Six Questions with Jenny Andrus

As a book-obsessed child, Jenny Andrus and her best friend would act out scenes from their favorite stories. As an adult, she tried several careers before landing the perfect one: K-8 school librarian. During story-times, Jenny experienced the magic of picture books -- students so enraptured that you could hear a pin drop. She lived for those moments, and the books my students loved inspire her own writing. Elsa’s Chessboard (illustrated by Julie Downing and published by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House) is a fictional picture book based on the life of Jenny's chess-playing WWII refugee grandmother. When she's not writing, Jenny enjoys reading, walking, Yoga, and quilt-making. Visit Jenny's website to learn more about her and her work.

1. How did you begin your journey as an author? 

As a child, I was so proud when a story I wrote appeared in the local newspaper. I was an author! Or, I was, until . . .  life took me in other directions, including getting a master’s degree in public health and working as a manager for Kaiser Permanente. After my first child was born, I quit my job and co-authored a guide for new parents, Bay Area Baby. That led to a second career, writing articles for parenting magazines and newspapers. Then I became a librarian and started sharing books with kids, an experience that energized my own writing. And that’s how I got here. Life comes full circle.

2. What do you feel you’ve gained from being a part of the children’s writing community?

I am part of a writing group that got started during COVID, when several of us met in an online picture book class. We decided to keep going after it ended. Other aspiring writers soon joined, including my best friend from elementary school, my school librarian partner, and a fellow SCBWI conference attendee. These are the people I count on to review my story drafts. I know their critiques will be thoughtful, honest, and kind. And, as helpful as I find their comments, I learn as much or more from editing and discussing what they are working on. I love seeing how we are growing as writers.

3. What are you working on? What’s next for you?

I am writing a nonfiction picture book  about a harbor seal pup found abandoned on a beach in Northern California. I first heard about the pup as a volunteer harbor seal docent stationed on a nearby bluff. I am intrigued by the pup’s story and by harbor seals in general, and I think that kids will be too. I’m also working on Three Brothers in Shanghai, a short documentary produced by my son about family members who escaped to Shanghai during WWII.

4. Where did you get the idea for Elsa’s Chessboard? What was your inspiration? 

My inspiration was my grandmother Elsa (“Oma”). She lived with us when I was growing up, and we were very close. I grew up hearing stories of her early childhood in Vienna, as the adored youngest sibling among five. I felt like I knew each of her older brothers well, even though I never met them. Oma wanted to teach me how to play chess, just like her brothers had taught her, but I wasn’t interested. “No, thanks,” I said. This multi-generational story is my way of finally saying “yes!” to the game my Oma loved so well.

5. Did you have a  lot of collaboration with the illustrator?

Since Julie Downing (the illustrator) and I both live in San Francisco, we decided to get together. We spent an afternoon at my house looking through old photo albums and talking and talking. Julie went on to research countless details, including clothing, furniture, hair styles, and chess games. She even traveled to Vienna, Austria, to sketch scenes from my grandmother’s childhood. It is amazing to see the neighborhood where the family lived recreated in the book, 120 years later. I had the opportunity to review the illustrations prior to publication, and  I loved what I saw. Julie’s artistry and attention to detail brought my grandmother’s spirit and passion for chess to life, in ways that words alone never could.

6. If you read this book to a room filled with kids, what message would you want them to leave  with?

I would be happy if the book inspired children to treat refugees and immigrants with kindness and respect. Although Elsa’s story is specific to a particular time and place, many of her experiences are universal. I hope that children who are new to this country see a bit of themselves in Elsa, and that children born in the United States reach out in friendship to refugees and immigrants. We need that kind of empathy right now. Channeling my grandmother, I hope the book encourages readers to play chess, a game that connects people from all over the world. At the chessboard everyone speaks the same language, the language of chess.