Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

It’s quite amazing when you find primary sources that provide the seed, or acorn, that allows you to tell a story that for a while seemed lifeless. Check out this great post from debut author Lynn Street about how THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST grew from deep research and personal immersion in the science.

GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment after the post to be entered in the drawing to win your very own copy of THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST!

How Primary Sources Can Grow Your Nonfiction Nature Picture Book

by Lynn Street

The inspiration for my nonfiction picture book, THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST (Peachtree, 2025), came from a photo of a blue jay carrying an acorn. I knew about squirrels and acorns, but I had never heard about blue jays and their connection to oak trees.

What was the blue jay doing with the acorn? What did this mean for the oak trees?

I sensed a mystery—and a story.  

A library and internet search revealed that no books were written for the public about acorn caching and blue jays. I did find a lot about crows. Not all birds, I quickly realized, are researched equally. Sometimes, the sources you hope to find don’t exist. 

So where do you go to find out more? 

Academic Research Sources

Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) is worth looking into if your subject might have been studied by university professors. I found articles about blue jays and acorn caching, some published recently and others prior to the 2000s. You might begin by reading research papers that are cited numerous times (sometimes hundreds) by other scientists.

I read the journal articles and looked up the authors of relevant blue jay studies. I then conducted interviews to make sure I was understanding the facts of the blue jay acorn gathering and burying process. 

Note that I used academic papers that presented original research, considered primary sources. A paper that only summarizes others’ research would be considered a secondary source.

Other Databases

You might also check out JSTOR (jstor.org), an online database of journals with academic content (journals, book chapters, research reports) and primary sources (serials, documents, books, images, audio, video). There is some overlap in the results from JSTOR and Google Scholar. I find Google Scholar easier to use when I want to sort through an overview of results.

Consider articles from newspapers by searching Newspapers.com and chroniclingamerica.loc.org. These aren’t academic studies, but they are great resources for biographical or historical research. Some science topics may be included.

Libraries subscribe to dozens or hundreds of searchable databases such as Gale. You can find academic journals, newspapers and archives.

Look for organizations related to your topic, such as scientific associations, organizations, or museums. For birds, try allaboutbirds.org or audubon.org for photos and basic facts.

Observing Firsthand

To augment my information search, I decided to do some in-person work. 

• I went on bird walks with ornithologists and also took daily strolls around my community’s paved trails.

• I put up six bird feeders and two bird baths across my little lot. The blue jays love sunflower seeds and peanuts.

• I participated in Project FeederWatch, a six-month-long research project observing backyard bird feeder behavior. 

I paid attention to where blue jays were hiding food from my feeders or from the oaks. One jay placed a peanut-in-shell under leaf litter at the base of a shrub. Another peanut was flown up to the gutter of my neighbor’s house. And an acorn was plucked from the gaps between the flagstones in my patio! I also noted a small oak sapling growing in a container I left full of dirt, but otherwise empty, in the yard. (Was that oak sapling sprouting from an acorn planted by a blue jay or a squirrel? I’m not sure.)

• My neighbor’s oak tree (the same species of oak as the tree in THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST) was also a source of mysteries to be unraveled. I watched with binoculars from my upstairs window as the birds flew into the canopy, pulled and pried acorns from the tree, and flew out of the canopy again. 

• I worked on a Master Birder certificate.

Tips:

My biggest tip is to give yourself more time if you are doing primary research, because the pieces come together more slowly than if you are distilling information compiled in one place. 

Blog articles can be tricky. Many summarize interesting facts and research, but without providing documentation or context. Some mistakes will get picked up and repeated from blog to blog.

Do You Have Enough Information to Write Your Story?

In the end, I did find solid information on which to base my story. Had I not connected with academic experts, I would have set this story aside and looked for another topic. 

If you are doing primary research of your own, always check back with experts to see how what you observe fits in with the larger context of research. For example, if you observe a flock of jays, you might assume that they are all related, which may not be the case.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below to get in on the GIVEAWAY for a copy of THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST! (US addresses only, please. Winner announced 9/12/25)

😍 And if you enjoy a book, please leave online reviews to support authors and illustrators!

Author Bio

Lynn Street is the author of THE BLUE JAYS THAT GREW A FOREST (Peachtree, 2025), a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She is a science-inspired author sharing lively STEAM stories with young readers. Her writing celebrates nature and invites readers to slow down and explore, to become budding naturalists and citizen scientists. Lynn volunteers for nature organizations and is dedicated to environmental education and integrating art, science, writing, and nature for kids. www.lynnstreetbooks.com