Award-winning science writer and author of more than 150 books for young audiences, several of which have been nominate for awards, Isabel Thomas makes facts fun.
How did you get into writing, and why children’s books?
I studied sciences at university but began thinking about writing as a career after joining the student newspaper. At first, I was aiming to become a newspaper journalist, but I couldn’t afford to do the long internships that seemed to be required to get a foot in the door. I began working in science education publishing and seized every opportunity to write. I grew a reputation for being good at explaining complex ideas in simple and creative ways. My journalism experience was very helpful here and translated very well to children’s books. I was also relatively unique as a children’s writer with a science background, so more and more commissions followed. I have stayed with children’s books because I love thinking visually. There is more scope to present information visually and work with incredible artists, illustrators and designers when you are writing highly-illustrated books for young audiences.
You tackle some of life’s biggest and trickiest questions from loss to environmental issues… can you explain how you go about that and why you think it’s important for kids.
We become so used to school curricula, that we can fall into the trap of thinking there is a ‘right time’ to explain certain topics to children or give them access to certain information. I believe this is a misconception. Each child is individual and the best time to introduce them to life’s biggest issues is not when the curriculum says so, but when they begin asking questions about it. Very young children ask some of the biggest and best questions of all. For example, when my own sons began asking ‘What happens when something dies?’ as pre-schoolers (perhaps after seeing an unfortunate pigeon on the walk to school) I realized they weren’t yet curious about grief or loss, which they hadn’t experienced, but trying to understand the concept of death itself. So, in the picture book Fox: A Circle of Life Story I provide young readers with a scientific explanation of death as a part of nature, using the traditional picture book structure as a bridge between the familiar and the new information. The book offers families the words to begin conversations with children, but also space to include their own experiences and beliefs. For older children, too, I take great care not to tell readers how to feel or think about a subject – rather to make space for thinking and give them the information to explore their own ideas. For example, This Book Is Not Rubbish and This Book Will (Help) Cool the Climate, tackle big questions about the environment but completely avoiding a ‘preachy’ or ‘despairing’ tone. Instead, each book introduces a huge range of solutions that people around the world are finding, and hopefully leaves young people feeling enthusiastic that they can help to change our world themselves.
You make science super fun for kids, have you always been interested in scientific fact?
The sciences and mathematics were the subjects that captivated me at school. Weird and wonderful facts are a part of their appeal, but also the idea that it is possible to explain and understand anything if we ask the right questions. I’m also fascinated by the connections between science and language, the idea that science is a hunt for better and better metaphors. I like to give children the freedom to come up with their own metaphors and models, rather than presenting existing metaphors as the only way of looking at things.
What do you hope children get out of your books?
In some ways, I hope they close the book and rush off to collect beetles or build a helicopter or pull a flower apart to find out how it works! I aim to show young audiences that science is so much more than facts and experiments, but a set of tools for following your curiosity, to play with a purpose, and to get a better understanding of absolutely anything they are interested in. And that in doing so, they have an opportunity to help others, and make a lasting difference to the world.
Do you have a favourite character from any of your books or is that the equivalent of being asked to pick a favourite child?
The correct answer to the second question is supposed to be ‘the one you’re with’ – and I think the same applies to books too. When you finish writing or talking about a book, your head is full of the ideas and adventures you uncovered while writing it, and the rush of wonder at seeing how the illustrator and designer have brought it to life on the page. At the moment, my favourites are the picture books Moth: An Evolution Story and Fox:
A Circle of Life Story, and Exploring the Elements – which at over 240 pages is the largest title I’ve written so far, and breathtaking in its scope and design, giving me space to explore every single element on the periodic table in depth.
You’ve written over 150 books! How do you think you’ve evolved as a writer?
Like any craft, I think you get better with practice. Many of my early books were educational titles, which followed rigid curricula. I was also more nervous to push boundaries at that point, so the result was a book that was thorough but didn’t have a unique voice. Today, I have the confidence to be playful and dream up very original ways of tackling a subject, telling a story, or presenting information on the page.
Does it get easier the more you write, or harder?
It gets easier to plan the nuts and bolts of a project – to estimate how long it will take, to gather excellent materials for research, to clear that first hurdle of getting something – anything – down on the blank page, because the real work will come later in the editing. And to edit text until it’s at the correct level. However, some aspects never get easier, such as packing everything you want to say into a certain word count.
What are you working on now?
I have just written the foreword to a big and beautiful collection of science biographies, which publishes later this year with DK. It’s a very special book, which avoids the Western-centric view of science history that creeps into so many texts and instead introduces readers to astonishing stories and incredible science from around the world. I’m checking the first round of artworks for an exciting new title with Bloomsbury, which will publish in 2022. And I’m starting to plan the follow-up to Exploring the Elements, with Sara Gillingham and the amazing team at Phaidon.
What books do your children love?
I have three sons and when they were younger none was a keen reader, and I wondered what I had done wrong. But now I am starting to catch them with books as well as the ever-present screens. I’ve learned that rather than putting a book directly in their hands, I can leave interesting books lying around and they will end up being explored. Each child is completely different. My eldest prefers non-fiction, such as Anatomicum (Welcome to the Museum) by Jennifer Paxton and Katy Wiedemann. When he reads fiction it’s typically a fast-paced thriller or (child-friendly) horror, for example anything by Chris Priestley or Anthony Horowitz. My middler loves fantasy fiction series and is galloping through The Dark is Rising novels by Susan Cooper. My youngest is a self-declared reluctant reader but adores being read to. He is currently engrossed in A Journey Through Greek Myths by Marchella Ward and Sander Berg, and also loves Swapna Haddow’s Dave Pigeon series.
And what about your favourite childhood book and author?
This question is so hard to answer. I preferred non-fiction and was drawn to the new and unfamiliar, so it was always changing. My most dog-eared book was probably a giant nature encyclopaedia, or Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections.
Have you ever been to Dubai? If so, what was the highlight and if not, would you like to come, what would you most like to see here?
I would absolutely love to visit, as I frequently write about Dubai’s famous feats of engineering in books and magazines, to inspire the architects and engineers of the future. I would love to visit the Burj Khalifa of course, and to gaze down from there on to the World Islands.
