Today we’re chatting with author Meg Fleming about her new picture book The Everything Trail,
illus. Chuck Groenink / Beach Lane Books.
Whether you’ve been hiking this summer — or plan or WISH to be on a trail soon — this sweet book will be everything you need to remember those moments or make new ones. I mean. LOOK at the cover!
But don’t take my word for it:
Frolicking text and a soaring, horizontal design beckon readers along a high-spirited adventure where curious children explore a towering redwood forest and many of the wonders that impressive ecosystem has to offer. Delightful shifts in perspective and panoramic scenes . . . should captivate story time audiences and immerse lap listeners. The sort of read-aloud one closes with a smile; readers will long to revisit these woods. — Booklist STARRED REVIEW
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Twining the fantasy of an unfettered childhood adventure with the majestic reality of an ancient redwood forest, Fleming and Groenink offer an outdoors variation on a classic children’s rhyme: “This is the forest./ This is the steeple./ Giants and saplings/ and just a few people.” An expression of hope that curiosity and wonder can transform into stewardship and care. — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
About the Author
Meg Fleming is the author of Sometimes Rain, I Heart You, Here Comes Ocean!, Wondering Around, and The Everything Trail. A former voice teacher, Meg draws on her love of rhythm, rhyme, and lyricism to create and imagine stories. She and her family have recently moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Minnesota, where there are sure to be many trails to explore.
Let’s ask some questions!
Inspiration
Q 1. What was the inspiration for The Everything Trail? Were you on a hike with your family—or dog Opal? Were you “wondering about” as your website says?
Meg Fleming: Indeed, I was! In fact, the first draft of The Everything Trail was written entirely on a hike. For me, inspiration often strikes at the meeting point of emotion, wonder and a rhythm that just won’t quit.
I wrote this book in the spring of 2021. My sister and her family live in a redwood forest in the Santa Cruz mountains, and in August of the previous year, her whole community was turned upside when the CZU Lightening Complex Fires struck. Henry Cowell State Park, Big Basin State Park and the surrounding communities were severely impacted. It was on my first hike in these parks after the trails reopened when this story came to me.
It was early in the morning and the forest floor was again carpeted with sorrel. Dewdrops sat cupped in the leaves and the redwoods stood tall. I was taken aback by both the resilience and delicacy of the forest and deeply concerned about its care.
And while I was walking… probably because I was walking, I got a rhythm. The kind that won’t quit. That’s how it all started.
Opal’s Words of Wisdom
Q 2. Speaking of your curious (!) Opal, the book-loving dog, what words of wisdom would she like to say about this book? (You know she wants to be in this interview!)
Meg Fleming: Oh, Opal would definitely like to weigh in. One second, let me ask her.
Okay, Opal says:
“Woof. Hi! Sniff-sniff. Let’s go outside. Should we go outside?”
And by that Opal means: “I’ve gone on most of the hikes that made this book, so this book is about me going outside on a sniff-walk. The ground is soft, the trees are… big, and there are sooooo many good smells to chase. Also, if you see a puddle, lay down in it.”
Q 3. Was creating this book anything remotely like hiking your favorite trail?
Meg Fleming: It was very much like hiking a number of my favorite trails. Throughout the process of getting the manuscript to its final form, there were the easy stretches of writing that made so much sense, and then there were the tough climbs of revision.
At one point, it was two stories in one (bonus!) and my editor suggested I pick just one. (That’s always easy.) While the feel of the story is very much the same as the original draft, the story arc itself is considerably different.
And I’d do it all again in a heartbeat! Even the tough climbs. Chuck Groenink’s artwork is one sweeping vista after the next.
written by Meg Fleming / Beach Lane Books.
Q 4. Speaking of your illustrator, what surprises did Chuck Groenink bring to the project?
Meg Fleming: Chuck’s artwork in this book is breathtaking. Page after page, he captures both the awe and magnificence of the forest along with each child’s quiet relationship with it.
written by Meg Fleming / Beach Lane Books.
Meg Fleming: I was delighted by his use of the vertical orientation in this book. How better to illustrate the tallest of trees than to give them the tallest of spaces on the page? I love how the act of rotating the book involves the reader in a fun and interactive way. Additionally, the return to the horizontal format is so clever and perfectly timed.
There are many other wonderful illustrative surprises in this book, (that title page is brilliant!) but I’ll let everyone find that out on their own!
Q 5. What was your research like for this project? Did you find yourself outside a lot?
Meg Fleming: I was outside all the time while working on this project. One time I was stuck and I asked my editor what I should do and she said, “Maybe you need to stop thinking about it and go back to the woods for another hike.”
What a great assignment.
We agree!
Q 6. What was one of the surprises or discoveries you made while working on The Everything Trail?
Meg Fleming: When I received my first copy of the book and turned to the first spread, I immediately had an emotional response and by the end of the book, I was in tears. I was surprised, very surprised by this, because by then I knew exactly what was going to happen on every page.
A whole lot of teamwork goes into making picture books. I find it humbling to give my words to a group of people for deep and thoughtful consideration. The amount of time and talent that has gone into this book, be it Chuck, our editor or our art director is far beyond what anyone would imagine. This team has made picture book magic that hooks to the heart. I’m so grateful.
written by Meg Fleming / Beach Lane Books.
Q 7. What do you hope readers will take away from The Everything Trail?
Meg Fleming: I hope readers will walk away with the feeling that the forest is a sacred space. And being in it and being a part of it is essential to our core, even if its simply to show up to say “Wow!”
We are all so deeply connected. Rocks, mountains, creeks and trees – they are homes to animals, critters and us. I hope that readers will want to go outside and spend time in nature, because people who spend time in nature tend to be the best caretakers. And we need that.
written by Meg Fleming / Beach Lane Books.
Q 8. What’s next for you? Anything in the queue that you can share?
Meg Fleming: Yes! Next summer I have a funny non-fiction PB coming out with Beach Lane Books/S&S called Pretty Close But Not the Same: A Side-by-Side Look at Confusable Critters. It’s illustrated by the super fun, funny and magnificent Steph Stilwell. I can’t wait to share this one because it’s silly and true.
Thanks so much for joining us on the blog today, Meg. and
Happy (almost) Book Birthday to
The Everything Trail.
* Still time to preorder! Links here.
To learn more about Meg Fleming and her work, visit her webite and socials:
IG: megosphere
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/megosphere.bsky.social
Next up on the blog: We chat with Olga Fadeeva about her fascinating new nonfiction pb:
Sound: Discovering the Vibrations We Hear
Illus. Lena Traer / Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
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