- Website/social media: http://www.carolinestarrrose.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CStarrRose
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolineStarrRose/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinestarrrose/
Tell me a little about yourself:
I’m a children’s author who lives in Albuquerque, NM. I’m the mom to two teenage boys, am a former teacher, and a pastor’s wife. I love to read, to run, and marvel at this gorgeous world we live in!
When you were my age, did you like to read?
I loved the Little House on the Prairie series and any book about Ramona Quimby. I also looked forward to reading a chapter of a Nancy Drew book with my mom each day after school.
What was your favorite story?
I loved thinking about Laura Ingalls Wilder as a young girl — how nervous she was when she went to school for the first time, how she traveled across the country in a covered wagon, how she lived in cabins and dugouts and houses her Pa had built, what it must have been like to grow up at a different time in history. I thought about Laura so much, I talked about her without using her last name. I’d tell my mom, “Laura did this” or “Laura did that,” and she’d think I was talking about someone in my class. Laura felt so real and so close that the fact she’d been born 106 years before me didn’t matter. She wasn’t just a girl from my story books. She was my friend.
What environmental book(s) do you recommend for kids?
Because I’m such a fan of poetry, I thought I’d share these picture book poetry collections with you:
- Forest Has a Song by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
- Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Kate Coombs
- Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman
- Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems by Joyce Sidman
How do you get your ideas?
Sometimes I have to work really hard for ideas to form, and other times they just come to me. Over in the Wetlands grew out of the years my family lived in Louisiana, from 2007-2010. I was fascinated by the animals and plants of this very unique part of the country and wanted to share them with readers everywhere. I was also surprised to learn about the loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. This was well-known throughout Louisiana and often discussed, but I’d never heard about it before moving there. I wanted to be sure the rest of the country understood how important wetlands are as ecosystems and how vital it is that we care for the ones that are threatened.
Why do you write about the environment for kids?
The world is a beautiful, amazing place. Everyday I find something to appreciate. I want to bring that same joy and appreciation to young readers.
Do you have a favorite among the books you have written/illustrated?
That’s a really hard question to answer! All my books hold a special place in my heart.
What author do you really like right now?
I think Kwame Alexander is incredible.
What advice do you have for a kid who wants to be an author?
Read and read and read and then read some more. Writer stories that matter to you. Stay curious! Ask questions! Wonder and enjoy.
