S3 Ep 4: Writing "agents of chaos" and creating characters better than you are. Tara Dairman shares about writing her middle grade book, The Girl From Earth's End.
Have you ever been captivated by a book’s cover? The cover of Tara Dairman’s middle grade novel, The Girl From Earth’s End, is exactly one of those books. The cover is stunning and the more you look, the more you wonder.
And then you open the book and the pages are decorated with cute flowers-not only on the chapters but on each page.
The vibes are whimsical and we were ready for some whimsy!
As we read, did the whimsy continue? You bet it did. Listen to our latest interview with auhor, Tara Dairman, and hear all about the journey of The Girl From Earth’s End and where Tara is headed next.
You can listen to the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts. [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/read-to-write-kidlit-podcast/id1709210829] We also have transcripts available if listening is not for you. Note: Transcripts on Substack are only available in the web version, not the app.
We would love to hear what you thought of the book and our talk with the author.
Did you like our episode? Please give us a review and share it with your friends! Every little bit helps us grow.
Favorite lines:
* Alexis: “these notes were softer, swirlier. In concert, almost, with the waves rolling below, like he was trying to accompany the sea.”
* Brittany: “Flowers, her brain said first, because wasn’t she always surrounded by flowers?”
We would love to hear your favorite lines!
Further down in the description you can read more about the book, where to buy your own copy, and what we are doing next.
Music credits: Will Saulnier
Meet Tara Dairman
Tara Dairman writes middle-grade novels and picture books about kids with strong passions and big questions about the world. Tara’s books include The Girl from Earth’s End [https://taradairman.com/books/the-girl-from-earths-end/], the All Four Stars series [https://taradairman.com/books/the-all-four-stars-series/], The Great Hibernation [https://taradairman.com/books/the-great-hibernation/], Go, Baby, Go! [https://taradairman.com/books/go-baby-go/](illustrated by Olivia Amoah [https://www.oliviaamoah.com/]) and Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy [https://taradairman.com/books/desert-girl/] (illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan [https://archanasreenivasan.com/]). These titles have been named to best-of-the-year lists by A Mighty Girl, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and more. Tara has traveled to more than 90 countries, and now lives in Colorado.
“She/her” or “they/them” are great pronouns to use when referring to Tara. (from Tara’s website [https://taradairman.com/about/])
About The Girl From Earth’s End
by Tara Dairmanpublished by Candlewick Press on March 14, 2023ISBN: 978-1536224801cover art by Chantal Horeis [https://www.chantalhoreis.com/]ages 8 and up
☆ A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year [https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/best-middle-grade-2023-slj-best-books]
☆ A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year [https://s3.amazonaws.com/bankstreet-wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2024-BBL-Twelve-to-Fourteen-section-for-web-FINAL-revised-6-May-2024.pdf]
☆ A Judy Lopez Memorial Book Award Honor Book [https://judylopezaward.org/]
☆ A Junior Library Guild [https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/book/landing/detailedview?itemcode=9781536224801J&name=Girl_from_Earths_End] selection
☆ Starred reviews from School Library Journal [https://www.instagram.com/p/CnpiTY8Pwdn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link] and Publishers Weekly [https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781536224801]
☆ An Amazon Best Book of the Month [https://www.amazon.com/b?ref=r_ess_dp_epicks&node=17276808011] (ages 9-12)
☆ Finalist for the Colorado Book Award [https://www.instagram.com/p/C4wPSYOJI37/?img_index=1]
☆ 2024-25 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list [https://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/documents/GDBA_NominationList_2024_2025.pdf]
Gifted gardener Henna embarks from her island home to search for the plant that might save her papa’s life in this vibrant story of love, grief, and growth.
Twelve-year-old Henna loves living with her two papas and cultivating her beloved plants on the tiny island of Earth’s End—until Papa Niall grows seriously ill. Now Henna is determined to find a legendary, long-extinct plant with miraculous healing powers, even though the search means journeying all the way to St. Basil’s Conservatory, a botanical boarding school rumored to house seeds of every plant ever grown. At St. Basil’s, Henna is surrounded not only by incredible plants, but also, for the first time, by other kids—including her new roommates: wisecracking, genderfluid P, who gleefully bends every rule they come up against, and wealthy, distant Lora, who is tired of servants doing everything for her, from folding her clothes to pushing her wheelchair. But Henna’s search for the fabled healing seed means she doesn’t have time for friends, or so she thinks.
This tender tale, blossoming with moments of joy, is a story of hope, grief, and learning to flourish with a little help from those around you.
Other editions: Audiobook version by Recorded Books [https://rbmediaglobal.com/recorded-books/], narrated by Stacy Gonzalez [http://www.stacygonzalezvo.com/].
Description from Tara’s website [https://taradairman.com/books/the-girl-from-earths-end/].
Thanks for reading Read to Write Kidlit Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Looking ahead
February is quickly approaching and we are excited to share that we will have James Bird on our show to talk about writing No Place Like Home!
February’s read: No Place Like Home by James Bird [https://bookshop.org/p/books/no-place-like-home-james-bird/841d246400a4bf8b?ean=9781250877611&next=t]
Looking back
You want to know about another whimsical book we loved?
Brittany’s own middle grade novel, Rules to a Legacy, [https://bookshop.org/p/books/rules-to-a-legacy-brittany-saulnier/0f2737ff999608f7?ean=9798294862640&next=t] will scratch the whimsy-itch for sure!
Are you looking for some more plant love? But maybe with a sci-fi twist?
We also loved Moongarden by Michelle Barry! You can listen to our talk with Michelle in a previous episode [https://open.substack.com/pub/readtowritekidlit/p/s2-ep-8-the-lunch-room-is-still-hardeven?r=2mzgm9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web].
Read to Write Kidlit is a free resource for writers.
Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode!
Please consider supporting our work by sharing this newsletter with a friend.
On Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review so others can find us!
Thank you for your continued support.
Thanks for reading Read to Write Kidlit Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readtowritekidlit.substack.com [https://readtowritekidlit.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]
