Amanda Cleary Eastep

CHILDREN'S AUTHOR INTERVIEW

The stories our children hear and read play a key role in shaping them. Amanda Cleary Eastep advocates parents wisely determine the books their kids read because literature forms the moral imagination of children. 

Moral imagination is when one can see the options in a given situation, sort through right and wrong, and act with an understanding of how it impacts others.

Fiction combines emotion and intellect together and molds the moral imagination of kids in the process. This pairing enables young readers to imagine themselves in the shoes of the characters. Through quality storytelling like this, kids learn something is possible even if they have never experienced it. They are also instructed on what is right and good through the stories they read.

In Amanda's writing, she creates stories grounded in biblical truth that invites kids to ask whether they too could respond like the characters depicted on the page. 

Amanda writes Christian middle grade fiction (ages 8–12). Lions to the Rescue! and Mystery in Crooked Creek Woods are her latest two books in the Tree Street Kids series released this past summer. And if you're familiar with the Sugar Creek Gang series, this is Moody's step toward providing an updated book series for young readers.

Let's jump into the interview with Amanda to learn more about her and tap into her wisdom.

1) Which children's book has most impacted you? Why?

I’m a child of the ’70s, and we didn’t have nearly the diversity of books (both in authors and genres) that we see today, so this answer won’t come as a surprise to most people: A Wrinkle in Time and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, equally. Both were profound to the formation of my moral imagination. I mean that, by taking me to new worlds, these stories opened my heart on a different level to God, creation, and good and evil. I felt God’s presence everywhere, especially on dark and stormy nights, and I understood I had a place in a great battle. The very real “magic” of those books has never left me.

2) What do you love about writing for kids?
They are precious beings. What we tell them, teach them, write for them can become a kind of script for their lives. Writing books for kids is a glorious and terrible responsibility; it’s also incredibly fun. Writing for children is like sitting on the floor to build with LEGO blocks or kneeling in the dirt to dig for treasure. After the actual writing, what I love most is when a reader of one of the Tree Street Kids books tells me that Jack Finch had the exact same experience they had or that Midge made them laugh or that the end of the book made them cry. (I don’t try to make them cry, but it is a sign the story resonated!) I’d add that I also love collaborating with illustrators. The incredibly talented (and patient!) illustrator for the Tree Street Kids books is Aedan Peterson, who also illustrated Pembrick’s Creaturepedia (Wingfeather Saga) and The Story of God with Us.

3) What is it about middle grade fiction that most sparks your interest?
The 8-12 age range is an interesting and important one. Kids are out of the baby/toddler years but haven’t encountered the same challenges or experiences of the teen years. Kids, for the most part, still get to be kids but now with a deeper level of awareness of themselves, others, and the wider world. This is a wonderful time for dreaming and adventure, for the imagination to flourish. Good middle grade fiction can feed this while at the same time broaching the real-life challenges kids face and pointing them ultimately toward hope.

4) What do you hope readers take away from your Tree Street Kids book series?
Here’s the quick list: Fun, hope, inspiration, and encouragement, plus some fascinating facts. (Did you know the tongue of a bowhead whale weighs about as much as a compact car?!) I want readers, on a more subconscious level, to simply experience the joy of story and the tending of their moral imagination, i.e., entering into a character’s experience and then asking themselves what choice they would make in that same situation.

5) What is a key way your first book, Jack vs. the Tornado, changed from the first draft to its final draft?
For the first book in the series, I had written a detailed synopsis and fairly detailed outline. The biggest change to the story came in the first chapter (and has remained throughout the series): the addition of Henrietta, Jack’s pet chicken. My editor, Marianne Hering, suggested I give Jack a pet, so the amazing, tornado-and-nugget proof bird was born, and she’s remained a favorite of readers.

6) As a developmental editor and kids author, what advice would you give parents as they help kids select good literature to read?
Today, age ranges in publishing categories are even less of a boundary line than they used to be when it comes to what may be deemed appropriate for young readers. Reading every book before a child does isn’t possible, so here are five ways parents can help curate the books their children read:

1. Seek book recommendations from friends and families whose values align with yours. Even then, ask specific questions to help you decide if a book is right for your individual child. Ask: What did your child enjoy most about the book? What did you like/not like about the book? What made your child/you choose the book? Would you read more books by this author? Why or why not? (Specific questions can also help you avoid having TOO many good books to read…but what a wonderful problem to have!)

2. Research and regularly check trusted book recommendation websites. One of my favorites is redeemedreader.com. They review an excellent mix of general market and Christian children’s books in all genres and age ranges.

3. Stick with the authors you trust (and vet new ones). Many authors write more than one book. For instance, my series currently includes four titles for ages 8-12. You can get to know authors on their websites and social media platforms and, of course, by reading their books.

4. Stick with publishers you trust. This is easier to do with smaller publishers or imprints. Some Christian publishers, for instance, are under the umbrella of large publishing companies that publish all kinds of books. Moody Publishers (my publisher), though, is independent, and their books—both fiction and nonfiction, children and adult—all meet the same criteria. If you find an author or series you like, it’s possibly you’ll find similar authors/books from that same publisher.

5. Teach your children what qualities they should look for in the books they read. This isn’t unlike how you teach them to make other choices about entertainment, hobbies, and even friends. I’m not suggesting a stringent checklist, here. You also want to ensure that kids feel free to come to you with questions when they encounter words, illustrations, or topics in books they get from friends, school, gift givers, etc.

Be sure to keep an eye out for more author interviews! Swing by my blog on January 8th to meet the next author in this series. 

Also, mark your calendar to catch the first post in the Reaching the Lost family prayer guide series launching on January 15th!

AMANDA CLEARY EASTEP is not related to Beverly Cleary but wishes she were. She is, however, a children’s author, and the Tree Street Kids is her middle grade (8-12) series (Moody Publishers). When she is forced to act like an adult, she edits books by grownup authors. Amanda lives and writes in the mountains of North Carolina but has spent most of her life in the suburbs of Chicago where her characters live. Learn more about Amanda and the Tree Street Kids at treestreetkids.com. Follow her author antics on Instagram.

Amanda's books: