What do a famous painter and an influential writer have in common? They’re both creators of course!

Lisa Rogers is a former elementary school librarian, reporter, and editor. She is the author of several well-known children’s books, including 16 Words: William Carlos Williams and “The Red Wheelbarrow” and Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage, which won the Golden Kite Honor Award. She lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with her family and rescue dog, Rory. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram or BlueSky.

JOAN MITCHELL PAINTS A SYMPHONY is a nonfiction picture book biography all about the famous American abstract painter. It magically immerses the reader in her process and how she would create, not flowers, but emotions in vibrant and bold colors. It’s a fascinating look at the creative process through her eyes for her well known Grande Vallée collection.

WOODY’S WORDS: WOODROW WILSON RAWLS AND WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS is another nonfiction picture book biography, but this time it’s about the influential writer (and surprisingly the very first of any biography about him!). It tells of his many struggles in becoming a writer, including burning his manuscript because he thought it wouldn’t amount to anything! This is truly an inspiring story.

Welcome Lisa!

Me: These are two incredible nonfiction picture book biographies. What made you want to write about each of these individuals?

Lisa: Thanks so much, Jena—for the wonderful compliment and for having me on Simply 7! Joan Mitchell and Wilson Rawls are fascinating people who found success by following their own paths: Mitchell by having faith in her own style of working and Rawls, who gave up his writing dream and was brave enough to accept help and try again.

Learning about the emotions and memories that Mitchell brought to her abstract expressionist paintings made me want to share that approach with young readers. There is no “right” way to draw or paint—what comes from you and how you express it is what is most authentic, whether that’s drawing or painting or writing.

It can take a while to find what you are meant to create, but we are always building memories and emotions.  Joan Mitchell Paints a Symphony gives readers a peek into that process as she created 21 monumental works. It also gives them permission to look at paintings and find meaning in their own way.

Learning that Wilson Rawls was impacted by a single story, had little formal education or access to books, yet yearned to be a writer, made me revisit my own hopes of becoming an author. What especially hit home was when I learned that he burned all of his manuscripts, believing he could never realize his dream. I get choked up just thinking about it. What would the world be missing if we did not use our voices and passion to express ourselves? If we gave up? If Woody had not asked his wife Sophie for help, he likely never would have published his two beautiful and memorable novels.

Me: Both of these books were published last year by Calkins Creek/Astra, but as we all know, the road to publication can be long and winding. How long did it take from your first draft of these stories to their ultimate publication? Were there detours or road blocks along the way?

Lisa: Many! Woody’s Words: Woodrow Wilson Rawls and Where the Red Fern Grows took a while to get right. Looking back, I found a 994-word 2018 draft—I had no idea this manuscript was that long and had been marinating for that long!

The bones of the story were there; it just took a while to imbue the text with the emotion that I felt. In 2019, my agent submitted a much-revised manuscript (her note to me: “Every time I read this I get teary!”) and we received some champagne rejections, including one from Carolyn Yoder at Calkins Creek—rejected not for the content, but because a book on a similar topic was in progress. I did not remember that until reviewing my files for this post, but I did remember the very nice compliment she gave me that meant the world!

Through a quirk—an editor at another Astra imprint sent a revision Carolyn’s way—Carolyn made an offer in early 2022. As we worked together, I did much more research and totally rewrote that manuscript, focusing on an emotional throughline. Adding Woody’s own words throughout allows readers to hear his wonderful, authentic voice.

The Joan Mitchell manuscript was inspired by my middle-grade book on women artists, Discover Her Art: Women Artists and Their Masterpieces (Chicago Review Press, 2022). During my research, I was struck by the origin story of that set of 21 paintings, though I did not include that in the book.

In July, 2021, I sent my critique group my fledgling manuscript. With their help, I discarded the first half and found the story in the more poetic second half, in which we see Joan creating her paintings. In September, 2021, I sent my agent the manuscript. She loved it, but felt the ending wasn’t resonant enough. She was right! I mused about it until I nailed it.

Soon after Carolyn made the offer on Woody’s Words, we sent her the Mitchell manuscript, and I was astounded to receive an offer! That manuscript changed very little from the submission. Carolyn is meticulous and it had been a dream of mine to have a book with her—that I have two books still astonishes me!

Woody’s Words took much longer to get right. To piece together Woody’s journey to becoming an author, I began with a recording of him telling his life story, which is charming, but there was so much more to discover. I was fortunate to have the generous participation of those who knew Woody best—his family and his wife Sophie’s family. Sophie was an amazing person in her own right, with a professional career, and she not only believed in her husband, she was instrumental in getting his books published.

Those interviews gave me insight into Woody and Sophie and provided solid backing for the story. I also learned important details that I passed on to illustrator Susan Reagan, such as Woody’s wardrobe of khakis and a Pendelton shirt, and his favorite type of fishing pole. Family stories as well as more research brought authenticity to this book, in words and in art.

Me: Can you tell us a bit about your research process? How long did it take you to research all the different facts that went into each story? Any favorite research methods?

Lisa: Being a librarian, and a news reporter before that, I adore researching. Carolyn Yoder pushed me to make Woody’s Words the best it could be, so, to answer your question, countless hours! I searched historic newspapers, using Newspapers.com and other news archives, Ancestry.com, military records, census data, prison records, and more. So much info is waiting to be discovered! Before I submitted the final manuscript, I rechecked sources for any new info that might have turned up.

