Getting to write for kids is an honor, and I take it very seriously. I am so very proud of this book and the empathy, hope, resilience, and love that this story has to tell. Sometimes, ideas come to you fully formed and the characters alive and already speaking to you, and you don’t feel so much as you create them, but channel them. That’s TRUE NORTH. She’s a spitfire, a middle child, a girl with plans. And she wants you to go on an exciting journey with her. There’s a lot to deal with — a lockdown, an angry rooster, an even angrier grandma, a too-cool big sister, and a face-off with the school bully that doesn’t go quite as planned. But it’s not that dangerous! Really. Come on and join True on this quest. I mean, she’ll draw a map — you won’t get lost. But it won’t be exactly what you’re expecting. Then again, growing up never quite is!

Thank you to Caryn, my fab agent, and thank you to my editor Lisa Mangum who really gets True, who has championed this book, and who has helped make it its best self. I’m so excited to work on another book with you! Shadow Mountain is a fabulous publisher, with fantastic resources and, let me just sneak you one more fabulous illustration from illustrator Kevin Keele. Have I told you I love cats? Coming your way April 2022!