Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

When authors dig into history, we find all sorts of surprises, endless fascination, and so much relevance to our world today. The ability to vicariously explore the human experience of the past gives us perspective and can inspire us to meet present day challenges with hope, empathy, and perseverance. Author Karen Greenwald hears the past ringing loud and clear for us today—and in this moment, a call to action.  

Facets of Light

By Karen M. Greenwald

I have always viewed my “job” as a nonfiction picture book author as that of a detective, searching through history to illuminate people, places, and events that displayed, inspired, or empowered others with hope. Giving children examples of humanitarian behavior, teaching them about little-known events where justice prevailed, and introducing them to real-life heroes inspires me. Finding a story that includes all elements and that can be tied to our world today (or at least shed light on it) is my mission.

In A VOTE FOR SUSANNA, I dug into the unlikely 1887 election of the first woman elected who served as mayor in the world. She became a global sensation—a celebrated international ceiling-breaking icon whose Kansas victory signified that equity could be possible—until history relegated her to not much more than blog timelines and blurbs. Yet, her experiences and the behavior of her fellow Argonia voters are worth considering even today. Why? Their contentious election, replete with hostility, included gender bias, bullying, and controversy. Sound familiar?

Studying and understanding the past can often clarify solutions needed today.

In my most recent book, THE MUD ANGELS: HOW STUDENTS SAVED THE CITY OF FLORENCE, the idea of “shining a light” became not only my purpose, but also the through line. It literally and figuratively impacted everyone who endured the Florence flood of 1966. Those in the city and the surrounding area lived in darkness after the Arno River tried consuming everything in its path. Residents needed light to navigate the mud and other dangers. Florentines also needed the light of hope to imagine that at some point, life would return to normal.

And then came the Mud Angels.

They were young people, college students studying abroad in Florence, Italians, and others who plunged into the vastness of debris-filled mud left behind when the river’s waters returned to their rightful place. These unexpected heroes risked their lives to save pieces of Italy’s cultural past long admired by the entire world. Coming to Florence from too many countries to name, “once in the mud,” an American Mud Angel told me, “…we were all Italian(s).”

One of the places that interested me the most was the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. In the basement, a dank, mud, oil, and stench-filled pit, sat 16th and 17th fragile, hand printed works. These brave Mud Angels stood waist-deep in this filth, searching for whatever the river had tried to ruin…in near darkness. Save for a few mercury lamps, there was no light. However, with each piece of history they pulled out of the mud, a particle of Italy’s intellectual enlightenment was freed. And those who made that happen shined their light of hope into an otherwise dismal situation.

Searching for “light” is my hallmark. It can refer to an intellectual awakening of sorts, a literal ray, or even the sense of kindness that shatters feelings of loss. All these notions felt relevant to and part of the telling of the flood and its aftermath.

Right now, we are dealing with Hurricane Milton while many are still in shock from Hurricane Helene. I just donated books to another author collecting them for her North Carolina county. Many children there lost everything. These books, like those rescued from the basement of the Central Library of Florence, and your generosity become sparks that glow bright amidst the dim eeriness of a hurricane’s destruction. I hope you will shine a little of your own light and help, too!

For more on how you can donate books, visit my Instagram at: @karenmgreenwald.

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