Combine an evergreen topic (transportation) with STEAM matter (how goods are delivered around the country), and you’ve got a fascinating picture book on your hands

Kelly Rice Schmitt has visited my blog once before (for her book I SHIP). She is an author of STEAM children’s literature. She holds a B.B.A in Finance and Chinese from the University of Notre Dame and is an advocate for girls in STEM, business, and other fields with gender gaps. She can be found in North Carolina helping other traders grow their businesses, writing for children, and exploring, singing, and creating with her husband and young children.  You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Twitter, BlueSky, or Instagram.

I TRUCK is a picture book about big rig trucks and the job they do to deliver goods across the country. That might not sound riveting to you, but let me tell you: I don’t think I’ve seen another book quite like it! This is the third book in this series of transportation picture books told in first person point of view (I SHIP, I FUEL, and now I TRUCK). They are fantastically written with some downright gorgeous lines. It’s no easy feat to tap dance the line of nonfiction while writing from an inanimate object’s point of view. Can it be done? The answer shown here is YES! Plus this book provides a whole semitrailer’s worth of STEM info through the story (with actual drama!) and back matter. And let’s not forget the holiday/winter angle thrown into this story too! This is a book young readers fascinated with big trucks are sure to love.

Welcome back Kelly!

Me: I love this series of books with things that go starting with a ship, then exploring fuel, and now trucks! What gave you the idea for this third story?

Kelly: Thank you so much for having me, Jena! My publishing team loved the fresh take on transportation books, so I brainstormed other fun ideas. A truck was their first pick. Their second pick is going to be a yet unannounced high-flying adventure releasing next fall. ✈️

Me: I love that you include so many different learning aspects (like weather and runaway ramps, etc.) in your story, while also leaving room for downright poetic moments that left the truck breathless. Was your story always this tightly written from the first draft? How many revisions did you have to make to get to this state?

Kelly: Writing I TRUCK was certainly a journey! I do a lot of brainstorming and thinking through my stories before I write anything so in the end I have a decent first draft. I will come up with lines and tweak them on my phone throughout the day. I also had the benefit of a rough format for I TRUCK coming from I SHIP. I knew ahead of time certain spreads that we would want to replicate in concept. I knew we would have spreads about:

1. a few obstacles Truck would face with 1-3 spreads each
2. other types of trucks that do other work
3. the important work of trucks and what they do for all of us
4. pre-trip inspection
5. picking up the cargo to reveal what’s inside the truck
6. the inside of the trucker’s cabin where they sleep
7. the last two spreads would be a heart moment about what the truck accomplished at the end, yet it has to get back to work because… I truck! For example, the weigh station was added with the publisher.

Despite this, it can be hard to try to create something that different enough from other vehicle journey books you already wrote! (And those already in the market too.) I decided on winter to give it weather obstacles plus the holiday deadline to get home in time to spend holidays with the family. I went through a few rounds of revision with my critique partners before sending my first full draft to my editor. Then we had 1-2 small rounds of revisions with my publisher.

Me: Can you talk about the marketing of this book? I know you originally had a two-book deal for the first two books. How did a third book in the series come to be sold as well?

Kelly: This sounds like a dream, but my publishing team approached me! They loved how the first book was coming along and how my text paired with Jam’s fresh art style. They asked me for pitches for more books and I made a list of 10+ titles and pitches. In the end we sold two more books on proposal before I SHIP even released! I then had a deadline for a first draft for each book in my contract. The 4^th book was not yet decided, but I TRUCK was chosen as book 3 at the time of contract.

Me: That’s wonderful! Can you tell us a bit about your research process for this book? I saw your dedication to a former truck driver. Did you have to consult an expert as part of your research? Was there anything you had to do for research that was different from your first two books?

Kelly: I choose to research further with experts to ensure that these books reflect the amazing people that the series celebrates. It was really cool interviewing a few different truckers for this book! Each person had a different perspective. For example, in the interviews I learned that many drivers travel with a pet, and I was delighted to include a dog in this book! Chris, the former truck driver in the acknowledgements, is actually the neighbor of one of my editors! I usually speak to a few people and then have one person that goes through the whole creation process with me checking accuracy – they read the text at multiple stages and then also look at multiple rounds of art too. Usually the experts make many suggestions to make the art more accurate. 

Me: You have some fascinating back matter in your book. I love that you included “Trucker Talk” (i.e., CB lingo)! Was all the back matter your idea? Or was any of it suggested by someone else (agent, editor, etc.)?

Kelly: I love coming up with back matter! Usually I come up with too much and we have to remove things. Haha. Most of this was my idea. My editors wanted more details on the different stops we had along the way—so “Road Resources” came from that need to give kids more info on the different things seen along the journey. The labeled truck diagram and “Trucker Talk” were both my idea and I love them so much! The truck diagram makes me feel like it’s a DK book and the trucker talk has already been fun pretend play for my own kids and those at bookstore readings. I hope other kids are using it too! 

Me: Jam Dong’s illustrations in this book are once again absolutely pitch perfect. I loved the interior glimpses inside the trucks! Did you have any illustration surprises? Any favorite illustrations?

Kelly: I love Jam’s watercolor work in the skies, especially on the spread when the truck finishes their final delivery with a gorgeous sunset. Also, don’t miss the connection to I Fuel. The gas station has the plankton “fuel” symbol on it, which we used in I Fuel too, as a nod to the roots of Fuel and where it comes from. Also, I Truck recently won both a 100ScopeNotes Undies Case Cover award for the case cover and an Endies End Paper award for the end papers and search-and-find at the back of the book, so remember to check those out! I just love all the little details in picture books!

Me: Congratulations! That’s great news. Now that you have published several books (and have a few more under contract), what advice would you give aspiring picture book writers? 

Kelly: Write a lot and you will naturally improve. Find critique partners (ideally that know a bit more than you do!) and set meetings to create deadlines. Then take your time to get 5-10 polished manuscripts ready for submission. An agent will want to resonate with 3+. And sometimes you may sell something and they ask for more. Then you’re ready to go! Also, write in the in-between time. Keep your current WIP nearby or on your phone to edit as you go. The best stories often have a strong heart that comes from a personal connection to something in the story. A childhood memory, real story, a special detail infused from someone they know in real life. Above all, don’t give up and believe that you can do it, even if it’s not perfect yet!

That is a truck load of excellent advice Kelly! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog again today.

Dear readers, this book was published in October. If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out any of the books in this series, I highly recommend them. They are full of heart, information, and have a story that teaches! It’s the perfect combination of nonfiction and creativity that’s sure to capture young readers’ interest.