The Picture Book Buzz - February 2026 Interview with STEAM Team Books Members
- Maria Marshall
- 3 hours ago
- 10 min read
Whether you're here to support the STEAM Team authors, curiosity, or because you love nonfiction books, I hope you read to the end because you'll discover some amazing authors and super spectacular books!
Today I have the pleasure to introduce you to two authors from the STEAM Team Books – a group of authors and illustrators who joined together to celebrate and help promote their STEAM books. I hope you enjoy this peek at these delightful books and fascinating creatives.
"STEAM Team Books is a group of authors who have a STEM/STEAM book releasing in 2026. It includes fiction & nonfiction, trade or educational books.” Check out their website for other interviews, activities, and bios.
Tell us a little about yourself. (Where/when do you write? How long have you been writing? What is your favorite type of book to write? What drew you to STEAM books? etc.)
Nora Nickum – Twelve Daring Greys: A Whale Migration Adventure (Candlewick 2/10/2026) – I lead ocean conservation programs at the Seattle Aquarium, so it’s no coincidence that quirky and fascinating marine animals often feature in my books for kids. I love writing nonfiction books that draw kids in, either by being funny or by being immersive and having an emotional pull, like this latest one. This is my fourth nonfiction children’s book, and it’s so beautifully illustrated by Elly MacKay.
[Author of This Book Bubbles Over: From the Ocean to Mars and Everywhere in Between (2025), This Book Is Full of Holes (2024), and Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest (2023).]
Patricia Newman – Beatrice and the Nightingale (Peachtree 2/10/2026) – I’ve been writing children’s books for more than twenty years. Every book I write begins with a central idea that fascinates me plus a hook for today’s readers. I usually have a general idea where I’m going when I begin a new book, but I often take a few detours before I find my way. I particularly love nonfiction because the true stories in my books connect children to nature in the hopes that they will want to protect it.
[Author of 20+ books, including Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Christina Zenato, illustrated by Becca Hall (2025), Giant Rays of Hope: Protecting Manta Rays to Safeguard the Sea, (2024), A River’s Gift: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn, illustrated by Natasha Donovan (2022), Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean, photos by Annie Crawley (2021), Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation (2018), Neema's Reason to Smile, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini (2018), Zoo Scientists to the Rescue, photos by Annie Crawley (2017), Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem (2017), and Plastic, Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, photos by Annie Crawley (2014).]
What has been the most interesting or odd experience (you’re willing to share) of your children’s literature career so far?
Nora Nickum – When researching my first middle-grade book, Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest, I went out on a boat with Dr. Giles and her whale-poop-detecting dog, Eba, and we trailed far behind a group of orcas and then all cheered when Eba helped us navigate to scoop up a tiny scat sample.
Patricia Newman – After I published my first two picture books in 2004 and 2009, I thought I was on my way. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for me. I completed a few work-for-hire projects, but another trade contract remained elusive. By 2012, I began to wonder if I’d ever sell another book. Early in the year I even flipped ahead to December 31 in my 2012 planner and wrote, “No sales? Quit!”
Before December rolled around though, luck smiled down on me. I received an offer on August 8 from Millbrook Press/Lerner for Plastic, Ahoy! and I’ve never looked back. Phew!
Now that we know a little more about all of you, what sparked your interest and caused you to write or illustrate this book?
Nora Nickum – Twelve Daring Greys: A Whale Migration Adventure (2/10/2026) – This is a true story about a few gray whales who make a surprising and risky 170-mile detour into Puget Sound, near where I live in Washington state, as a pit stop on their long migration from Baja California to the Arctic. They’ve learned how to navigate the tides to eat ghost shrimp off the mudflats, without getting stranded when the tide goes out. I loved learning about these whales, and how their adventurous spirit and risky detour pays off in times of hunger.
Patricia Newman – Beatrice and the Nightingale (2/10/2026) – During the early months of the pandemic, not much was happening in publishing – or in any industry, for that matter. But I still itched to write. I usually travel to my books’ settings, but travel wasn’t possible during the pandemic. Then an idea fell in my lap. As I watched The Dig on Netflix, one of the characters mentioned a famous cellist named Beatrice Harrison. Beatrice was also known as Lady of the Nightingales because of the cello-nightingale duets broadcast by the BBC from her garden in the 1920s and 1930s. I had never heard of Beatrice or her duets, and I had to learn more! The more I learned, the more I knew I had to tell her story.
