Simply 7 with Henry Herz: I AM GRAVITY

Today’s picture book is an amazing sequel to a book that debuted in 2021.  And I thought that one was a stunner!  Just wait until you see this one!

Henry Herz has visited my blog several times before.  He is an author of numerous picture books and his children’s short stories have been published in Highlights for Children, Ladybug Magazine, and in anthologies for Albert Whitman & Co. and Blackstone Publishing. Henry also writes adult science fiction and fantasy short stories. He holds a BS in Engineering from Cornell, an MS in Engineering from George Washington University, and an MA in Political Science from Georgetown. You can learn more about him at his website.

I AM GRAVITY is a sequel of sorts to I AM SMOKE.  Once again Henry plays with the point of view, using first person to relate nonfiction facts about Gravity.  If you thought I AM SMOKE was as amazing as I did, this one will knock your socks off.  Where I AM SMOKE told a story I’d never thought to tell, I AM GRAVITY tells a story I could never think to write.  I mean, gravity is really hard for me to explain to children!  To take that complex scientific concept and break it down like this is genius!  It’s approachable and loveable all at the same time.  I’m agog at Henry’s skills here!  And to make things better, the same talented illustrator, Mercè López, did the illustrations in this book too.  Just look at that cover!  Need I say more?  No, but I must.  There are some teasers hidden in the illustrations that I don’t want to spoil, but suffice it to say that Mercè López takes the book to a whole new level once again!  Trust me when I say that this is another picture book you won’t want to miss!

Welcome back Henry!

Me: What a fantastic sequel!  How long did it take you to research all the different facts that went into your story?  Can you tell us a bit about your research process?

Henry: Thanks, Jena. As an Engineering major, I had to take physics, so the topic wasn’t new to me. I’d also taken an astronomy class. That said, that coursework was in the dim and distant past, so I did have to brush up on my physics, history of physics (e.g., Isaac Newton vs. Albert Einstein), and cosmology (not to be confused with cosmetology – I won’t make that mistake again). I also had the manuscript reviewed by a PhD physicist and a PhD astronomer, just to make sure I didn’t violate the laws of the universe, which I do from time to time. Honestly, the biggest challenge was taking some of the truly complex and mind-blowing aspects of gravity, and communicating them in a manner comprehensible to young readers.

Me: Having smoke tell the story in the first person point of view was so incredibly creative, that I couldn’t imagine a sequel to that showstopper.  And yet, here we are!  Gravity tells the story this time.  What gave you the idea for this book?

Henry: Once I sold I Am Smoke, I gave thought to what other phenomena might make interesting subjects for another anthropomorphic autobiography. I settled on gravity, but I felt bad for the illustrator, Mercè López, because she had to illustrate an invisible protagonist. Luckily, she was more than up to the task.

Me: Indeed she was!  Was there always a plan for a sequel of sorts for I AM SMOKE?  Were I AM SMOKE and I AM GRAVITY marketed as part of a series?  Might there be another in the works?

Henry: I typically don’t plan for a sequel when I write a new book because there’s no guarantee sales will be high enough to convince the publisher to do another book. Happily, I Am Smoke was received well enough that the publisher, Tilbury House, asked me for two more. I Am Gravity comes out April 16, and I Am Light will come out in 2025.

Me:  Oh my giddy aunt!  That is wonderful news!  YAY!  I can’t wait.  The writing here seems deceptively simple for such a complex (and mind-bending) topic.  How many revisions did it take to make the text of this story this concise?  Were there a lot of rewrites?

Henry: Yes, that’s true. Bringing the complex to a level comprehensible to young readers is the biggest challenge. You made me check my computer to see. I got feedback from nine critiquers in generating thirteen versions of the manuscript. Then there were small tweaks from my editor and the physicist and astronomer.

Me: Wow!  That’s incredible!  What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?

Henry: That without gravity, life on Earth wouldn’t be possible. It maintains Earth’s orbit around the sun by counteracting the outward centrifugal force generated by Earth’s elliptical path. Without the sun’s gravity, Earth would be flung into the cold of space. With gravity, we receive just enough light and heat for life to thrive. Gravity similarly keeps the moon balanced in orbit around the Earth. Via gravity, the moon causes the oceans to ebb and flow. Gravity keeps the air and water in Earth’s atmosphere from simply drifting into space. Winds blow because gravity pulls down colder (denser) air. Rain falls because of gravity.

Me: Oh my goodness.  I’m completely boggled by that.  Incredible!  The illustrations by Mercè López are again wonderfully creative.  I laughed when I saw the Starship Enterprise near a black hole, but there are some incredibly stunning images here.  Were there any illustration surprises for you?

Henry: Yes, she does stunning work, which was NOT a surprise. What did surprise me was that she went dark, on many spreads almost sepia-toned, not just for celestial scenes but even terrestrial ones. She chose a pale orange to show the influence of invisible gravity. Below is a great spread that combines the same landscape across day and night, sun and moon, beach and ocean.

Me: I love that she made that choice.  It really works well here!  What is your favorite aspect of gravity that is included in this story? 

Henry: The cyclical nature of creation and destruction powered by gravity. Over millions of years, gravity clumps together interstellar gas and dust — the bigger the clump, the more it attracts additional atoms. With enough mass, the material collapses under its own gravity. As the pressure continues to increase, the temperature of the core rises until it gets so hot that fusion reactions begin—a star is born. The outward pressure from fusion counteracts the inward pull of gravity. Once a star’s fuel is used up, gravity overpowers the outward pressure from fusion. If the star is big enough, its rapid collapse creates shock waves, blasting the outer part of the star into space. Some of that debris may eventually collide with interstellar molecules to form new stars and planets. Rinse and repeat on a galactic scale.

Again, that’s incredible.  Thank you so much for sharing your book with us Henry and stopping by my blog again.

Dear readers, this book releases April 16th.  Keep an eye out for it, because I guarantee that this is one picture book you won’t want to miss.