The Picture Book Buzz - Interview with Jessica Fries-Gaither and Review of So Rude!

Maria Marshall
2 minutes ago
7 min read

Jessica Fries-Gaither is an award-winning author of books for children and teachers. Her writing introduces readers to the wonder of the natural world and the work of scientists, past and present.

Photo of author Jessica Fries-Gaither with blurred fall foliage behind her.

Her debut picture book, Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings, was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12 by NSTA and the Children's Book Council and was read aboard the International Space Station by astronaut Joseph Acaba as part of the Story Time From Space program.

Jessica holds bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences (B.S.) and Anthropology (B.A.) and a Master's in Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!). In addition to writing, she is the Lower School Science Specialist at Columbus School for Girls. She was a 2024-2025 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and is a current state finalist in the 2024 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. She lives in Columbus, OH with her husband and lovable but rambunctious dogs. She also enjoys reading, cooking and baking, and spending time outside.

Collage of the covers of five of Jessica Fries-Gaither's books.

She is the author of 8 books, including Wild Wonderings: Scientists and Their Questions (2025), Nature's Rule Breakers: Creatures That Don't Fit (2023), Science Notebooks in Student-Centered Classrooms (2022), Exemplary Evidence: Scientists and Their Data (2019), and Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings (2017).

For additional information about Jessica, see our earlier interviews (here).

Her newest nonfiction picture book, So Rude!: Animals Behaving Badly, was released on October 7^th.

Welcome back Jessica, thank you so much for stopping by to talk about your newest book and your writing.

Having written a number of nonfiction picture books, what is your research process? Did it change at all for So Rude!: Animals Behaving Badly?

My research process is pretty fluid: I read and take notes until I have a general sense of the topic, then I start drafting. Typically, I’ll find out as I attempt to write that I still have holes in my knowledge, so I will go back to researching in a more targeted manner. For a list book like So Rude, each animal used as an example was a mini-research project, so I repeated this many times. The only additional thing I did at the very beginning of my work on this project was to create a shortlist of animals to research. I made a list of bad manners and then looked for animals whose behavior would fit each one. Then I jumped into my iterative research/write/research/write process.

Thank you for sharing this with us. What was your inspiration for So Rude!?

Book cover - two penguins facing each other on an iceberg, with the ocean behind them.

I don’t have a specific inspiration story for this one. As an elementary science teacher, I spend a lot of time talking about both good manners and animal behavior. At some point, it seemed that the lens of “bad manners” could be a fun way to look at animal behaviors.

It definitely drew the focus on some interesting behaviors that will fascinate (and even gross out) readers. How long did it take from the first draft to publication for So Rude!? How does this compare to your other books?

I had to go back to my email for this! I pitched So Rude! to Carol Hinz at Lerner back in November 2023 as one of many ideas for their photo illustrated STEM series. I sent her two different drafts in April 2024 (I couldn’t decide which I preferred) and publication was October 2025. So about two years from pitch to publication, or a year and a half from draft to publication.

Book cover - a n arm hangs down from the top, holding a magnifying glass over the word 'questions,' and surrounded by a tree with a nest, mountains, water, heron, DNA, and a fossil.

My other recent book, Wild Wonderings, had been under contract and set to publish in 2020, but that fell through with COVID. I had just about given up on that project when I got an email from the publisher (NSTA Kids) in late 2023. I did some quick rewriting—three years away gives you fresh eyes for a manuscript—and it was published late 2024.

Even with Covid, that's pretty quick for both of them. What was the most rewarding part of the publishing process for So Rude!?

Of course, holding the finished copy of something that once only existed in your mind is incredibly gratifying. But I won’t lie, though, receiving a starred review from School Library Journal was the highlight of this book’s story.

I imagine that was a very joyous moment. Congratulations! What was the hardest, or most challenging part of researching and/or writing So Rude!? Was there anything you wished you could have included in the text or back matter?

I was worried throughout my research and writing that I’d crossed a line and gone too gross or too mean in some of my examples. But I wasn’t asked to change any, so I guess I did okay!

I didn't get a "mean" vibe from any entry, but "gross," well that will have to be 'to each their own.' There are a few photos I didn't want to see twice. As a photo illustrated book, were there any problems in finding or getting the right photos? What is your favorite spread?

One of the joys of working with Lerner/Millbrook is that they find all the photos and deal with the rights for them! They did have trouble finding a picture for one of the original animals, the Xenomorph wasp. They are a newer discovery and the scientist who studies them was out in the field and unavailable during that part of the process. We ended up swapping in the braconid wasp, which behaves in a similar way.

Internal spread -hand holding a fish with an open mouth, showing a tongue eating louse in the fish's mouth.

