Aug. 26, 2025

Mary Boone on The Authors Alley with Dori DeCarlo

Mary Boone on The Authors Alley with Dori DeCarlo
Mary Boone on The Authors Alley with Dori DeCarlo
Word of Mom Radio
Mary Boone on The Authors Alley with Dori DeCarlo

Mary Boone has written 70+ nonfiction books for young readers.

Spotify podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
Youtube Music podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Podyssey podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player iconPlayerFM podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

Mary Boone’s book research has taken her places many people have never been … chest deep in the Union River to count salmon, inside a cricket barn, and, perhaps most daring of all, the front row of a Justin Bieber concert surrounded by screaming teens. Mary has written 70+ nonfiction books for young readers, most recently Pedal Pusher, School of Fish, and Bugs for Breakfast.

Two more books are set for release in 2026: Flying Feminist and Unfathomable: 20 (Wild But True) Stories of the Sea.

Mary and her family live in Tacoma, WA, with a stubborn Airedale terrier named Ruthie Bader.

Join host Dori DeCarlo on The Authors Alley and connect with Mary at BooneWrites.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, X and buy her books on Amazon, too.

Please support UnsilencedVoices.org a global 501(c)3 nonprofit that empowers survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

We thank Smith Sisters and the Sunday Drivers for our theme song, "She is You".

Be sure to connect with us come tell us your story!

WordofMomRadio.com - sharing the wisdom of women, in business and in life.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/word-of-mom-radio--5252572/support.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:03.720
She is sure, she is true, she is straw is straw,

2
00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:08.640
she is true, is true, she is praise, pray, she

3
00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:10.800
is p she is you.

4
00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:15.160
Hello, everyone, welcome to today's Word of Mom Radio. Here

5
00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:17.839
on the Word of Mom Media Network. I'm your host,

6
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.679
Dori Di Carlo, and you know we are here week

7
00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:24.879
after week, show after show, breaking those myths that mompreneurs

8
00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.559
and business women, especially those of us building our businesses

9
00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.399
from home, that we're just dabbling in between bake sales

10
00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:34.560
and getting our nails done. We're not. We are smart,

11
00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:37.000
we are savvy, and we are sharing the wisdom of

12
00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:40.399
women in business and in life. And I'm looking forward

13
00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:44.640
to bringing today's guest into our author's ali. Mary Boone's

14
00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:48.240
book research has taken her place as many people have

15
00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:52.079
never been just deep in the Union River, to count

16
00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:56.799
salmon inside a cricket barn, and perhaps most daring of all,

17
00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:00.960
the front row of a Justin Bieber concert surrounded by

18
00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:06.640
screaming teens. Mary has written seventy plus nonfiction books for

19
00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:11.959
young readers, most recently Pedal Pusher, School of Fish and

20
00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:14.760
Bugs for Breakfast. Two more books are set for the

21
00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:20.879
release in twenty twenty six. Flying feminist and unfathomable twenty

22
00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:25.359
but wild but true stories of the Sea. Mary and

23
00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:28.680
her family live in Tacoma, Washington, with a stubborn Airindale

24
00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:30.680
Terrier named Ruthi Bader.

25
00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:32.000
Love that name.

26
00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:34.959
I could keep going, but I'd rather bring Mary in.

27
00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.599
So with all that being said, welcome to Word of

28
00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:38.280
Mom Radio.

29
00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:39.239
Thank you.

30
00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:40.640
I'm so glad to be here.

31
00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:43.799
I am really looking forward to sharing your journey. And

32
00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:47.599
I have to ask you what first drew you to

33
00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:52.159
writing nonfiction for kids. I know in reading about you

34
00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:57.000
you have a journalism background, and that helps shape the journey.

