The Picture Book Buzz - Interview w/Drew Beckmeyer and Review of Stalactite and Stalagmite

Maria Marshall
Aug 18
7 min read

Drew Beckmeyer is an artist and illustrator and an elementary school teacher and probably some other things too.

Photo of Drew Beckmeyer with a giant pencil costume resting on his head.

In addition to creating picture books, he’s also done some comics, editorial illustration, and shown art in a variety of galleries mostly in the US.

Collage of the covers of four of Drew Beckmeyer's books.

Drew is the author/illustrator of The First Week of School (2024), I Am a Tornado (2023) and The Long Island (2018). And the illustrator of Dear Wild Child by Wallace J. Nichols and Wallace Grayce Nichols (2022).

His newest book, Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave, released on July 22^nd.

Welcome Drew,

Tell us a little about yourselves. (Where/when do you write and illustrate? How long have you been writing and illustrating? What is your favorite book to write or illustrate?)

I went to school for illustration, so I guess I've been illustrating for almost 20 years. That being said, most of those years, I've been mostly teaching with Illustration work sprinkled throughout. It's relatively recent that I've started making books. I work out of a small studio in my garage, but I usually go to a park or a coffee shop for the writing part of the process. I've been lucky to make books I'm pretty proud of - The First Week of School and Stalactite and Stalagmite especially. Those books were given a lot of trust to take some big risks in terms of storytelling.

It's wonderful to meet you! What is one of the most fun or unusual places where you’ve written a manuscript?

I'm not sure there's ever been one place where I've written a manuscript. Usually, they come in spurts here and there over the course of months. There is a park near the beach here. In the summers I like to ride my bike there, pick up lunch, and write a little there.

Sounds like a great place to work, What was your inspiration or spark of interest for Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave?

Book cover - Stalactite smiling and dripping down on Stalagmite, who is looking up and smiling.

I've probably written 3 or 4 dummies having to do with caves. Caves are a constant source of inspiration, I guess. With Stalactite and Stalagmite, the inspiration came from all the problems that arise when you have two immobile, ageless main characters who witness the entire history of the earth in about 40 pages or so. I like having problems to solve.

That would have been a stymieing premise for some creatives. What is the hardest or most challenging thing about writing and/or illustrating Stalactite & Stalagmite? And what was the most fun?

Attempting to convey immense time was definitely the most difficult thing. It's hard for my brain to wrap itself around, let alone illustrate. The feeling of smallness that comes with being aware of that immense time... if there is bit of that feeling, then I did ok. Chasing that feeling was the biggest challenge and the most fun part.

I think you did a great job. It's lots of fun to watch the two rocks grow physically, & in friendship, as the history of earth evolves/revolves around them! How many revisions did the text and/or illustrations of Stalactite & Stalagmite take from first draft to publication? How did this compare with your other three author/illustrated books?

S+S is my 3rd book with Atheneum, and I feel like we have a pretty easy working rapport. There's a lot of trust on both ends, so with this one, there weren't a ton of revisions, or if there were, they were kind of sprinkled through the process in real time. Aside from some minor text changes, the final book looks really, really similar to the dummy that I pitched.

That's cool. Is there a spread of which you are especially proud? Or perhaps is your favorite spread?

Internal spread - on the left, a bat hangs upside down talking with Stalacite. On the right, view from the cave, as bat flies away into a pink sky and Stalactite and Stalagmite talk.

Text & Image © Drew Beckmeyer, 2025.

I like the bat spreads where you have to turn the book upside down to read it. It's probably sort of annoying to read it that way, but I was excited about that little disruptive moment. The final page reveal is also another favorite, as is the cave drawing spread.

I thought it was fun. Having created multiple picture books, what was the most rewarding part of the publishing process for Stalactite & Stalagmite?'''

I think this one kind of hit an emotional resonance that I've been trying to get to for a little while. Though it's semi-nonfiction, it has a heart that I'm proud of. So, getting to put that out there into the world, for better or worse, is a good feeling.

I enjoy the informational-fiction aspect and the fun, dialogue heavy way you introduce history's changes. But I love the companionship you develop between the rocks as they physically grow closer to each other and what their partnership means. Many illustrators leave treasures or “Easter eggs” in their illustrations. Did you do this in Stalactite & Stalagmite? If so can you share one or more with us?

This isn't really an easter egg, but there is a running timeline at the bottom of each page. It's not really meant to be all that noticeable, but it's another tool to show the passing of time. Also, in that timeline, and on the second to last page, there are some flying saucers which are a bit of a reference to ship that the alien from First Week of School arrived/left in.

That is so cool and it's subtle enough to be missed by many readers! Thank you for sharing it with us. Are there any new projects you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?

2026 will be pretty quiet, but in 2027, I have a book called Geyser coming out, and another that Gideon Sterer wrote called Snake's Shoes. I'm working on both of those currently. Then in 2028, The Lazy River comes out. We've barely started on it, but I think that it will be a fun one.

