The Picture Book Buzz - June 2026 Interview with STEAM Team Books Member

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 an author from 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 this delightful book and its fascinating creative.

"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.

Welcome Colleen Paeff,

Thank you, Maria, for inviting me to speak with you and your readers.

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.)

Colleen Paeff - Pufflings Fly Free!: A Rescue Tale from Iceland (Margaret K. McElderry Books 6/9/2026) – I’d been writing off and on for many years when my daughter left home for the first time. Before that, we were homeschooling, and suddenly, when she left, I had time to focus on what I wanted my next chapter to look like. That was when I got serious about becoming a published children’s book author. The first story I ever wrote was a fictional picture book. I assumed fiction would be my thing, but my natural curiosity led me to start writing nonfiction/informational fiction, and I just never looked back. I think I lean towards STEAM topics because that’s where my interests lie. Technically, my books are for kids, but the truth is, I definitely write them for myself – as a way to learn more about something that intrigues me. (Here, I feel I must add that it was not an interest in poop that led me to write The Great Stink. Haha! It was the engineering of the sewer system that fascinated me, but I did become very interested in wastewater treatment as I did my research and I highly recommend a field trip to your local wastewater treatment plant!)

[Author of Firefly Song: Lynn Frierson Faust and the Great Smoky Mountain Discovery, illustrated by Ji-Hyuk Kim (2025) and The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (2021).]

What has been the most interesting or odd experience (you’re willing to share) of your children’s literature career so far?

© Colleen Paeff

As part of my research for Pufflings Fly Free! I went to Iceland and rescued pufflings! It was terrific because two local women, Berglind and Sandra, took me and my husband out on puffling patrol. They picked us up at 11pm and we drove around rescuing birds until 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning. They showed us where to look for the birds, how to capture them, how to keep them safe overnight, and how to release them. (You can watch a video of my experience here.) Everything that’s in the book either came out of that trip or is based on stories the locals shared with me.

That sounds like it was an amazing trip! You look so excited to be holding that little puffling. Now that we know a little more about you, what sparked your interest and caused you to write Pufflings Fly Free!: A Rescue Tale from Iceland (Margaret K. McElderry Books 6/9/2026)?

A friend of mine sent me a Smithsonian Magazine article about the puffling patrol and I could tell right away that it was the perfect subject for a picture book. I was working on other things at the time, so I shelved the idea for a few months, but then during a conversation with my agent, Lori Steel, I mentioned the idea and she loved it so much that I started planning a trip to Iceland as soon as we got off the phone.

Wow! Is there anything special you want your readers to know about Pufflings Fly Free! ?

Text © Colleen Paeff, 2026. Image © Linda Ólafsdóttir, 2026.

Kids in the Westman Islands are giving nature a helping hand and no matter where readers live, there’s an opportunity for them to do the same. Check out Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots website for ideas.

This is such a cool project for kids to be involved with and directly make an immediate difference. I love the end pages and the fun twist on the back one! What was the hardest, or most challenging, part of writing or researching Pufflings Fly Free! ? Was there a bit of your research you didn’t get to include?

If I had to choose a challenge, I guess I’d say it was finding the right voice for this story. I started off with a real voice-y narrator that I absolutely loved, but she wasn’t quite right for this particular book. Hopefully, she’ll turn up in another one, though!

Otherwise, this book came together like a dream. I was lucky enough to have secured a residency at Milkwood the week after I was in Iceland for my research trip, so I went right from researching to writing in the most beautiful, inspiring place imaginable with absolutely no distractions. I’m a slow writer so it can take years to get from idea to polished manuscript, but Pufflings Fly Free! was finished and sold (to my Great Stink and Firefly Song editor) in less than eight months.

Amazing! I've wanted to visit Milkwood; it's such an amazing place created by Sophie Blackall and Ed Schmidt for kidlit creatives. Are there any upcoming projects that you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?

Yes! I have another book coming out in January! I’m super excited about this one because it’s had the longest road to publication of any of my books and I cannot wait for it to be out in the world. The book is called Rainbow Truck and it tells the story of a Pakistani decorated truck as she drives through Pakistan making deliveries and trying to figure out what her Very Important Job is.

