A young girl with a backpack. A toddler flies and wears underpants and a cape. Text, Read a palooza

Art © Dav Pilkey. CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS ™ (Captain Underpants); Art © Raina Telgemeier (Smile)

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Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza

How can you have an amazing adventure without leaving your home? Pick up a book! Join kids from around the country for the Scholastic Summer Read-a- Palooza. Your journey begins at Scholastic Home Base, where you’ll find free digital books, meet new friends, and more. To get started, click here.

To inspire you, we talked to three authors about what makes reading and writing such an adventure.

Courtesy of Netflix

The cast of The Baby-Sitters Club. The series will premiere on Netlfix.

Ann M. Martin

She’s the author of The Baby- Sitters Club series. The books have been popular since the first one was released in 1986.

Scholastic News: Where did you get the ideas for your characters’ babysitting adventures?

Ann M. Martin: Some were based on experiences my friends and I had when we were growing up. We did a lot of babysitting. In one book, the girls babysit for kids who decide to wash their parents’ car with scratchy Brillo pads. That happened to me once when I was babysitting. Paint was coming off the car!

SN: Why do you think your series has been so popular for more than 30 years?

AM: It wasn’t something that I expected! I think the characters are ones kids can relate to. Also, the themes are timeless. The books are about friendship, families, and school. These are themes that are still important to kids. 

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SN: The book series was just made into a Netflix show. How were you involved?

AM: Early on, I met with the show’s producers and writers. I was able to voice my opinion. Later, I got to go to a couple of days of filming. Then it was so much fun to watch the rough cuts of the shows. I can’t tell you how many times I laughed out loud.

SN: What’s your advice for kids who want to be writers?

AM: Be a reader! Familiarize yourself with all the different forms of writing: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, journalism. My second tip is to keep a journal. It will become a source of story starters for you.

Kwame Mbalia

He’s the author of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the story of a boy who must save a magical land from destruction.

Scholastic News: What inspired you to write Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky?

Kwame Mbalia: As a child, I had listened to a lot of [African American] folktales, like stories about Brer Rabbit and John Henry. I’d also heard stories from West Africa about gods like the spider Anansi. It was a dream of mine to bring these stories to a new generation— and possibly to an older generation who might not have heard them.

Photo Courtesy of Erik Wilkerson/Cover Courtesy of Disney Hyperion

SN: Tristan’s magical power is storytelling. Why did you give him that ability?

KM: Being a storyteller is such a creative power. I gave it to Tristan to show that there are different ways to be heroic. There’s a power in being able to convey lessons, about friendship and grief and being strong, in the form of a story. It makes us hold onto those lessons more than if we were just being lectured.

SN: You have three daughters [ages 5, 9, and 11]. What effect do they have on your writing?

KM: I put a lot of humor in my books. If I tell my girls something that I think is funny and they laugh, it goes into the book. If they don’t laugh, I know I have to go back to the drawing board.

SN: Why is it important for kids to read when they’re not in school?

KM: Reading helps you exercise the muscles of your imagination. Just like our bodies are always growing, our minds should always be growing too.

Jarrett J. Krosoczka

He wrote and illustrated the best-selling Lunch Lady series and several books in the Jedi Academy series.

Scholastic News: Did you always want to publish books?

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Jarrett J. Krosoczka: I did! In fact, what I do now is really just an extension of what I did as a kid. I’d come home from school, get out pieces of paper, and staple them together. I’d make my own books and comics.

SN: Many of your books are graphic novels. What is it like to create them?

JK: You try to find a balance. What part of the story will you tell with words? What part of the story will you tell with pictures? One of the things you have to think about is what you will put on that bottom right-hand panel before readers turn the page. You want to leave them hanging a little.

Scholastic Inc.

SN: What is the writing process like for you?

JK: Ideas can live in my head for months before I’m ready to write them down. But eventually everything clicks into place. It’s like fireworks! Then the words come onto the page very quickly.

SN: You’ve written five books in the Jedi Academy series. Are you a big Star Wars fan?

JK: I am now. But when I was a kid, I didn’t even see the movies! I watched them all in college. I tried to write the Jedi Academy books for kids who may not know a lot about Star Wars. But I put plenty of fun Star Wars stuff in there for fans.

1. Summarize the advice of Ann M. Martin and Kwame Mbalia have for kids.

2. Explain the inspiration behind the book Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky.

3. What does Jarrett J. Krosoczka mean when he says the writing process is like fireworks?

Close-Reading Questions

Click the Google Quiz button below to share these Close-Reading Questions with your class.

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