35
00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:01.799
Oh for sure. I always I was going to write

36
00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:05.640
Nancy Drew mysteries. I always thought I was going to

37
00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:09.599
write the next Junie B. Jones. But it turns out

38
00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:13.599
after you're a journalist for a very long time, making

39
00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:18.800
things up is difficult. I have worked so hard to

40
00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:22.759
relay facts and I'm really really great at research that

41
00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:27.479
I finally decided to lean into my strengths. And I

42
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:32.479
think part of my initial resistance to nonfiction was that

43
00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:35.439
the nonfiction I read when I was growing up was

44
00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:40.240
kind of boring, and I didn't want to write those

45
00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:44.080
boring books. So I set out to write non boring nonfiction,

46
00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:48.280
and I think I'm succeeding one little nonfiction book at

47
00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:48.680
a time.

48
00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:50.879
And that's how you do it. It's like how do you

49
00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:53.960
eat an elephant one bite at a time. How do

50
00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:59.080
you decide what topics you're going to tackle in your books?

51
00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.199
It needs to be something I'm interested in, because a

52
00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:07.120
book is a long term relationship. You're spending so much

53
00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:11.639
time on research and writing and revision that it needs

54
00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:16.080
to be something I care about, and so that's definitely

55
00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:19.520
a factor in deciding what I'm going to write about. Also,

56
00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.599
how can I make this relatable to kids? Is this

57
00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:26.120
something kids would also care about? Or is this just

58
00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:29.639
something a middle aged woman and Tacoma Washington cares about.

59
00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:33.319
So especially if there is something that as I'm doing research,

60
00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:36.400
I just can't wait to tell my friends and family

61
00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:39.879
about some fact I've uncovered. Then I think those same

62
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:43.800
facts often catch kids' attention and I can't wait to

63
00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:44.319
share them.

64
00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:48.159
So that's what makes it kid worthy for you, I think.

65
00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:50.879
So, especially when I can figure out a way to

66
00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:53.840
put it in terms that they understand. For example, when

67
00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:56.719
I wrote Bugs for Breakfast, I had no intention of

68
00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:59.240
ever eating insects. Let me tell you this is all

69
00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.759
about enimie, which is the practice of eating insects. I

70
00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:05.479
went on a trip to Vietnam I ate bugs. I

71
00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.719
came home and thought, I never to need to do

72
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.360
that again. That was just something I did. Check it

73
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:14.039
off my list. But that sense of curiosity, like why

74
00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.560
are they eating bugs? And where else are they eating bugs?

75
00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:18.800
And how long are they eating bugs? I know there

76
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:22.680
are kids out there who are equally as curious as

77
00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:25.120
I am, and I want to answer those questions, get

78
00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:29.519
them thinking about additional questions. And if the kid's not curious,

79
00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:32.399
I want to maybe turn on that switch and get them,

80
00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:35.959
get them to start wondering about the world around them.

81
00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.000
I have to say that when my daughter was in

82
00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:43.079
Cambodia and Vietnam, she backpacked across that whole part of

83
00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:48.720
the world for almost five months and bride crickets were

84
00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:49.480
her favorite.

85
00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:53.439
Yeah, I think crickets. They call it the gateway bug.

86
00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:56.879
But yeah, crickets and crickets there are a lot larger

87
00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.000
than crickets being raised for food here in the United States.

88
00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:03.399
But you know, eating one little bug, come ob, you

89
00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:05.639
know led me on this trail of research.

90
00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:06.639
You know.

91
00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:10.000
It's so funny because I remember her saying that I'm

92
00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.319
looking at all these bugs, mom, and he just have

93
00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:16.519
like it's a whole fort of bugs. And then I said,

94
00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:18.000
all right, win in Rome?

95
00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:19.079
Do is the Romans?

96
00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:22.519
And I stood, she goes in, crickets are really my favorite.

97
00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:24.920
It was like, well, it's get to know that you've

98
00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:29.759
found your favorite bug because and again you know, I know,

99
00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:33.600
when you are on survival trails, the first thing they

100
00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:38.879
tell you ants protein and stuff like that. So I

101
00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.680
remember my son one time dropped his lollipop in a

102
00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:47.079
pile of ants, and in the two seconds before I

103
00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:48.879
could grab it, he just had that thing in his

104
00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:50.600
mouth and there he was. And that's all I kept

105
00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:53.279
saying to myself, Okay, a lot of protein, I'll pick

106
00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:53.920
the bug.

