BookWorthy Chat with Amanda Cleary Eastep

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Valerie -Welcome to Bookworthy. Today we're talking with Amanda Cleary -Eastup, the author of the Tree Street Kids series, whose fifth book in the series, The Beastie of Brambly Bald, will be coming to bookshelves this October. Welcome to Bookworthy, Amanda.

Amanda - Hi Valerie, nice to see you again.

Valerie -Glad to have you here. It's been a while since we chatted on my Instagram interview series. So it's good to have you back over here. Well, since this year you went on a trip to India, I thought that we would have our random question of the week be, what's the first thing you do when you get home from a trip?

Amanda -Oh, the first thing, especially from a big trip like that overseas that I do besides collapse from jet lag is plan on when I'm going back.

Valerie -I know it's hard to leave after such an immersive experience, no doubt.

Amanda -Yes, absolutely. And just really connecting with such amazing people and then the food and yeah, just the whole experience just kind of soaked into my pores, I guess. It just was, I felt like I brought India home with me in lots of ways. So yeah, it was hard to leave.

Valerie-What inspired you to make a trip to India?

Amanda -Well, my husband was, he lived there for over 10 years, way back when, and was a missionary there for about 14 years. And then really a missionary for over 20 in other places as well. But a lot of, he had a lot of friendships there and really he wanted to connect again with people. And I, I had, he and I had been talking about going back for about 15 years. So we went with my younger daughter, my younger grown daughter, and the three of us went and it was an incredible trip. And he got to teach at a youth with a mission school. And yeah, it was just really a wonderful, wonderful time.

Valerie -Very neat. Was there any particular group that you guys went with or just hanging out with people that you have met before?

Amanda -No, we just went, the three of us, and we went to the city of Bangalore in Karnataka state, and which is, it's more called Bengaluru now, but we stayed with friends and just, yeah, reconnected with a, he reconnected with a lot of people. I met a lot of people for the first time and took a lot of auto rickshaws, which was kind of a crazy experience. I ate a lot of amazing homemade food and yeah, just kind of tried to learn while I was there.

Valerie -Yeah, it's an amazing culture, an amazing place. I've had friends travel there to go on mission trips there and it just seems like a whole other world in a good way.

Amanda -Right, right, right. It is very different. There's, it's, there's a lot of, I would say, hard things. There are a lot of things that, that are, that you'll experience in a country like that, that you wouldn't be used to here. There is definitely a culture shock. And so my husband was a little concerned about me before we left, but I loved, I loved it. I loved all of it. So I'm excited to go back.

Valerie -So fun. Well, in Jack's latest adventure, the Beastie of Brambly Bald, he goes on a trip also. Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind this fifth book in the series?

Amanda -Yeah, so it was probably around the second or third book. I get some opportunities sometimes to talk to some of my young readers, and the books are for kids eight to 12. And so I had asked, oh, what would you like to see happen in another Tree Street Kids book? And I did have a couple of kids say to me they would love for Jack and his friends to go on a trip. And I had been kind of thinking of that. I moved to North Carolina, my husband and I moved here about two and a half years ago or so, and I thought it would be really fun to write about my new home and bring Jack and his friends here for like a Thanksgiving celebration. So he'll be traveling to North Carolina, to Western North Carolina, to the mountains to have Thanksgiving with his maternal grandparents.

Valerie -I have enjoyed both following you on social media and reading through the Tree Street Kids books, because there is a lot of your journey and Jack's journey that match up a lot, except he moved into the city and you moved out of the city. And just, it's been interesting to watch your journey and how that has influenced Jack's journey as well. Now, with all of the books that I've read, Jack's friends heading to North Carolina. What, I guess, are they going to experience when they get there? Hopefully no spoilers.

Amanda -Well, yeah, I'll try to not have the spoilers. So there were a couple of things I wanted to draw on. Some with and with every book that I've all of the Tree Street Kids books, I there's something that and I don't necessarily set out with like, oh, I'm going to have this theme or this lesson I'm going to teach. But certain things just come to me, something that might be. Just on my heart that I feel is important. For instance, the first book, was kind of weathering the storms of life, moving, those kinds of things that all of us have experienced and are really hard on us when we're kids. So with this one, it's about family dynamics and some of those, when family dynamics are a little tense. So there's nothing super heavy in any.

