Author Susan Campbell Bartoletti excels at serving up overlooked perspectives.

What is it like to be part of the Hitler Youth? How does someone in the Ku Klux Klan feel?

Seeing her walk in those shoes explains how she could create a poetic picture book tale of Mrs. Noah in Naamah and the Ark at Night (Candlewick, 2011).

Her perspectives on children’s literature prove just as insightful:

Susan, what’s good right now about children’s literature?

During tough times and tight markets, I hold onto something a very wise editor once told me: there’s always room for a good story, and then I try my best to write a good one. When I lament electronic and digital formats, I remind myself of the impact these formats have on my research and the possibilities they offer.

From your perspective, what can be done to make that “good” better?

Never before has a nonfiction writer with little or no institutional affiliation had access to so many archival materials and databases and experts! This has raised the bar for nonfiction, forcing “good” nonfiction to become “excellent,” and at the same time, opened the playing field.

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Learn more about Newbery Honor-winning author Susan Campbell Bartoletti on her website or find Susan on Facebook.