107
00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:57.680
Out of his teeth. It's one of the things that

108
00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.480
they teach, you know, the military about survivor or if

109
00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:04.480
you're taken prisoner, or you're left out on a hike somewhere,

110
00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:08.439
is which bugs are edible and which aren't, and how

111
00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:10.560
to play it safe out there if you don't know

112
00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:11.079
for sure.

113
00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:16.600
It's really crazy, but it's true as a reader, because

114
00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:21.639
I'm such an avid reader nonfiction can really be tricky, yes,

115
00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:27.800
and finding that way to balance accuracy and storytelling, because,

116
00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:29.480
like you said, as we were growing in a lot

117
00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:33.519
of them not it was just boring. So how have

118
00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:38.360
you been able to adapt this to keep kids engaged

119
00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:39.680
in the stories?

120
00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:40.399
Oh?

121
00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:43.959
Wow, that's such a great question. And I hope that

122
00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:47.040
I'm doing it because I really I focus as I'm

123
00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:50.000
doing research on the wow facts, the things I can't

124
00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:52.959
wait to tell other people, and I keep post it

125
00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:55.160
notes that I then want to make sure that I

126
00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:59.240
get into my books as I'm writing them. But I

127
00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:02.360
just I always ask myself, why would this matter to

128
00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:05.680
a kid? Or what would a kid? What would fourth

129
00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:10.279
grade Mary have found fascinating about this? The new book

130
00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:14.000
I just researched about the oceans, there's a whole story

131
00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:18.519
in about concrete ships. Now, fourth grade Mary would have

132
00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:22.240
had a hard time figuring out why concrete was a

133
00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:25.120
good material for ships, why it was necessary. But I

134
00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:26.920
also would have wanted to know how did they make

135
00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.920
it float because every time I've seen a concrete block

136
00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.399
thrown in the ocean, it just sinks to the bottom.

137
00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:36.439
So just trying to figure out what their questions are

138
00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.920
going to be anticipate and then presented in an interesting,

139
00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:45.360
relatable way. I try to be conversational and, like I said,

140
00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:46.959
anticipate their questions.

141
00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:51.160
In looking back at things that you've written, Mary, are

142
00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:55.439
there some of those wow facts that still stick with

143
00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:58.279
you that wow, I can't believe this or that.

144
00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:01.199
Sure, I grew up on a fall, so I thought

145
00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:04.040
I knew all about traditional farming. But when I was

146
00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:08.959
researching bugs for breakfast, one of the issues related to

147
00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:11.959
eating insects is that there's so much more sustainable than

148
00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:15.879
traditional proteins. So, especially when I go talk to kids

149
00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.079
in schools, I always ask does anybody here like a

150
00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.160
cheeseburger or a hamburger? And all their hands go up,

151
00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:23.879
or a lot of them, And then I asked them

152
00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:26.759
to guess how much water do you think it takes

153
00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:30.079
to raise one pound of beef? One pound of beef?

154
00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:34.320
Do you have any idea, not a clue? Eighteen hundred

155
00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:39.159
gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. It

156
00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:42.200
was a fact I didn't even believe because, like I said,

157
00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:44.279
I had a farming background. I grew up on a

158
00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:48.639
farm in Iowa. But we have to remember we're feeding

159
00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:52.240
and watering that cow for eighteen months before it's taken

160
00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:55.679
to market. It's got to eat and drink every single day.

161
00:08:56.039 --> 00:09:00.480
And then we're not eating the entire cow. You know,

162
00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:05.639
you're not eating its hoofs, it's hide, its head, its tail.

163
00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.919
You're only eating a certain percentage of that cow. So

164
00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:13.120
when you figure out the water usage to produce a

165
00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:17.600
pound of beef, it's eighteen hundred gallons. And if you're

166
00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:21.279
producing a pound of cricket powder or cricket protein, it

167
00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:26.559
takes one gallon. Same protein levels in each of those foods,

168
00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:31.600
but the water required to produce each is so vastly different.