I first started writing it as a nonfiction story about decorated vehicles around the world, but then I fell in love with the Pakistani trucks and decided to focus on them. During my research process, I had the great good fortune to meet Hina Abidi, who started out as a resource (she grew up in Pakistan and is very familiar with Pakistani truck art) and became my co-author. Together, we took the book from straight nonfiction to informational fiction. It’s a heart-warming story that has robust back matter and very stylized (and gorgeous!) illustrations by Saffa Khan, who also illustrated Hena Khan’s wonderful book, Like the Moon Loves the Sky.

Last question, who is your STEAM hero or heroine, living or dead (scientist, naturalist, author, teacher, etc.)? Why?

My STEAM heroine is Lynn Frierson Faust, the subject of my book Firefly Song. She is one of the kindest people you could ever meet and is always happy to share her knowledge about fireflies (or anything!) with anyone, of any age, who shows an interest. Lynn wasn’t a trained biologist when she first started paying close attention to fireflies, but with curiosity, persistence, and a lot of hard work, she showed the scientific community that she was right about the fireflies she watched every summer ­– they were indeed synchronous. She started out doing research with two trained scientists to prove her theory, then went on to become a firefly expert in her own right. She wrote a field guide to North American fireflies (which I highly recommend to anyone who lives in firefly – or lightning bug – country) and now she travels the world and consults with film crews and meets with other insect experts, but she always finds time during the summer to go back to the Smokies to watch the synchronous fireflies put on their show.

NOW, let me take a moment to introduce you to this amazing STEAM book!

Pufflings Fly Free!: A Rescue Tale from Iceland by Colleen Paeff, illustrated by Linda Ólafsdóttir (Margaret K. McElderry Books 6/9/2026) – This great informational fiction wraps the details of the Puffling Patrol - a community event where Icelandic children, adults, and scientists rescue wayward Atlantic pufflings who fledge onto land instead of the ocean - into a fun fictional nighttime family adventure. The youngest child, Freya, desperately wants to rescue a puffling on her own. Although she assists in spotting and hemming in pufflings with her siblings, a combination of nips, scratches, and fumbling fingers continue to frustrate her individual success, until a safe rescue rests entirely upon her. This heart-warming, stunningly illustrated story of self-confidence, persistence, community, and citizen science includes engaging back matter on the Puffling Patrol and the life cycle of Atlantic puffins.

Synopsis: From Sibert Honoree Colleen Paeff comes a quietly powerful picture book about one young girl’s courageous mission to save a baby puffin, or puffling, with the support of her community on the Icelandic Westman Islands, exploring themes of environmental conservation, animals, family traditions, and girls in science.

While most of the world sleeps, Freya and her family embark on a late-night rescue mission like no other. On Iceland’s Westman Islands, families gather at midnight to save lost baby puffins, or pufflings, guiding them safely back to the sea.

Freya has always dreamed of rescuing a puffling on her own, just like her older siblings. But every time she tries, the tiny birds slip through her fingers—beaks nip, claws scratch, and they escape.

When one puffling tumbles into the deep clamshell bucket of an excavator, out of reach from everyone else, Freya is faced with a choice. With her family ready to head home, she must find the courage to climb in and save the little bird—all by herself.

This fictional story is based on the Puffling Patrol, a real rescue that takes place every year on the Westman Islands of Iceland. Both the author and illustrator joined the Puffling Patrol and rescued birds themselves.

Thank you for giving us a little peek into yourself and your new book. Wishing you enormous success with your upcoming projects.

Thank YOU! It’s been such a pleasure to chat with you.

To find out more about Colleen Paeff, or to contact her:

Colleen Paeff - Pufflings Fly Free!: A Rescue Tale from Iceland (Margaret K. McElderry Books 6/9/2026) –

Website: https://www.colleenpaeff.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colleen.paeff

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

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/colleenpaeff.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/colleenpaeff/