Congratulations, Lydia Lukidis on UP, UP HIGH!
Welcome, Lydia Lukidis! Thank you so much for sharing the release of UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth's Atmosphere with us! Young readers love STEAM books and I’m sure yours will find many happy readers. Can you share with us a bit about the inspiration for this book? What was your initial spark?
It all started in 2019 when I started writing the book DEEP, DEEP DOWN: TheSecret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench. I learned a ton about myself asan author and for the first time, I merged my passions for poetry and STEM inone book. That’s when I realized I love writing lyrical texts! The book receiveda ton of love for which I’m eternally grateful. It won numerous awards includingthe SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner for the Canada and North America Divisionand a Silver Birch Express Honor (Forest of Reading). I also got to travel toToronto for the Ontario Library Association, and to Washington, to give apresentation about ocean conservation at the Smithsonian Natural History Museumand to give workshops with the Open Book Foundation. These were huge milestonesin my career. That’s when my agent Miranda Paul asked me, why not write a bookabout journeying up, up high into the Earth’s atmosphere? I was immediatelysold. I had already learned that when Miranda suggests you write something, youneed to write it. Because she’s somehow magic and understands the industry aswell as her clients’ aptitudes with razor sharp precision.
Writing STEAM books requires a substantial amount of research. Often it is the most fun part of our writing process. Did you meet any challenges in your research journey?
I read a ton of books, websites, and journals in my research process. I alsowatched interviews and videos. All that information gave me great content tostart writing the book, but there were still some lingering questions thatremained. That’s when I reached out to several experts; I spoke to aweather/atmosphere expert from the NOAA, a NASA astronaut (that was very hard toachieve), and well as the man who space jumped. Without their valuable input,the book would not be fully accurate.
You must have a wealth of information from all of that research. Often one of the most difficult parts of crafting our books is not deciding what to include, but deciding what to leave out. What did you choose to leave out of this book and why?
My issue is that I find everything fascinating! The earlier drafts of the bookwere text and content heavy, which doesn’t work for a picture book. Of course, Ihad to accept that I can’t fit it all in so I cut things out. A lot of the backmatter got cut as well as other elements in the atmosphere. I focused on tryingto keep the most engaging ones that children would find interesting.
Can you share a tip with teachers who want to use your book in the classroom?
I created a teacher guide filled with activities and games connected tocurriculum. Educators, librarians, and parents may access it here:
Readers guides are the best! I'm sure teachers will find your guide useful in the classroom. Thank you for sharing your book with us. Congratulations on the January 1 release. What comes next for you? Can you give us a peek at what you are currently researching?
About the author: Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade and educational books forchildren. Her titles include DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to NewHeights (Albert Whitman, 2024) and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret UnderwaterPoetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) which was a Crystal Kite winner,Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and Cybils Award nominee. Ascience enthusiast from a young age, Lydia now incorporates her studies inscience and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers isfostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops sheregularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in theSchools program. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul from theErin Murphy Literary Agency. To find out more about Lydia check out these socialmedia links: Website & order UP, UP HIGH: Blog: Twitter: FB: Bluesky:
It all started in 2019 when I started writing the book DEEP, DEEP DOWN: TheSecret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench. I learned a ton about myself asan author and for the first time, I merged my passions for poetry and STEM inone book. That’s when I realized I love writing lyrical texts! The book receiveda ton of love for which I’m eternally grateful. It won numerous awards includingthe SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner for the Canada and North America Divisionand a Silver Birch Express Honor (Forest of Reading). I also got to travel toToronto for the Ontario Library Association, and to Washington, to give apresentation about ocean conservation at the Smithsonian Natural History Museumand to give workshops with the Open Book Foundation. These were huge milestonesin my career. That’s when my agent Miranda Paul asked me, why not write a bookabout journeying up, up high into the Earth’s atmosphere? I was immediatelysold. I had already learned that when Miranda suggests you write something, youneed to write it. Because she’s somehow magic and understands the industry aswell as her clients’ aptitudes with razor sharp precision.
Writing STEAM books requires a substantial amount of research. Often it is the most fun part of our writing process. Did you meet any challenges in your research journey?
I read a ton of books, websites, and journals in my research process. I alsowatched interviews and videos. All that information gave me great content tostart writing the book, but there were still some lingering questions thatremained. That’s when I reached out to several experts; I spoke to aweather/atmosphere expert from the NOAA, a NASA astronaut (that was very hard toachieve), and well as the man who space jumped. Without their valuable input,the book would not be fully accurate.
You must have a wealth of information from all of that research. Often one of the most difficult parts of crafting our books is not deciding what to include, but deciding what to leave out. What did you choose to leave out of this book and why?
My issue is that I find everything fascinating! The earlier drafts of the bookwere text and content heavy, which doesn’t work for a picture book. Of course, Ihad to accept that I can’t fit it all in so I cut things out. A lot of the backmatter got cut as well as other elements in the atmosphere. I focused on tryingto keep the most engaging ones that children would find interesting.
Can you share a tip with teachers who want to use your book in the classroom?
I created a teacher guide filled with activities and games connected tocurriculum. Educators, librarians, and parents may access it here:
Readers guides are the best! I'm sure teachers will find your guide useful in the classroom. Thank you for sharing your book with us. Congratulations on the January 1 release. What comes next for you? Can you give us a peek at what you are currently researching?
About the author: Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade and educational books forchildren. Her titles include DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to NewHeights (Albert Whitman, 2024) and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret UnderwaterPoetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) which was a Crystal Kite winner,Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and Cybils Award nominee. Ascience enthusiast from a young age, Lydia now incorporates her studies inscience and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers isfostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops sheregularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in theSchools program. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul from theErin Murphy Literary Agency. To find out more about Lydia check out these socialmedia links: Website & order UP, UP HIGH: Blog: Twitter: FB: Bluesky:
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