169
00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:34.519
I live in Washington, and initially kids they're like, Oh,

170
00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.600
we have all the water you can. You know, it

171
00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:40.159
rains here all the time. Well, it doesn't rain here

172
00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.399
all the time, and there are droughts all over this country,

173
00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.480
all over the world, and we've got to start thinking

174
00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:51.240
about proteins that maybe require less water, less resources to produce.

175
00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:54.120
So that when I start talking to kids on that level,

176
00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:56.159
a lot of times adults would be like, oh, there'll

177
00:09:56.159 --> 00:10:00.480
be water. But kids are really into the environment and

178
00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:03.559
they want to save this planet. And good for them,

179
00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:06.840
because a lot of adults we've made a mess of things,

180
00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:10.559
we need them to fix it. So they're very tuned

181
00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:13.879
into that. That's just one wow fact that has that

182
00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:15.399
I still think about all the time.

183
00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:18.480
All Right, here's my question, how do you get people

184
00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:21.720
to go Cricket protein would be much better for me

185
00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:26.000
to be adding to my things. You know, that's where

186
00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:29.240
I'm seeing that big wall to climb.

187
00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:32.879
Oh sure, for sure, and if not, cricket. So there

188
00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:35.200
are a couple of answers to that one. When I

189
00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:38.039
do presentations, I always take bugs for people to try.

190
00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.679
I have jars of roasted bugs that they can try.

191
00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:45.440
But I also always make cricket cookies. And I make

192
00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:48.679
a mean cricket cookie, and I make cricket cookies. And

193
00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:50.960
then I make cookies that don't have crickets in them.

194
00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:51.840
Ground up.

195
00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:54.600
It's cricket proteins, so you can't see any legs or

196
00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:56.960
any And I ask them if they can tell the difference,

197
00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:00.399
and they are so shocked that they can't to tell

198
00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:02.679
the difference. I usually have them vote, which when do

199
00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:05.840
you think had crickets cricket protein in it? Nine times

200
00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:09.240
out of ten they're wrong, They're just wrong. They cannot

201
00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:12.120
taste the difference. So getting them just to try it

202
00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:14.720
and a cookie is a good first step, But then

203
00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:18.039
telling them if they're not going to try crickets, then

204
00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:22.360
what we've got to start thinking about alternative sources of protein.

205
00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:24.480
Is it going to be help, is it going to

206
00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:27.440
be lab raised meats? What are we going to do

207
00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:30.879
to feed our growing population? So I just want to

208
00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:34.519
get people. I don't necessarily need people to start eating crickets,

209
00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:37.159
but I need them to start thinking about what the

210
00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:38.879
alternatives could be.

211
00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:42.320
Lab raised meat. It's so funny we were just talking

212
00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:45.360
about it the other day that when we were growing up,

213
00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:49.559
we did not have to worry about genetically modified boots.

214
00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:54.960
We didn't have to worry about them injecting our chicken

215
00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:58.480
and things like that to make them bigger. It's always

216
00:11:58.519 --> 00:12:03.960
amazing to me now how careful you need to be

217
00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:09.799
reading labels matter, because the stuff that my feeling is

218
00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:12.519
if I can't just go and buy it, then I

219
00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.600
shouldn't have it. Like people gargum. People don't realize that

220
00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:18.279
gargum is just a thickener and it's a peckner that

221
00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:21.480
you can use, especially if you're few have aluten in tolerance,

222
00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:24.120
and it's something you can buy on the shelf, but

223
00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:26.240
there's a lot of stuff in our food that you

224
00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:30.679
can't because it's fid and creative again, even something creative

225
00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:35.559
like this being able to look at alternatives, because let's

226
00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:37.679
face it, think we're just such an indulgent country.

227
00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:40.320
We are well and I love to talk about to

228
00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.600
kids who By the way, when I do school presentations,

229
00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.000
I usually will say to the principle at the end,

230
00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:48.720
I'd love to have some kids come up and try insects,

231
00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.120
And the principle will almost always say, well, we can

232
00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:55.480
do that, but nobody's going to want to. And at

233
00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:59.000
the end of every presentation when I ask about three

234
00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:00.919
quarters of the hands go up in the air and

235
00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:03.200
we have a hard time choosing who gets to do it.

