Today we’re celebrating the Book Birthday of Sandra Nickel’s latest pb:
Making Light Bloom: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps
illustrated by Julie Paschkis (Peachtree)
About the Book
Making Light Bloom is the little known true story of Clara Driscoll, who designed and engineered the famous Tiffany lamps. Since their debut in the late 1800’s, these lamps were thought to have been the creation of Louis C. Tiffany, but guess what?
I LOVE that Clara’s story has finally been told in this beautiful picture book.
But don’t take my word for it…
“A terrific blend of art and social history set in an absorbing biography about an unacknowledged genius.” STARRED BOOKLIST REVIEW
“Alongside delicate, design-oriented text by Nickel, Paschkis combines black outlines and luminous colors to make the pages glow like stained-glass itself.” STARRED PW REVIEW
The Horn Book has also announced that it has given Making Light Bloom a starred review, but we cannot quote it until its July/August 2025 is out. STARRED HORN BOOK REVIEW
“An evocative look at one woman’s gift for channeling her love of nature into art.”–KIRKUS
About the Author:
You may remember Sandra Nickel from her Book Birthday blog celebration for SEVEN, A Most Remarkable Pigeon. Among her many accolades, she holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults and has presented workshops on writing for children and young adults throughout the United States and Europe. We are always thrilled to have her back on the blog to chat about her #kidlit journey.
Let’s ask some questions!
written by Sandra Nickel (Peachtree)
In the beginning…
1. What was the most difficult part of piecing Clara’s story together?
Sandra Nickel: The enormous amount of information I had after completing my research! It was as if I was standing in the middle of a thick forest and had no idea how to get out. I took a few tentative steps down one path, then another… and another. But once I found the right path—the through-line of Clara’s love of nature—the writing got easier and easier as I forged my way through.
Editor Discoveries and Illustrator Surprises
Q 2. Who was your editor on this lovely project? Were there any discoveries that came to light (OK –yes–pun intended) during the editorial process?
Sandra Nickel: My brilliant editor was Kathy Landwehr, the Vice President and Associate Publisher of Peachtree. When I first brought the project to her, I was focused on Clara’s letters and that Louis C. Tiffany got the credit for what Clara did.
Kathy added in an emphasis on the engineering aspect of what Clara accomplished. Remember, Louis, despite his genius for making the glass itself, couldn’t do what Clara did. He told her, “Well, work out your own idea.” And as we all now know, she did. But it wasn’t easy. It was an incredibly intricate process, and Kathy made sure we kept on coming back to that.
Q 3. What surprise did illustrator Julie Paschkis bring to the project?
Sandra Nickel: Her luminous inspiration to make the book mirror Clara’s lamps! Each page looks like a stained-glass scene. Each page glows as if light is coming from behind it. The effect is absolutely stunning!
Sandra Nickel: Julie’s cover glows just as much as Clara’s poppy lamp.
Favorites
Q 4. What is your favorite spread?
Sandra Nickel: In her starred review, Kitty Flynn from the Horn Book talks about the beauty of the opening spread. And she is absolutely right!
There is something about turning the first page and realizing that the story will be illustrated in these glorious stained-glass colors, each piece rimmed in black, as if Clara fixed the pieces together herself. It really is breathtaking.
written by Sandra Nickel (Peachtree).
When the pieces click…
Q 5. On your website, you share that it was only recently that you learned you “grew up as an undiagnosed autistic girl.” May I ask how and if this revelation has reshaped parts of your life or your perspective? Might I take this further and ask if it’s ever felt similar to Clara’s discovery of how to convert two-dimensional stained-glass windows into three-dimensional flowering lamps?
Sandra Nickel: The revelation came with a sigh of relief. It’s a beautiful image of going from two-dimensional stained glass to three, but I haven’t really thought of it that way. It’s more as if I was trying to fit the bright pieces of me into one kind of lamp.
And then, someone handed me the guide for a different lamp, and all the pieces clicked into place. Part of that clicking had already come when I started writing for children. And now with the realization that I’m autistic the rest has followed. I at last feel free to be me.
What’s next?
Q 6. Are there more projects in the queue that you can share?
Sandra Nickel: My next book is The True Ugly Duckling: How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan. I wrote it in the form of Andersen’s fairy tales, hoping readers will be able to relate more easily to a young Andersen who yearned to be accepted. It’s coming out in Spring 2026 with Levine Querido.
After that, I have a biography that I co-wrote with Linda Washington, where I continue my mission to celebrate extraordinary individuals who have been almost forgotten. It’s about the amazing mapmaker, Louise E. Jefferson and will be released by Abrams. I wish I could say more, but the title and date are still under wraps.
We can’t wait!
Many thanks to Sandra Nickel for tis illuminating interview
and for celebrating Making Light Bloom on the blog with us today.
And cheers to championing the true story of Clara Driscoll!
To learn more about Sandra Nickel and her books:
Check out her web site: sandranickel.com
And follow her on social media:
TwitterX: @senickel
Insta: sandranickelbooks
LinkedIn: sandranickel
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/senickel.bsky.social
Up next:
A Bonus Blog post, Writing is a Language Art, for #KidlitZombieWeek on Bluesky. And THEN…
We chat with Chris Raschka about his new middle grade novel, Peachaloo in Bloom.
(Neal Porter Books / Holiday House)
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