Eliana Miao is the author of the new children's picture book The Brave Fuzzy: A Microbiome Story. She is a high school senior and is the executive director of the nonprofit group Pen & Pipette, which was involved in the creation of the book.
Q: What inspired you to write The Brave Fuzzy?
A: When I was 9, I was diagnosed with vitiligo, an autoimmune disease that attacks my melanocytes and turns spots of my skin white. I remember being overwhelmed, hearing so many different opinions from doctors on how to “fix” my spots. I tried a lot of different medicines and treatments, including drinking this disgusting probiotic drink.
The spots got worse, but imagining my immune cells as little creatures in my body helped give me peace. At the same time, learning more about vitiligo and my immune system made me super interested in the human body.
That combination of story and science gave me hope. I wanted to share that feeling with kids. So, I decided to write a picture book about science. But unlike typical science books for kids that focus just on the science, I wanted a picture book with a story that could stand on its own. As a 9th grader, I was imagining the type of book I wish I had growing up.
Q: What do you think Johanna Gousset’s illustrations add to the book?
A: Our team browsed art on Instagram to look for illustrators. We always wanted a whimsical, gentle watercolor style that we thought would appeal to both kids and adults. We were really excited when we found Johanna’s previous work and even more excited when she said yes to working with us.
Her illustrations bring the characters in our book–the fuzzies–to life. She gave them such human-like emotions which we think kids really identify with. We also love the expansive backgrounds she created. They make the world feel so alive, and there are some small hints that this world could take place inside our bodies.
Q: Tell us about your literary nonprofit, Pen & Pipette.
A: The first book I authored was an illustrated science book about electric cars that I co-wrote with my twin brother. We won a National Indie Excellence Award which brought us to the American Library Association conference in San Diego.
At the conference, I pitched all the children’s book publishers I could find about my idea for a picture book about science. But all I received were rejections.
So I decided to create my own nonprofit to publish this book. But rather than doing it alone, I talked with friends at school and we started Pen & Pipette together, eventually recruiting an initial team of 22 girls.
By creating the book as a team, we were able to have so many different perspectives. Each perspective made our book stronger.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: We hope young readers learn that it just takes one brave person to reach out to someone lonely to make a difference. And if they are lonely and feel different themselves to hang in there, because their difference is what makes them special.
We also hope that the book also sparks a passion for science in some kids and a desire to eat different foods to better feed the fuzzies in their own microbiomes.
It was fun to write a book with so many different takeaways!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: We’ve been spending a lot of time preparing for and giving book talks. Earlier this month, some of us returned to our old elementary school, El Carmelo, to give a whole school book talk.
Being teens, we were able to connect with the kids through fun, silly moments, as well as teach them about science and the writing process. Our old teachers said that kids paid attention to our book talk more than any other!
The leaders of Pen & Pipette are all high school seniors right now, so we’re busy working on our college applications! But we also have a lot of younger members who are excited to start a new book. I think we’ll start brainstorming a new book idea next month.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: We’ve been getting a lot of interest from schools about giving book talks. Our hope is that we can recruit more high school students from around the country who love books and science as much as we do.
We would teach them about how to give a book talk on The Brave Fuzzy so they can give in-person book talks at their schools and libraries, too. They can learn more at TheBraveFuzzy.com!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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