[If you want to embed the trailer URL, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip_y6qYrSds)
These are both such fascinating tidbits, I can see why you were drawn to learn more about them. Is there anything special you want your readers to know or discover about your book?
Text © Nora Nickum, 2026. Image © Elly MacKay, 2026.
Nora Nickum – Twelve Daring Greys: A Whale Migration Adventure (2/10/2026) – I’ve had people ask me if the journey of these whales is really true - it is! There aren’t always precisely twelve gray whales making this journey, because mother whales may skip the long, risky detour when they have a calf with them, and other whales have started to tag along over the years as food becomes scarcer in the Arctic and they need to build strength on their long migration. But there’s a core group that has been coming into Puget Sound for over 30 years. They’re distinguishable by their markings, and scientists have given them names like Shackleton, Earhart, Patch, and Little Patch. There are free downloadable ID cards on the Cascadia Research Collective’s website (https://cascadiaresearch.org/project/north-puget-sound-gray-whale-photo-id-and-feeding-study/).
Text © Patricia Newman, 2026. Image © Isabelle Follath, 2026.
Patricia Newman – Beatrice and the Nightingale (2/10/2026) – I hope Beatrice inspires my readers. She used her imagination and the tools available to her to give the world a new and exciting experience, the first-ever broadcast of birdsong over the airwaves. Based on her comments in her diary, she was delighted and overwhelmed with the response from listeners. I hope my readers feel empowered to follow their passions and to find a way to share them with the world.
I think your readers are going to love both of these books! What was the hardest, or most challenging, part of writing or researching your book? Was there a bit of your research you didn’t get to include?
Nora Nickum – Twelve Daring Greys: A Whale Migration Adventure (2/10/2026) – The lyrical text that I wrote for this picture book is quite concise, flowing alongside the luminous, full-page art by Elly MacKay. I was able to provide additional information from my research in the back matter, covering things like what causes the distinguishable markings on individual whales and how gray whales eat things out of the mud. Because it takes a few years for a picture book text to go through editing, illustration, and printing, the total number of gray whales in the Eastern North Pacific population has changed since I last edited the book - unfortunately, now it’s down to 13,000, likely due to climate change decreasing the amount of food that’s available in Arctic waters.
Patricia Newman – Beatrice and the Nightingale (2/10/2026) – Right after I received a verbal offer from my editor but before the contract was signed, I found out that a bird expert claimed Beatrice’s first duet with a nightingale in 1924 was faked. The very idea shocked me because none of my source materials reference this possibility – including Beatrice’s diary. Could an expert musician with a finely tuned ear be so completely fooled? Wouldn’t a fake scandalize and discredit the BBC? I had more than a few tense moments while I researched the possibility. You can read about the entire process in the back matter of Beatrice and the Nightingale.
You've both created such fascinating back matter - thank you. Are there any upcoming projects that you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?
Nora Nickum – I have a middle-grade nonfiction book called Wild Medicine: Inventing Ways to Save Endangered Animals coming out in September 2026 from Tilbury. It’s about the creativity and inventions needed to diagnose, prevent, or treat diseases that threaten endangered species. To help save black-footed ferrets, gorillas, corals, monk seals, and Ethiopian wolves from diseases like the plague and rabies, biologists and vets are mixing ingredients for irresistible baits and inventing new machines. They’re riding on all-terrain vehicles, taking vaccines to uninhabited islands, running experiments, and diving down to the seafloor. They’re even playing detective with footprints and placing orders for the delivery of a million insects. I loved interviewing the people doing this work and hope kids will love reading the book, seeing all the amazing photos, and learning about some interesting STEM careers.
Patricia Newman – I always have something simmering. I know that sounds cryptic, but I’m not yet at liberty to share. Let’s just say I’ve found a few cool animals with amazing stories to tell.
Wishing you both good luck with your projects. Looking forward to seeing what's next. Last question, who is your STEAM hero or heroine, living or dead (scientist, naturalist, author, teacher, etc.)? Why?
Nora Nickum – It’s so hard to pick just one, but I’ll say Rachel Carson. I feel a connection with her as a fellow writer, conservationist, marine biology enthusiast, and advocate. I am grateful for her major role in building today’s environmental movement and drawing attention to the harm caused by chemical pesticides. There are a lot of great books for kids about Rachel Carson, but one that I especially liked was Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids: Her Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities and Experiments, by Rowena Rae (Chicago Review Press).
