Six Questions with Julie Danneberg

As a child, Julie Danneberg wanted to be a teacher and, as an adult, she became one, teaching first in a K-6 special education program and later in middle school language arts. As a teacher, Julie read lots of picture books to her students. After seeing how much they loved them, she decided to try to write some of her own. Now, years later, her siccessful picture book First Day Jitters, about an elementary school teacher and her class, was followed by nine more books in the Jitters series, as well as several biographies and two science books. Visit Julie's website to learn more about her and her books.

1. What have you gained from being part of the kidlit community? 

I have gained so much by being part of the kidlit community: Many friendships, many trips, to conferences and writing retreats, and best of all, a personal cheering section whenever I need it.  Children’s authors are always there for each other, ready to meet in person or on zoom to talk about their writing and to support other writers in their journey. I have never seen competition between kidlit writers, only support and helpful advice galore. I know I am very lucky to have landed in such a creative, curious, driven group, and honestly, these friends are part of what keeps me going when I am discouraged. 

2. Do you ever get stuck?  How do you get unstuck? 

I think every writer you talk to will tell you that they get stuck at times.  One invaluable strategy that I use is writing about my writing.  If I’m stuck, I set my manuscript aside and instead pick up my writing journal. I literally ask myself the question, “Why am I stuck?”  or maybe, “What is this story missing.” Then I free-write the answer.  When I step away from the manuscript and write about it, I often  surprise myself with insight that I didn’t even know I had.  The biggest thing is not to panic or ditch the story completely but instead understand that getting stuck is just part of the writing process. 

3. What's your best advice for aspiring KidLit authors?  

My advice for aspiring picture book writers is pretty basic.  Write a lot but don’t expect everything that you write to get published.  The good news though is that with every story you write, whether it is published or not, you become a better writer. Therefore, it is important to put in the time and practice, knowing that as you write multiple stories a few will stand out as the story ideas that you want to pursue.   

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

My book Teacher Jitters is the latest book in the Jitters series that started with First Day Jitters. The teacher, Mrs. Hartwell, is feeling a case of the jitters because she has to attend a professional development class.  She shares her fears with the students and they step up, sharing all sorts of techniques to help her deal with those nerves. And as she goes through her day, the reader sees her using those various techniques. The main message I want young readers to see is that adults get nervous too. Secondarily, I wanted to show them that some of the calming strategies they are learning in their classrooms really do help anyone who gets nervous.  

5. If you could tell readers one secret about this book, what would it be? 

I think the secret I would share about Teacher Jitters is that one of the most effective strategies for calming your fears is to share your feelings with others. When Mrs. Hartwell admits to being nervous in a new situation, she isn’t being weak, she’s being strong.  I want the reader to see that sometimes sharing that you are scared or nervous is actually a great way to cope with and even calm your nerves a little bit. Why?  Because once you share that information, you no longer have to keep it a secret.  And that alone takes a lot of the pressure off.  We ALL get nervous sometimes.  And really, it is no big deal!  

6. Where do you get inspiration for your characters? Are you influenced by people you know? 

My teaching career is the inspiration for all of my books in the Jitters series. The Jitters books cover many of the events and emotions all teachers deal with in their classroom:  First days of school, last days of school, taking kids on field trips, holiday parties and more. Although I think I am a bit less scattered and nervous, at the heart of it, Mrs. Hartwell is me, dealing with many of the little and big stressors that all teachers face. I would say that Mrs. Hartwell’s elementary classroom, with its ups and downs, nerves and joy, teachers helping students and students helping teachers is very similar to classrooms everywhere.