Behind the Scenes: “Where does a story start?” by Julie Abery

Stories begin in all sorts of places, and often, I think, they begin with an emotional reaction to something we see or hear. Thank you, Julie Abery, for sharing how YUSRA SWIMS came to be. 

[image error]Thank you so much, Beth, for inviting me on your blog to share my debut picture book biography, Yusra Swims (Creative Editions, illustrated by Sally Deng). It is an honor to share a behind the scenes look at how this story began.

In the spring of 2016, overloaded refugee boats appeared on the news on an...