Every spread is so colorful and eye-catching that I truly do love them all. But if I had to pick an absolute favorite, it would have to be the tongue-eating louse. It consistently gets the biggest reaction from people reading the book.

That is indeed eye-catchingly freaky, and I have to say a bit gross.! Is there something you want your readers to know or hope they discover about So Rude!?

I hope the book encourages young readers (and their grownups) to think about animal behavior in a different light, whether it is their pets at home or animals they observe in the wild or at the zoo. And I also hope it makes them laugh.

It is a really entertaining and fun format lens through which to view animal behaviors. Are there any projects you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?

I recently finished a year-long placement as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the Library of Congress and am now starting to mine my experience for project ideas. I just sent a picture book manuscript off to my agent and have enough other ideas to keep me busy for a very long time. I’m also putting the finishing touches on my first longform nonfiction proposal (probably middle grade).

Good luck on your projects. 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?

Photo of a trail in Redwoods National Park.

I love parks of all shapes, sizes, and flavors, and don’t think I could begin to choose a favorite. Visiting Redwood National Park has been at the top of my list for ages; I think it might be time to make that happen.

Thanks so much, Jessica for stopping back by. It was wonderful to chat with you again.

To find out more about Jessica Fries-Gaither, or contact her:

Website: https://www.jessicafriesgaither.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jfriesgaither/

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

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jessicafgwrites.bsky.social

Review of So Rude!

Do animals have to follow the same rules we do? Are there animals that specifically break the rules grownups tell kids? This engaging, photo-illustrated nonfiction, STEM book looks at twenty animals - insects, birds, reptiles, and mammals who break the rules.

So Rude!

Author: Jessica Fries-Gaither

Publisher: Millbrook Press/Lerner (October 7, 2025)

Ages: 4-9

Themes:

Animals, rude animal behavior, and breaking human rules.

Synopsis:

Grownups say, “Be on your best behavior." But in the animal world, rudeness sometimes rules the day!

Scarlet kingsnakes lie; they pretend to be venomous coral snakes to scare off predators. And hippos make a mess; they spray waste to defend their territories. For these animals and many others, being rude can be a matter of survival. Author and science educator Jessica Fries-Gaither introduces seven human behavior rules and the animals that break them!

Opening Lines:

You've heard grown ups say it again and again.

Mind your manners.

Be polite.

Be on your best behavior.

And that's important - for us humans.

But for some animals, bad manners

are a way of life.

What I LIKED about this book:

Within the framework of the traditional manners children are expected to model, Jessica Fries-Gaither exposes a list of animals who boldly break these rules.

Internal spread - on the right, parents and child sitting at the kitchen table eating a meal.

Using vivid, eye-catching photographs, Jessica Fries-Gaither presents 20 examples that are fascinating, humorous, and sometimes extremely gross or gruesome of animals who reject the rules. Starting with - "Always tell the truth" - readers discover animals who deceive, with coloring or by faking their death (Eastern Hognose Snake) in order to survive and others who lie to get a meal (the female Photuris firefly). For each animal, succinct text combines with descriptive side bar information to appeal to a range of readers.

Internal spread - on the left, a female firefly sucks the blood out of a male On the right, a snake lies, belly up, mouth open, tongue dangling pretending to be dead.

Numerous animals don't "play fair," like crows faking danger calls to scare other crows away from food. And some even take things that aren't theirs, like chip-strap penguins or devious bower birds. I like the placement of the rule in a speech bubble attributed to parents or grownups with a short introduction to the next list of animals, "But some animals have sticky beaks and paws." So, what do you think? Ever seen a cuter thief?

Internal spread - on the right, penguin stealing a rock from another penguin's nest, as two others rest on the snow.

Two groups of animals are more gross and gruesome, featuring a number with terrible hygiene (poop tossing hippos) and a collection of parasitic animals (tongue-eating louse)! The fascinating facts almost make up for the bewitching, chill-inducing photos which definitely capture the reader's attention. Look back at the image in the interview. The ending distinguishes between human "rudeness" and animal survival. The back matter delves further into the known and unknown reasons for animal behavior, encourages readers to join ethologists in figuring it out, and offers further reading and websites. With a touch of humor, it's an engaging look at some "rude" animals.

Resources:

make a flashlight firefly, a paper plate snake, and a rocking penguin.
can you think of other rules you have been told that animals break? Or, maybe some rules that animals follow? What do you find most fascinating about these animals?

which was your favorite animal in the book? Why?

pair this with Extremely Gross Animals: Stinky, Slimy and Strange Animal Adaptations? by Claire Eamer, Gross as a Snot Otter by Jess Keating, and Ick!: Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses by Melissa Stewart, if you need a bit more disgustingly fascinating animals.