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Today, our new picture book, Salamander Sky emerges into the world. But really, it's been a long time coming. I wrote the poem that became the book back in 2010, but my love of salamanders and nature goes way back before that....
My 10 year old hands went numb as I reached in the water and picked up a green-grey salamander (an eastern newt). I was standing in a cool brook, on shelf grey rocks that made a small waterfall in Central Pennsylvania. It’s body— tiny, delicate toes, long tapered tail, and moving head delighted me. It was not gross, slimy or disgusting, as others might have said, or implied, that girls would not like them.
Fast forward to being a camp counselor in Western New York. I led herpetology workshops with teenagers, hiking up another stream in search of pale pink salamanders to identify, record details about, and send our data to the state of New York’s Herpetology project. The teenagers’ eyes widened as they lifted heavy rocks and found the yellow eyes and long pink bodies underneath.
Then, we moved to Vermont, and luckily, we had a small pond on our property that was full of spring peepers, wood frogs, and eastern newts. We also discovered that one on night, the rarely seen spotted salamanders would cross our dirt road to get to our pond to mate. If this crossing happened when the road was busy, dozens were killed. I was disheartened, but then I saw them. The people who came out at night, in their raincoats and safety vests, helping the salamanders cross the road safely, putting up signs, and alerting their neighbors to slow down. I joined them, and have been helping salamanders cross Vermont roads for at least a decade.
In Salamander Sky, I wanted to show two female characters being thrilled and excited about the warm rain, the nighttime crossing, and the elegant bodies and coloring of the spotted salamanders. I wanted to illustrate that together they can do something important to help these fragile and beautiful creatures, and that we all have a part to play in taking care of the earth and all of its diverse inhabitants.
Now, I take my two daughters with me on the night of the Salamander Sky. We wait for the night in great excitement, we jump up and pull on our raincoats and mud boots, just like the main character April does, in the book. It connects us to each other and to the beauty of the natural world.
We hope you will join us and see the magic of the Salamander Sky and these incredible creatures.