236
00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.639
So kids are really really open to trying new things.

237
00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:11.399
I have found that girls are generally more daring than boys,

238
00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:13.799
and then the boys become more daring when they see

239
00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:18.519
how open the girls are. But I just love to

240
00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:22.200
get them thinking about if they're not going to eat crickets,

241
00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:26.440
could they be the person who comes up with alternatives.

242
00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:29.360
You know, living here in Washington State, we've got the

243
00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:33.759
world's largest help farm and kelp is a great source

244
00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:37.279
of protein, so it maybe that's going to be it,

245
00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:43.000
I don't know, or thinking about using more insect protein

246
00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:46.600
in the foods we feed our pets, because while you

247
00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:49.639
and I might only eat crickets once a week, our

248
00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:52.559
pets eat the same thing every single day. There are

249
00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.919
some cricket based dog foods and cat foods out there,

250
00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.519
but could there be more? So all the questions, I

251
00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:03.039
just want to get people thinking and wondering. That's my mission.

252
00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:06.799
On that note, think of what Mary's talking about, because

253
00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:10.480
it really is just raising the questions and opening your mind.

254
00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.320
We're going to take a quick break, stay, thank you

255
00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:15.639
to the people that are behind our show, and we'll

256
00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:18.759
be back here in just a moment. On Word of

257
00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:19.360
Mom Radio.

258
00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:23.879
She is brave, she is bold, She is you, and

259
00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:27.000
we want to tell your story. Are you ready to

260
00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.519
share your journey with us on Word of Mom Radio?

261
00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:35.039
Go to wordommradio dot com and register as a guest.

262
00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:38.360
We want to tell your story because when you win,

263
00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:39.600
we all win.

264
00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:45.960
In twenty seventeen, Unsilenced Voices was formed to help survivors

265
00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:51.399
of domestic abuse and gender based violence worldwide. The organization

266
00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:57.320
currently serves siri Leone, Rwanda, Ghana, and the USA. In

267
00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:02.000
twenty twenty two, Unsilenced Voices gifted over thirty three thousand

268
00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:05.720
dollars to survivors in the USA and in sire Leone.

269
00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:09.200
There are over twenty six young girls who have been

270
00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:13.759
rescued from sex trafficking and domestic abuse and now going

271
00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:17.559
through vocational training school in order to better their lives.

272
00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:22.159
We need your help. Donations are critical in order for

273
00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:26.360
us to continue our work. We also need volunteers to

274
00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:32.720
help with research and development. Please visit Unsilenced Voices dot

275
00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:34.480
org for more information.

276
00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:37.360
And we're back here on Word of Mom Radio. We

277
00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:41.679
are talking with author Mary Boone and I am looking.

278
00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:46.120
You know, kids are not only the future, but they

279
00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:51.120
are so clear on what adults should be doing, so

280
00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.480
much more often than the adults are. I remember my

281
00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:58.440
son Dan, who's now a dad, when he was five

282
00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:01.080
and a half and we were standing on a step.

283
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.519
He was waiting for his school bus, and this girl

284
00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:06.919
was smoking a cigarette and while there was this big

285
00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:10.559
sand bowl next her for them, she took it inflicted

286
00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:12.799
in the air on to the ground and my son

287
00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:14.879
watched the arc. He looked at me and he goes

288
00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:17.960
cigarette smokers. They think the world is an ash tray.

289
00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.159
And then looked at her and goes, you know you're

290
00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:21.240
littering my world?

291
00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:21.519
Right.

292
00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:24.159
She walked down the stairs, she picked up the butt,

293
00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:25.759
she put it in the thing, and I looked at her.

294
00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:27.919
I said, nothing like getting put in your place by

295
00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:30.679
a five year old. But that's true. It is their

296
00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:36.480
world and they are so cognizant about recycling and everything else. Also,

297
00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:39.159
what you said about the girls are more adventuresome. I

298
00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.440
have a five year old granddaughter and a seven year

299
00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.000
old grandson. Trust me, Edie would be eating that cricket first,

300
00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:47.360
and then Danny would do it because Edie did.