Of the books in particular, but I do touch on certain subjects. So this one is about, family dynamics, and then what does it look like to have like a bigger family tree when we're Christians? Who's part of our family? So there's that and then I thought it would be fun to because I love to be outside so I always take the kids out into the woods or into you know different into they're always in creeks or something like that having adventures outside and with being in North Carolina, there's also that folklore of Bigfoot or Sasquatch. And so I touch on that a little bit. That's kind of a fun element of the story as well.

Valerie -Very fun. I think kids really enjoy that mystery and, um, I don't know, once they get to that, you know, eight to 12 range, they like mythology and what is real, what is not real and trying to explore those things. And I think that that makes, um, really good middle-grade books is that you're tying into those natural curiosities that that age group has. And I love how you've, um, throughout the books, done, you know, Ellison's bookmarks and Midge's phenomenal facts and Roger's riveting history to kind of break up the story a little bit, but also just engage kids' minds. What was your, I guess, inspiration, or how did you find yourself being so able to captivate that age range so well? I don't know, I just feel like you do a really good job of seeing them.

Amanda -Oh, well, thanks. I love what Madeleine L 'Angle said, and I've talked about this at different times, I've written about it, but it really stuck with me. She had written at one point that we are every age we've ever been. And so even though we age and we grow up physically and hopefully emotionally and mentally, I think we can stay in touch with that part of

Ourselves. And my kids have helped me do that even as they've grown up. We love play. We love to laugh. We love to explore. We like to learn new things. So I think those aspects of that eight to 12 year12-year age range, when you're like you said when you're kind of exploring, you're trying to figure things out. I still feel like I'm always doing that even at the age I am now. So, I can connect to that part of me still, and I'm very curious. I love to get down in the garden and I'm like, oh, look at this crazy bug or what's that bird I hear? Or that curiosity. And I think that's really important for writers, especially children's writers, to stay in touch with that part of themselves.

Valerie -I agree. I think it's really fun too, with our culture being so screen-centered and instant gratification, we kind of lose that curiosity a lot. And it's been a lot of fun raising my boys that I'm thrilled to dig in the dirt and pull out garden garter snakes and to be like, Hey, look here and see them run and scatter. And it's just, it's like they have this picture of, your mom doesn't touch bugs and like, I'm like, I'm in the dirt and I will throw it at you. And so it's been fun to embrace that curiosity. Cause I think that that, I don't know, that really does speak to our hearts, no matter our age. It's just that ability to explore our world. And I think that's something natural in all of us that we hopefully don't grow out of.

Amanda -I think we have to be careful too, especially when we're writing for kids, is to not, I think to put that first, that playfulness first, the humor, the curiosity, without, I think our number one agenda item should not be, well, I'm going to teach you a lesson, young reader. So I think when we start with playfulness, we start with our curiosity. And then those other things are also important. If we have like, like I use a foundational Bible verse in my stories and that kind of guides me, guides my storyline, those kinds of things. And sometimes it'll be overt in the book, but not always. And I think that's a way that we can meld, more easily meld our faith. But that story can't take a second place to it. The story has to be important too and that playfulness and humor. If I'm not having fun, for sure the kids aren't going to have fun reading it.

Valerie -I think kids pick up very quickly when they're being lectured to in a fiction book and they're like, I'm done. They're not interested anymore. They know they don't want to read to be taught something. They want to read to explore and try new things without having to go do it. And I think that that's a delightful kind of motto you have for your books is that it does engage kids where they're at and just kind of along the way, just as they are learning along the way that your characters do the same, that they kind of learn friendship and how to handle bullies and dealing with loss and just all those things that kids are experiencing and we experience as kids too. But, we hopefully found some books that helped us. I can't remember all of them, but some of them did.

