- 5 days ago
Q & A with Jeanne Walker Harvey
By Patricia J. Murphy |
June 9, 2025
Before Jeanne Walker Harvey realized her lifelong dream of writing children’s books, she had wide range of other interesting jobs, from roller coaster operator and middle school ELA teacher to software licensing attorney and museum docent. Today, she is the author of a growing list of acclaimed picture book biographies, including Else B. in the Sea: The Woman Who Painted the Wonders of the Deep; Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas, Dressing Up the Stars: Movie Costume Designer Edith Head; Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines; and My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey. Her latest title, The Glass Pyramid: The Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M. Pei, illustrated by Khoa Le, draws readers into the story of this Chinese American architect’s greatest creation. PW spoke with Walker Harvey about how she chooses STEAM subjects to explore in her books and school visits, and her hopes of inspiring readers to embrace their own creativity.
How did becoming a docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art help you on your path to writing your first picture book biography?
I got the idea for My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, while giving student tours. When we had a large exhibit of Bearden’s paintings brought to the museum by the National Gallery, I had a chance to see his work for the first time. I had never heard of him before, and I found his paintings truly amazing. The children in my tour groups also connected to his work immediately. Each of his paintings contained a story, often about his life. I chose to write his story in a style that would honor his passion for the blues and jazz. He always said that was the way he created his paintings. He would put a little something in the corner, and then something else in another corner to balance it and do a little give and take. It was my work at the SFMOMA, and a childhood of visiting museums and learning about art and artists with my mother, that would propel me on the path of writing about the inside stories of creative people. You could say it’s become my sweet spot.
You’ve followed your debut with picture book bios about artists, architects, and a fashion designer among others. For your latest book, what was it about the Louvre and architect I.M. Pei’s story that drew you in?
I first experienced an I.M. Pei building when I lived in Washington, D.C., for a summer and frequented the East Wing of the National Gallery. I loved the building’s clean lines and its enormous open entrance space with the site-specific Calder sculpture mobile. After some initial digging, I learned that Pei often said that he wanted museum spaces to be fun, inclusive, and welcoming so that people would want to stay and explore the art. Readers of my biography and visitors to the Louvre will discover that the museum’s East Wing, the glass pyramid, and the underground spaces at the Louvre that Pei designed certainly do that.
How did you find the through line of I.M. Pei’s story and choose to tell it the way you did?
As with each of my books, I like to tell the inside stories of people overcoming creative challenges. I started writing Pei’s story from many different perspectives and taking alternative approaches. First, I thought about writing in first person from the perspective of each building designed by Pei. But that didn’t work. And then, because I tried to convey the stories behind each building, I really dug into the creation of the glass pyramid and knew that was the story I wanted to write.
There was also a storyline of the discrimination that Pei experienced from the French people who did not want a Chinese American architect to work on the Louvre. All of these ideas jumped out at me, which I used to build the story.
And what also caught my attention was how Pei visited France in secret to study the museum and make his plans. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was even thinking about taking President Mitterrand’s offer of changing the Louvre or adding to it. His process was like a secret mission, and I knew that my readers would be drawn into the story this way. Fun fact: my editor, Kristie Choi, was a former private investigator, so she liked this idea!
You often tie in your book’s STEAM-related themes and concepts with author visits. What sort of things do you like to include in your programming?
I’m a huge proponent of STEAM connections because learning across curriculums and different ways of thinking is so much more engaging and enriching. I’ve always been comfortable around the topics of art and science. My parents were both chemists and my mom was a painter and a huge modern art lover and advocate for creativity. The Glass Pyramid has all sorts of STEAM connections—the math and engineering of solving construction problems, the chemistry of developing clear [instead of green- tinged] glass, the development of a special metal framework to connect the glass panes, and even the invention of a robot to clean the sloped glass walls.
At school visits, I share a STEAM art extension activity, in which I invite kids to turn a simple line drawing into a three-dimensional pyramid. We also talk about how they could make it taller or flatter, and how different shaped pyramids could be used in the real world.
The focus of my author visits is usually on the “stories behind the stories” that I have researched and written. I ask the students if any of them like secrets, and, of course, they all do! Oftentimes, I will share some secrets and insights about my books and show them little details that they wouldn’t otherwise notice. I also share the story behind my own story, and how my writing career began at the library. I tell them how I always wanted my name on a book cover, and how it took many years to become a published author. I tell them that over the years I have worn different hats. But, no matter what my job was, I was always writing because that's my passion.