301
00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:48.240
It no pressure.

302
00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:52.440
Yes, I absolutely know, because she is somebody who I

303
00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:55.399
bet she's already eaten a cricket. I would be surprised

304
00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:58.519
if she hadn't. I want to know from you, how

305
00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:02.080
do you vote kids feel when they read your books.

306
00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:05.200
I mean, I know, opening up those conversations when you

307
00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:07.400
get to speak to them, What do you want them

308
00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.359
to come away with when they've got it in their beedom?

309
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.039
I just I really want them to think what else?

310
00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:17.000
You know, what else? What could I do? How could this?

311
00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:21.599
How could my family do? This or I want them.

312
00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:25.119
You know, they're not all books about bugs. You know.

313
00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:28.359
I wrote this book School of Fish, which is all

314
00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:34.440
about a program where schools teach. Schools are given fertilized

315
00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.039
eggs of either salmon or trout or sunfish, and the

316
00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:40.359
kids get to raise them. And I want them to

317
00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:43.559
look at a book like this and think, citizens science

318
00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:47.039
is pretty cool. I want to do that. If this

319
00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:51.240
person did this, why can't I. If they broke this barrier,

320
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:53.839
what barrier is out there for me to break?

321
00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:54.359
I think.

322
00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:58.240
I just want them to keep thinking and dreaming. And

323
00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:00.960
a lot of times kids will say to me, I've

324
00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.039
heard this a lot. There's nothing new for me to invent.

325
00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:08.200
Everything's been done, and I think, oh my gosh, that

326
00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:12.680
is so not true. I've written books about the first

327
00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:15.160
woman to build and fly her own airplane, the first

328
00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:18.119
woman to ride a bike around the world, and they're like,

329
00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:21.720
all the persons have been done. Oh no, they haven't.

330
00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:24.799
Go out there and figure out what your thing is,

331
00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:27.319
and even if it's been done, figure out a way

332
00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:30.200
to do it better or bigger. I just want it

333
00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.640
to open their minds. So even if I don't get

334
00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:36.119
to talk to them, I want the books to talk

335
00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:39.440
for them for me and just put this little idea

336
00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:41.440
in the back of their head that their world is

337
00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:45.279
bigger than wherever they are and whatever they're doing at

338
00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:45.839
that time.

339
00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:52.119
Do you see changes or trends in children's nonfiction today?

340
00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:55.319
For sure? Like I said in the beginning, I think

341
00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.720
that when I was a kid, when we were kids,

342
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.880
it was just pretty straight for these are the facts,

343
00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:05.920
here's the timeline. But now we get to read stories,

344
00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:09.799
they're way more narrative driven. We find you don't have

345
00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:12.079
to if you write a biography of someone, it doesn't

346
00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:15.519
have to start at their birth and end at their death.

347
00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:19.960
It can focus on one exciting aspect of their life

348
00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:23.160
and tell it as a story, so that a lot

349
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:25.920
of times this I love this story. This is the

350
00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:30.119
story of Annie Londonderry. Her real name is Annie Cohen Kobchowski,

351
00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:34.440
but she sold her naming rights marketing far before anybody

352
00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:37.640
was marketing, when she rode a bike around the world.

353
00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:41.359
And a lot of times, because this book is so narrative,

354
00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.359
I will finish reading it and kids will say, is

355
00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:49.079
that real? So it doesn't read like those old timey

356
00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:52.319
biographies that we grew up with. Or I grew up

357
00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:55.519
with reads like a story. I want it to be

358
00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:59.920
as much like fiction, but better because it's real.

359
00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:04.559
All you've got the unfathomable twenty wild but true Stories

360
00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:07.799
of the Sea coming out next year. And yes, that's

361
00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.480
when you learned as you were researching it.

362
00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.279
Oh, so many, so many facts. But the thing that

363
00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:16.839
got me thinking about this book in the first places.

364
00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:19.000
And like I said, I grew up in Iowa, far

365
00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:21.359
from any ocean, about as far from an ocean as

366
00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:24.799
you can get. But I now live in Tacoma, Washington,

367
00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:29.480
And when I moved here, people started talking about octopus wrestling.