Amanda -Yeah, and you're exactly right. And as my characters are learning, I'm learning so much as I'm writing. I'm kind of being reminded of certain lessons, like about friendship or family dynamics. But I'm also, you mentioned all the fun facts I include in the books, and I love to research things. My elder daughter has a degree in environmental biology, and she and I are always you know, going back with, hey, did you know that, you know, how long the gestation period of a, you know, the shark is, or, you know, those kinds of things. And so the fun facts are genuinely fun to research. And I'm very, because I'm also a book editor, I'm very particular about my sources and citing those things and making sure things that I do share in the fun facts, whether it's science or something about literature or history. I try to be very careful with my sources and making make sure that's as accurate as I can get it.

 Valerie -It's a lot of fun. And you know, you introduce a lot of unique words because I know Midge, Jack's little sister is really into, you know, nature and all the things. And it allows kids again to explore their curiosity to be like, oh, this is what this word means. I wonder what more I could do. I just, love that your books do just spur that creativity forward and, working together as a team, like their little bookmobile and one of the books and just, I don't know. It's one of those I was in growing up in the nineties, which I think is kind of the timeframe of this and riding my bike and living on Peach Tree Lane. I feel very connected to these tree street kids.

Amanda -Oh, it's funny. I'm very much a tree street kid.

Valerie -I will wear my badge with pride. But no, it's just been really sweet as going back to my memories. Like, yeah, this is how I lived my middle-grade years I was riding my bike to my friend's house. We were exploring the creeks. We were doing those things. And it's been fun for me to walk down memory lane a little bit too. Well, with this newest book, book five, you said kind of one of the main themes is family dynamics. What do you hope kids walk away from with this book?

Amanda -I think that I first always want the kids to have fun, laugh, and then on a little bit deeper level, have a sense of empowerment or hope. So the stories really invite the kids in. I think the group of kids is approachable and I want the readers to feel invited into that little group and then they can kind of explore things like, oh, how do I feel about my move from my home or how do I feel about having to try to make new friends and they can kind of explore all those feelings in a safe place. So with this book, there is that little bit of tension and the kids even ask their parents, well, why don't we always see these grandparents or why don't we visit or and they'll experience a little bit of that because every family has those tensions. And so, and sometimes kids don't notice, but sometimes they do and they're not always sure how to process. Well, why doesn't Mom really talk to Grandma that much? And I don't think we have to answer that necessarily in detail, but just acknowledge it and say, I like my characters, especially Jack and Midge have a lot of conversations with their parents and they're

Not always long drawn out, you know, well, let me explain this to you son and daughter, but there's just kind of those natural conversations that young kids try to have with their parents and questions they ask. So I explored those a little bit. So I just want kids to always feel like, hey, lots of people experience these different things. And you can process the things that are happening in your life even while you're reading this fictional story.

Valerie -Yeah, like you had said, all families are different and there is such a, whether your family lives in the same town as you or lives somewhere else, there is just that awkwardness of understanding how relationships work. And I think as kids are entering that middle-grade range, they're still trying to figure out how to have relationships because, before that, it's pretty much. If you're sitting next to me at lunch, you're my friend. Hey, look, you're wearing green. I'm wearing green. We're best buddies. And so there is that awkwardness of that eight to 12 range where they're like, what are relationships? What does this look like? And to allow kids to see that relationships can be tricky can be hard, but you can still love the person well even if you don't agree on all topics. And I think those are great tools to provide our kids in this day and age where there are a lot of people that have lots of different opinions, lots of different things to say, and to be able to say, we can, you know, respect each other and still have a different opinion. And I think that's something that's kind of been lost in the last, eh, so years, how many years that is. So I love that you're bringing that to the forefront in your book. So, what is one of your favorite books?

Amanda -Hmm adult books or children's books?

Valerie -Whichever you like.

 Amanda- Well, the first one that pops into my head and it's it's actually a Favorite of three generations my elder daughter and also my mother is To Kill a Mockingbird So that's one of my favorite books probably more of that kind of life-changing book. And then as far as

What you would consider children's literature, although I think every grownup should read it too, is A Wrinkle in Time. And A Wrinkle in Time, and probably also Align with the Witch and the Wardrobe, those books made me want to write children's books even when I was a child. Not just be a writer, but write children's books. And they both, especially C .S. Lewis's books, really, kind of enhanced my faith through the fiction. And I really, can't say I knew it consciously at the time, but I did a little bit later. But what I really loved about To Kill a Mockingbird was that Harper Lee is writing from, it's an adult narrator, but she's kind of still writing from the perspective of a child. And she's writing through the perspective of Scout. And Scout and her brother and, and, you know, just Jem and, and just kind of writing from their perspectives. And it's just really beautiful. There's that innocence about it, but she's also got the knowledge and the wisdom of an adult. And I just think she does it so beautifully. And so, yeah, I just, I loved that book when I first read it and just one of those books that stick with you forever, I think, you know.