Oral histories are a wonderful resource. For Joan Mitchell Paints a Symphony, I consulted The Smithsonian Archives of American Art, which has a robust collection of oral histories and documents.

Nothing beats personal connections! Reaching out to experts really helps. Most often, folks want to share their expertise with young readers and help to make your book accurate. A few examples: For Woody’s Words, an Oklahoma State professor provided a hard-to-find publication on Wilson Rawls. A Cherokee Nation citizen and board member of the Oklahoma Historical Society reviewed the manuscript. And when I needed a local newspaper story that was otherwise unavailable, a librarian in Woody’s hometown was able to get me a copy. I also hired a researcher to visit the Idaho Falls Public Library and consult oral histories in search of tidbits that might answer some of my questions.

I was grateful to have the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s support for Joan Mitchell Paints a Symphony. Besides reviewing the text and illustrations and generously providing photos of Mitchell and her work, the Foundation publicized this book in conjunction with their 2025 celebration of the centennial of Mitchell’s birth.

Me: I think between a painter who composes visual music and a writer, you have covered a LOT of creative genres here. And these aren’t the only books you’ve written about other creators. Why is this an important subject for you to focus on? Why share this with young readers?

Lisa: From childhood, I loved reading and studying art and poetry, but I was mystified as to how those works were created. I couldn’t imagine that I could create something new and interesting. Through research and writing, I want to teach myself something about the creative process—which I believe begins in noticing the world around you and noticing how you feel about it—and unlock that mystery for young readers.

Having been an educator for two decades, I respect children’s deep desire to know. They have so many questions. I think that my picture book biographies give children agency to find those answers themselves.

In my library teaching space, I made time for creativity: students drew mental images of poems, wrote their own fact-based poems and art to go with them, created speech bubbles for wordless books, dreamed up new fairy tales, and more.  There is joy and worth in making something, even though it might never be published or hang on a museum wall.

Me: What surprised you in writing either story that you hadn’t encountered in your writing before?

Lisa: Lots of conflicting information. Woody was a true storyteller, so to tell a good story, he changed some facts here and there. Looking at documents and newspaper articles helped me build a timeline so I could situate Woody in time and place. I definitely was surprised when I learned that Woody had a criminal record. Yet his records reveal his good heart. When he was first charged with stealing chickens, he confessed to the crime and was released early on good behavior. Convicted of another crime, he was sentenced to time in a penal farm. He and another inmate escaped. The inmate was caught after a manhunt, but Woody turned himself in the same day. These records helped me see that Woody had the strength and courage to change his life. He could not have met a better person than Sophie to understand, love him, and believe in him. Sophie was the key to his success, but he also had be brave enough to accept her help.

Me: The illustrations by Stacy Innerst and Susan Reagan are fantastic. Each illustrator’s style fits each book perfectly. The way Stacy uses color vs black and white all throughout is gorgeous. The way Susan pulls at the heart strings (just like Woodrow Wilson Rawls!) is phenomenal. Were there any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?

Lisa: How my words inspire glorious art is a continual wonder. I could never choose a favorite image! One of Stacy Innerst’s spreads for Joan Mitchell was selected for the Society of Illustrators exhibition, and I was able to study it in person—astounding! Joan was a force of nature, and Stacy transmits her brilliance and the vibrancy of her work so beautifully that it emanates from every page.

Susan Reagan’s evocative settings for Woody’s Words and the light in her landscapes are so gorgeous that I want to walk right into them. I know hounds well, and hers are so authentic that I can almost feel the muscles under their coats and hear their baying voices!

Me: You have now written and published several different nonfiction picture books. What is one thing you have learned along the way, that you would share with other new writers of nonfiction picture books?

Lisa: More than ever, writers must be innovative. They must consciously choose which way to present their story. What most suits the subject? What most engages the reader?

Studying mentor texts—new books as well as older ones I love—to take in those authors’ craft moves, and writing from a deep emotional place throughout, helps push me out of a straight narrative into something more interesting—to me, and I hope, to the reader.

Attending workshops and conferences is important. From Andrea Pinkney, I learned that voice is what grabs the reader and keeps them reading. From Karen Boss, I learned that stories often begin in places other than the beginning. She demonstrated how to study beginnings and endings to discover the resonance that writers bring to their stories.

I learned from experience not to over-research before writing. That is a sure way to share with your reader everything you have learned. That can lead to telling, rather than showing, what is so compelling about your topic. It overloads the manuscript with facts rather than story.

Ask: What is it about this topic that engages me? Distill that to the emotion that gives you the shivers, or brings you to tears, or gets you super excited when you think about it. What is it about me and about this subject that makes me the one to write about it? How can I break down this subject into manageable, meaningful bits that, by the ending, come together as a resonant, cohesive whole? When I’m struggling, I compose a statement about the story’s emotional thread. Then I go for a contemplative paddle on our pond or run—anything but being on a computer—and mull over what that thread means to the story and how it can best be expressed. Thinking different is the key—it can be a little scary to put your heart on the page, but if you do that, your readers will take your story into their hearts, too.

Wow! That is great advice. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today Lisa.

Dear readers, both of these picture books published last year. If you haven’t had a chance to read them yet, I highly recommend tracking them down. If you are a writer or an illustrator, perhaps like me you find inspiration in the work of those who came before you. Even if you aren’t a creator yourself, these stories are so inspirational and help young readers to see the variety of ways creative people help to illuminate our world. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss them.