These all sound fascinating - especially Snake's Shoes! We'll have to keep our eyes open for them all. Last question, what is your favorite National Park or Forest, regional park, or city park (anywhere in the world)? Or the one you’re longing to visit. Why?

My family has a cabin up near Yosemite, so that is always a favorite. Death Valley is a very special place to me. We also love the Utah national parks, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Tetons, Yellowstone.

All GREAT parks and wonderful places to witness the immense passage of time. Thank you, Drew, for sharing with us a bit about yourself and your new book.

To find out more about Drew Beckmeyer, or to contact him:

Website: https://www.drewbeckmeyer.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drewbeckmeyer/

Review of Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave

This informational fiction is a stunning, engaging, and entertaining way to get kids interested in Earth's history and life within a cave. It's a great book for kids who love rocks, caves, and humor.

Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave

Author/Illustrator: Drew Beckmeyer

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster (July 22, 2025)

Ages: 4-8

Informational Fiction

Themes:

Geology, humor, friendship, and earth history

Synopsis:

A hilarious and thought-provoking picture book about two little cave rock formations who witness the entire history of the world, perfect for fans of Oliver Jeffers, Jon Klassen, and Mac Barnett.

DRIP. DRIP. DRIP.

Time flies for two charming little cave nubs, Stalactite and Stalagmite. Over millions of years, creatures and things pass in and out of their cave, everything from a trilobite, an ichthyostega, and a triceratops, to a ground sloth and a bat.

When you are an ageless rock formation, it’s nice to have a friend who’s always there. But what will happen when the two nubs grow enough to finally touch?

Opening Lines:

Hello,

nub down there.

Hello,

nub up there.

You are dripping

on my head.

Does it feel good?

Yes,

It does.

I think

We will get along

just fine then.

What I LOVED about this book:

The personification of a stalactite (upper nub) and stalagmite (lower nub) in the entrance of a cave as characters who watch the passage of time through their cave 'window' and witness the changes in Earth's inhabitants is such a cool and ingenious premise. It's amazing how much humor and personality can be imbued into the rock nubs through just two eyes and a mouth. Very subtly, along the bottom of each illustration, is a white strip - a timeline - which adds a pictographic look at the reader's movement through history.

Internal spread- a small nub of rock in the roof of a cave, drips onto a nub on the floor of a cave, as a river flows past and three volcanoes erupt in the distance.

The mixed-media combination of loose drawings, watercolor, and paper layers, creates a fun comedic collage-like feel. As a trilobite, an ichthyostega, and a stunning triceratops wander into the cave, the nubs engage each visitor and each other in brief, snappy dialogue all while they continue slowly growing to the continuous background of Drip. Drip. Drip. Shortly after meeting the triceratops, "dazzling lights fly across the sky" and the rock nubs watch as asteroids and acid rain cause chaos and destroy the dinosaurs. This moment on the timeline is represented by an entertaining giant squiggle!

Internal spread - asteroids and acid rain fall on barren, rocky, hillsides and into the water, as the voices of the stalactite and stalagmite came from the cave up the side of the hill.

Skirting by dark moments, such as off-handedly mentioning that the ichthyostega might be extinct and the dinosaurs have disappeared, it does drop into a bit of dark humor when stalactite asks, "Remember the giant ground sloth who loved to lick us?" and stalagmite responds, "The one right next to me?" looking at the sloth's skeleton.

As time progresses, the nubs grow closer together. When early humans arrive and paint the inside of the cave, stalagmite momentarily waxes philosophical dreaming of having arms to paint the universe big, true, and scary, so everyone would "know their place in its endless giganticness." And as the pair get closer to each other, a comment that "I don't know what I will be when we are us and I am not me anymore" might feel familiar or bring pause to the adult readers. The ending is thought-provoking and fun. The backmatter offers a pictorial timeline of the eras in Earth's history, a complete bottom timeline strip, and more information on the visitors to the cave - including what might surprise the reader as "the strangest creatures to have existed on Earth." Gorgeous illustrations mixed with a touch of whimsy and a bit of philosophy transport the reader through the vastness of time, the inevitability of change, and the magic of friendship, while exploring a fun geological phenomena.

Resources:

Photos of two stalactites and stalagmites experiments. On the left, using baking soda and Epsom salts. On the right red dyed baking soda mixture.

experiment with making your own stalactites and stalagmites (examples & directions here or here).

make a cardboard box cave and draw the animals you would want to visit your cave on the walls of the box.

check out the book's activities packet.

pair this with Grand Canyon by Jason Chin (for another ingenious sweeping look at change and the passage of time), Caves by Nell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by Kalen Chock, A Stone is a Story by Leslie Barnard Booth, illustrated by Marc Martin, and Planet Life: The Amazing History of Earth H by Museu de Ciències Naturals in Barcelona, illustrated by Aina Bestard.