Valerie -I think that's the beauty of To Kill a Mockingbird is that it is through a Scouts perspective that she's seen all these hard, very unexplainable things for a, I think she's like eight or nine or I can't remember exactly how old she is, but I mean young and still having to deal with understanding relationships, different points of view and just the racial tensions that we're in that setting as well and to have an eight-year-old give or take to see that, to be confused by it and to have to try to understand their world. And that's, I think that's definitely what's powerful about that book for sure. And then I'm a C .S. Lewis fan. So I love how, you know, in fantasy and in fiction, you can still hold on to anchors of truth and be reminded that what we're all searching for is that hope in the Lord and that we have a purpose and a plan in this world. Right. So I love those books too. Now, if I remember from our conversation a couple of years back, did you have a signed copy of Madeline Ingalls's book?

Recommended Reading: Again and Again Review- (valeriefentress.com) 

Amanda -Yes, yeah, I do. And it's still my childhood copy, which was kind of cool. So I, yeah, it was A Wrinkle in Time and I was in my, I guess it was in my thirties and going through a really hard time in my life. And I thought, wow, she's, she's still alive. And I kind of guessed it where I knew she was working out East. And I, I thought, you know what, I'm just going to take a

chance and pop my childhood copy of this book into the mail, hope it reaches her. I wrote her a thank you letter for everything the book had meant to me. And so she wrote, she sent it back and she had signed it. And she signed some books like this, but it's Tesser Well. So tessering is this mode of traveling through wrinkles and time. And so it's kind of fun because, every time I'm going out to work on my book and I'm especially stressed or something like that, my husband will always say, Tess or well, Amanda, Tess or well. Okay, I will. I won't lose heart. I will Tessel well.

Valerie -I love how, you know, it's a good reminder as an author to remember how much impact we have in our writing too. And to be, I don't know, just to be like, oh, wow, this isn't just words on a page. Because sometimes it's, it feels like, can I just get the words on the

page? But it does, they really have power and impact us many years, no matter how, but if the book is for children or for adults, it's kind of like, that's what I love so much about books is that they just sit with you for so long. Now, Amanda, what can we expect next from you?

Amanda -Well, I will. So, Book 5 comes out in the fall and then right after, well, pretty soon I'll be working because it's a long process, as you know, and I'll be working on edits to Book 5 and I'm working with Aiden Peterson, who is our illustrator again. So he's finishing up the cover art and the interior illustrations, which is a really fun process. And then after that, after that book is, you know, under control, I will start on book six. And I don't have a title for that yet, but book six will come out in 2025. And that'll be, that'll happen around Christmas time. So I'm really taking the kids through a year of Jack's life. And so we have Thanksgiving in book five, and then book six will be Christmas and then I'm really hoping and praying that I get to take these kids to India. I'm really hoping for that, so we'll see.

Valerie – I know that that trip has really impacted you and your family and I would love to see how Jack could handle something like that. Too fun. Well, where can people find out more about you and your books, Amanda?

Amanda -Well, www.treestreetkids.com has information about me, how to sign up for my newsletter, and some great, fun facts and all the books are available as free printables on at treestreetkids.com. So, you could, if you read the books, those are available to print and cut out. Even if you don't read the books and you just want some fun facts, those are available for free. And then there's also a YouVersion devotional on the website that is based on book one, Jack vs. a Tornado.

Valerie -Very neat. We'll make sure to have those links in the description so people can find you and all the fun that you've been doing with the Tree Street Kids. Amanda, thank you so much for joining us today.

Amanda -Oh, thanks, Valerie. It was really fun.

Valerie -My pleasure and thank you for joining Amanda and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links we discussed and let us know in the comments what's the first thing you do when you get home from a trip. Be sure to like and subscribe to discover more great books together.

Happy reading!