The seed for Can
an Aardvark Bark? was planted in my mind during a family trip to Disney World
in 2010. At the time, my nephew was 9 and my nieces were 7 and 5.

One day we decided to take a break from the rides and see
some of the animals in the park, including some adorable cotton-top tamarin
monkeys. The informational plaque on their cage told us where the monkeys live,
what they eat, and the sounds they make. It said they bark.

My nieces and nephew were skeptical. And then, as if on
cue, the monkeys started vocalizing. That night my nephew asked a great
question: “Do you think there are a lot of different animals that bark?”
Researching that question with him eventually led me to write a book about a
wide variety of animal sounds.

As I look back at all sixteen of the picture books I’ve
written, it’s clear that questions and curiosity are at the core of each one. How can you invite your sense of curiosity to come out and play? You’ll find some great suggestions in this fantastic post author Jess Keating (@Jess_Keating ) recently wrote for Storystorm, a month-long story brainstorming event developed and hosted by author Tara Lazar (@taralazar).

Next week, I’ll be talking about a second characteristic
of passionate nonfiction. Stay tuned.