I’m back from Fine Arts Camp (SO much fun!) and excited to celebrate Jenny Lundquist‘s magical new mg fantasy/mystery, The Library of Curiosities (Holiday House).
About the Book
Readers young and old will LOVE 11-year-old Rowan Fitzgerald who gets bumped from her latest boarding school and ends up visiting her secretive, estranged grandfather, only to discover that the library he runs is not full of books, but rather magical objects called curiosities
and someone is stealing them!
Short, exciting chapters laced with humor and a rich vocabulary showcase characters. . . . Rowan’s suggestions for nonmagical solutions to problems remind readers that they can achieve their own goals. Inventive and worthwhile.
—Kirkus
About the Author
Jenny Lundquist lives in California, where she writes whimsical middle grade and young adult novels. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, and is proud to say she has never once enlisted the assistance of a magic typewriter. (No spoilers!)
Let’s ask some Questions!
Q 1. Were you a library kid growing up? Is your main character Rowan like you in any way?
Jenny Lundquist: I was definitely a library kid when I was a child. When I was in second grade, I failed some type of literacy test, and my teacher told my mother I needed to spend more time reading. We didn’t have money to buy a ton of new books, so instead she took me to the library and got me a card. I was instantly mesmerized by the library, by all the stories and worlds it contained inside.
Rowan is impulsive and courageous, and likes to take action. Those weren’t words that described me when I was a child. I was a shy, introverted book worm. I suppose she’s more of the person who I wished I was at that age.
Q 2. What was the inspiration for The Library of Curiosities?
Jenny Lundquist: Related to the above, when I decided to write about a family that collects magical objects, my lifelong love for libraries absolutely inspired me to set it in a library—as opposed to, say, a flea market or antique shop.
There’s a part in the story where Rowan, after informing a patron that the library’s magical passport (a curiosity that can transport a user to multiple countries) has already been check out, advises him to visit a different library, the kind that houses books, because, “each book you pick up off the shelf is an invitation to travel to a different place.” I believe those words so strongly that I invented the magical passport curiosity just so I could make that point!
ED Note: That’s one of my favorite quotes from the book!
Speaking of Favorites…
Q 3. What is your favorite curiosity inside the library?
Jenny Lundquist: As tempting as it is to pick the magical passport (because who wouldn’t love to travel internationally without the hassle of planes, trains, and automobiles?) I’m going to say the wishing socks.
The Library of Curiosities keeps a ton of them on hand. They grant wishes, but require high heat to activate the wish. Each sock is single use only, and dissolves as the wish is granted. Many people choose to throw theirs into the dryer. So, if you happen to lose socks in the laundry, it’s possible you had a wishing sock in your possession and never knew it!
Q 4. Is Mr. Fluffypants based on your cat, Rambo?
Jenny Lundquist: Mr. Fluffypants—or FP, as he prefers to be called—is one of my favorite characters in the whole book. He’s the library cat who has swiped one of the curiosities, a monocle that gives the wearer the ability to think, speak, and read in any language. And it turns out, FP has a pretty bad attitude, as well as a lot to say.
Like one of the characters tells Rowan, “there’s a reason cats weren’t given the ability to speak.” FP is definitely partly based on Rambo, who sadly has now passed away. RIP Rambo, you were a tough old dude with an extremely poor attitude. I hope you are somewhere out there in the feline afterworld living your best cantankerous life!
Dear “someday” authors — These next Q’s are for you.
Q 5. Did you always know you would write books someday?
Jenny Lundquist: I knew from the time I was in fourth grade that I wanted to write books, but I didn’t know if I could write books—partly because of my difficulties learning to how to read.
I felt when I was a child that I wasn’t smart enough to become an author. Then, when I was older, I assumed I wasn’t creative enough.
I kept telling myself that I would try writing “someday.” Then one day I realized I had twenty years’ worth of somedays behind me and nothing to show for it. I decided then that I needed to turn “someday” into “today.” I’ve been writing ever since.
Q 6. Any words of advice for those hoping to find a publisher for their middle grade novel?
Jenny Lundquist: My advice would be to read widely in the genre you wish to publish in. I’ve been writing now for a long time and I’ve done everything from checking craft books out from the library (of course!) to going back to school to get an MFA in Creative Writing. But the number one thing that has helped my writing is reading other writer’s words and learning from them.
The second thing I would say—and I know this can feel difficult and counterintuitive—is to enjoy the time when you are just starting out as a writer. Before you get an agent or editor you are free to write whatever you want on your own timeline without having to contend with certain publishing realities, like marketing preferences, difficult deadlines, sales records, etc.
Everyone is on their own publishing journey, but once you sign with an agent/land a book deal, it’s no longer solely about your art because, for better or worse, publishing is a business.
You heard Jenny, friends:
SOMEDAY is now.
Let the writing begin!
And enjoy every step of your journey.
We’re so happy to have Jenny Lundquist on the blog today. Thanks for joining us, Jenny, and
Happy Happy Book Birthday to
The Library of Curiosities.
To learn more about Jenny Lundquist’s books,
follow her on:
Instagram jenny_lundquist
Substack Dispatches From Somewhere Else
BlueSky jennylundquist.bsky.social
Next on the blog:
We’re chatting with kidlit author Lezlie Evans about her latest picture book,
GOATS AFLOAT.
(Illus. Julia Patton / Two Lions)
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