Pei’s story checks off a lot of STEAM boxes for kids, parents, and teachers. These include critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and creating something beautiful that is functional. All of those aspects are quite evident when we look at Pei’s entrance to the museum. The pyramid doesn’t take away from the beauty of the existing and historical lines of the Louvre. And, it’s a perfect entrance that leads Louvre visitors down a spiral staircase to hallways that help guide them to the different parts of the museum. They no longer need to aimlessly wander like they did before these improvements were made. Pei would often say, “Success is a collection of problems solved.” This couldn’t be truer than with his glass pyramid.
What are your hopes for your growing list of books and your author visits and programs?
My hopes are that children will be inspired by these incredible creative people who have pursued their dreams and passions, often overcoming challenges or prejudices. I want to encourage children to pursue their dreams even if they run into difficulties and know that there are different ways of overcoming challenges. I.M. Pei was known to tap into his grandfather’s Confucian teachings to be patient, calm, and persevere. So that’s what he did.
I always end my programs with a slide that says, “You are creative!” I try to emphasize the many ways everyone can be creative, including by writing, drawing, acting, singing, dancing, doing math, architectural design and construction, cooking with new recipe ideas, playing sports, etc. Creativity is also how we approach problems and challenges, think of innovative solutions, and come up with new and exciting ideas. I love to see kids nodding in my school visits when I say these things. In a recent school visit, a kindergartner raised his hand and said, “I am creative; I am a problem solver.” It’s my hope that my readers and students in my programs all see themselves as creative people, too. Creativity has certainly helped me make my lifelong dream come true!
The Glass Pyramid: A Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M. Pei by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illus. by Khoa Le. Atheneum, $19.99 May ISBN 978-1-6659-5333-7
- 6 days ago
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Cameron Kids
pub. 4.1.2025
32 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Nydia Armendia-Sánchez
Illustrator: Loris Lora
Character: Frida Kahlo
Overview:
"Told through the language and imagery of the native Mexican flowers and plants comes the life of acclaimed and beloved artist Frida Kahlo. Like a flower, Frida blossomed, wilted, was crushed, survived, and thrived, growing into one of the most celebrated Indigenous painters.."
Tantalizing taste:
"Like a seed,
Frida sprouted
and burst through the earth
where
the coyotl once foraged.
Coyoacán was the place where Frida grew.
An orange tree
scented the air,
and
yucca, sunflowers, ferns,
roses, palms,
and geraniums
lined the walls,
green against indigo.
Frida bloomed
season after season,
reaching for the sky."
And something more: In the Author's Note, Nydia Armendia-Sánchez writes: "Before writing this book, I saw a picture of Frida wearing her flower crown, and I stopped for a moment. I thought to myself, "What if I were a little bold and a little brave every day, like Frida? Imagine all that I could be. I hope this book wiill empower YOU to fell a little braver and bolder, too."
Edited by the amazing Amy Novesky and designed by the talented Melissa Nelson Greenberg of Cameron Kids (Abrams) -- I can both of their touches in the lyrical beauty of the book.
- 6 days ago
A Book About Hans Christian Andersen
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Neal Porter Books
(Holiday House)
pub. 4.1.2025
32 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Brooke Boynton-Hughes
Character: Hans Christian Andersen
Overview:
" A century and a half have passed since Hans Christan Andersen’s death, but his stories are more alive than ever. Across languages, borders, and disciplines, his timeless creations have left a footprint beyond measuring. Now, come along back to the beginning and meet the human that came before the legend."
"Yolen traces via a single, lilting sentence the life of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), whose original stories are now considered cultural touchstones. (Publishers Weekly)."
Tantalizing taste:
"...he was a boy who became
a man, a digter – a poet,
who longed for love, but
settled for the friendships
of the high and the mighty,
a man whose stories
were on every tongue
in every tongue,
in places he had never traveled..."
And something more: The Back Matter explains that "Hans Christian Andersen was the son of a poor but literate father, a shoemaker, who read to him and took him to see plays. His illiterate mother, a washerwoman, could not read, but remembered all the folktales she had ever heard...He had so little education that he was frequently laughed at. One of the directors of the Royal Theatre gave him a grant to attend a nearby grammar school... All of the students were much younger than Hans by at least six years... he did well enough to finally go to Copenhagen University."
