readers.

• Let them surprise you! I got a kick when Lila and Julia teased each other and made each other laugh.

• Have patience. This manuscript was one of my longer book journeys. I started it in 2013. Sometimes I felt I was sculpting it as painstakingly as Geppetto carved Pinocchio from a block of wood. But when Lila came to life – wow, what a glorious feeling. It’s hard for me to imagine a world now without Lila and Julia, Billy and Grace, Ma and Da, Julia’s Papa and Mama and, of course, Jack. I’m so happy to be able to share them with you and with young readers everywhere.

To download the Educator Guide for Lila and the Jack-O’-Lantern, click HERE.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of LILA AND THE JACK-O’-LANTERN! (US addresses only, please. Winner announced 9/15/23)

BIO: Nancy Churnin writes children’s books about people that inspire kids to make a positive difference and encourage kids to be heroes, too. Dear Mr. Dickens, the story of a woman who spoke up to Charles Dickens, won the 2021 National Jewish Book Award and a 2022 Sydney Taylor Honor, is a Junior Library Guild selection and is featured in an educational program at The Charles Dickens Museum in London, teaching kids to recognize and stand up to antisemitism. Among her other honors: multiple Sydney Taylor Notables, National Council for the Social Studies Notables, Silver Eurekas, Mighty Girl lists, Sakura Medal finalist, Notable Book for a Global Society, Anne Izard Storytellers Choice Award, the South Asia Book award, Bank Street College and state book lists and starred reviews. Lila and the Jack-o’-Lantern, Halloween Comes to America is her first historical fiction. Nancy lives in North Texas. You’ll find free teacher guides, resources, and projects on her website at nancychurnin.com.

• On Facebook: Nancy Churnin 
• On Facebook: Nancy Churnin Children’s Books
• On Twitter: @nchurnin 
• On Instagram: @nchurnin

Visit the illustrator, Anneli Bray:
On Twitter: @annelibrayillo
On Instagram: @annelibray

Visit the publisher:
On Facebook: Albert Whitman
On Twitter: @albertwhitman
On Instagram: @albertwhitman