Patricia Newman – Wow, that’s a hard one Maria. I’ve written about so many scientists and community members making a difference and giving readers hope about the state of our world. Like Kerstin Forsberg from Peru in Giant Rays of Hope, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe of The Salish Sea area in A River’s Gifts, and Cristina Zenato of the Bahamas in Shars Unhooked.
I’ve also recently joined a group of educators committed to improving their students’ environmental literacy. The depth and scope of their commitment mean a generation of children will grow up understanding their connections to nature. For me, these educators are our heroes.
Great answers. NOW, let me take a moment to introduce you to this amazing STEAM book!
Twelve Daring Greys: A Whale Migration Adventure by Nora Nickum, illustrated by Elly MacKay (Candlewick 2/10/2026) - An engaging and intriguing look at a group of grey whales who deviate from the normal migration from Baja California to Alaska by swinging through the Pacific Northwest Salish Sea to feast on ghost shrimp in an unusual and very tricky dance with the tide along the beaches of along Whidbey Island, Camano Island, and the Snohomish River Delta. Gorgeous illustrations combine with lyrically sensory text to create a wonderful STEM picture book on some daring whales and their amazing discovery.
Synopsis: Follow a dozen brave gray whales in search of food as they take a high-risk, high-reward 170-mile detour off their already grueling migration route to the Arctic.
In February, some twenty thousand gray whales set off from Baja California on a long, hard journey north, toward food and survival. Hungry and thin, they push on week after week, past California, Oregon, and Washington to the tip of that state, where twelve of them peel off and make an eastward turn into the Salish Sea. There they will wait in the deep for the tide to rise, only to swim into the dangerously shallow waters of a mudflat, hurriedly plowing the bottom for food before the water recedes once more. Will their daring be rewarded? Will they survive to join their fellow whales in the Bering and Chukchi Seas? Elly MacKay’s fluid, saturated artwork sets the stage for the whales’ exciting journey, complementing Nora Nickum’s lyrical, factual narrative. Back matter takes a deeper dive into the intriguing habits of gray whales and offers resources for curious readers.
Beatrice and the Nightingale by Patricia Newman, illustrated by Isabelle Follath ( Peachtree 2/10/2026) – Such a gorgeous and captivating biography about a woman who was enchanted by the sound of a cello as a young child and devoted herself to being a consummate performer and expert cellist. A chance encounter with a nightingale in her garden, resulted in the first live recorded duet with nature which touched hearts around the world. This is a stunning and engaging picture book biography capturing the intersection of music and nature in an amazing STEAM book.
Synopsis: In 1924, an audience of more than one million listeners across the world listened in amazement to the first live radio broadcast of a nightingale accompanying the young cellist Beatrice Harrison.
On May 19, 1924, a duet between a young cellist and a male nightingale was broadcast across the British Commonwealth as far away as Canada, India, and Australia to over one million listeners. It was an unprecedented collective experience made possible by the invention of the radio and a new microphone that picked up sounds of nature.
Beatrice Harrison, considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century and a musical prodigy, was that cellist. This biography describes Beatrice’s singular dedication to music from a very early age.
At the age of eighteen months, Beatrice attended her first concert. Catching sight of a cello and hearing it for the first time, she was bewitched and immediately began asking to play it. She got her first cello when she was about eight years old. Later, her parents moved the family to Germany so Beatrice could study with one of the best cello teachers. There, at age seventeen, she was awarded a prestigious prize, the youngest artist and only cellist to win at that time.
Back in the UK, the family moved to Surrey, England and Beatrice’s career flourished.
One evening while Beatrice was practicing her cello in the garden, she heard a creature repeating the music she was playing. It turned out to be a nightingale. She played many nights with the bird and was completely enthralled. Wanting to share the experience, she convinced the head of the newly formed BBC to take a chance on a live broadcast from her garden. The resulting duet was a smashing success and Beatrice received more than 50,000 letters in response. Overnight, she became known as the Lady of the Nightingales and for twelve years thereafter the cellist and the bird were broadcast annually to BBC listeners from her garden in Surrey.
Thank you both for giving us a little peek into yourself and your new books. Wishing you both enormous success with you upcoming projects.
Nora Nickum – Twelve Daring Greys: A Whale Migration Adventure (Candlewick 2/10/2026)
Website: https://www.noranickum.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noranickumbooks
Patricia Newman – Beatrice and the Nightingale ( Peachtree 2/10/2026) –
Website: https://www.patriciamnewman.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/newmanbooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatriciaNewman
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