368
00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:34.359
Octopus wrestling, and I thought, certainly that was that's not real.

369
00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:38.839
Oh it was. The World Octopus Wrestling Championships were held

370
00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:43.440
into Cooma, Washington in the nineteen fifties and sixties. The

371
00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.680
Wide World of Sports would come and broadcast, which still

372
00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.880
baffles me because it all happened underwater, and there weren't

373
00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:53.279
really great underwater cameras at the time, but thousands of

374
00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:58.960
people would gather. Boeing sponsored teams. Teams of three divers

375
00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.720
would go down in in to the water near the

376
00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:06.960
Tacoma Narrows Bridge. They would gather giant pacific octopus and

377
00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:09.480
they would haul them back up in Whichever team had

378
00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:14.480
the largest octopus would win this championship. When I heard

379
00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:18.680
this story, I was my mind was kind of blown

380
00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:22.279
because we now know how really smart octopus are and

381
00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:25.000
that was perhaps not the kindest thing to do to

382
00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:29.160
those octopus. But that's what hooked me. So that's one

383
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:33.319
of the just wow stories that's in here. Got to

384
00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:36.000
interview a man who was swallowed by a whale for

385
00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:39.920
real and lived to tell the story. A lobster fisherman

386
00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:44.039
who he's an old timey lobster fisherman who actually dives

387
00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:48.640
down to grab the lobsters. He's not doing that anymore,

388
00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.920
but he did get swallowed by a that's swallowed by

389
00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:55.680
a whale, taken into a whale's mouth, had no idea

390
00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.319
where he was, and then thankfully got spit back out

391
00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:03.039
by the way and lived to tell the tale. So

392
00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:05.839
just stories like that that I think kids are going

393
00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:09.599
to have their minds blown a little bit. But also

394
00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:13.480
think about all that's out there, all that's left to

395
00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:16.200
be discovered the oceans. Talk about places that there's a

396
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:18.920
lot to be discovered, There's a lot out there.

397
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:21.960
I'm laughing about the lobster because my kids go to

398
00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:25.480
Maine every summer and my granddaughter this is now two

399
00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:28.440
summers ago. So she was three and I said to her,

400
00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:32.119
did you have lobster? And she's looking at me. She's like, mean,

401
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:37.359
those lobsters could eat me. They have blush chump. I said,

402
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:37.960
I know, she goes.

403
00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:38.640
You know what I did?

404
00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:42.000
I said, what she goes? I ate that claw put

405
00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:46.799
this book on her face, like what ah? Yeah, so funny.

406
00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:51.559
But again, you know things like that the sea holds

407
00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:52.920
so much, so.

408
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.440
Much meat when we see the top what few inches.

409
00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:59.200
When I was I learned to swim as an adult,

410
00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:02.039
and when I started doing open water swims, it was like,

411
00:23:02.119 --> 00:23:04.279
I don't know what's down there. And I remember my

412
00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:07.319
swim teacher saying, you only need the top eighteen inches.

413
00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:10.799
And then I thought, yeah, but what is down in

414
00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:14.400
those miles and miles below me? A lot of us

415
00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:18.319
we have no idea. I mean, it's kind of mind

416
00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:19.720
blowing just to think about.

417
00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:23.359
So I have the bite on my foot that's still

418
00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:26.960
healing from three weeks ago when I was down in

419
00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:30.960
Jones Beach in on Long Island, walking along and all

420
00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.839
of a sudden, ow big crab bit me. I just

421
00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:37.160
bite me and it just kind of, you know nothing.

422
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:40.119
But then I got a big one and didn't even

423
00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:44.079
realize it until I came out. It just scraped the

424
00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:48.599
skin long enough that a scab form to close it up.

425
00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:51.200
But for days I'm like, is this this scabbard? Did

426
00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:52.480
it stick something in me?

427
00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:53.200
Oh?

428
00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:53.680
You know what?

429
00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:56.839
I stepped on him. I deserve to get bit. I

430
00:23:56.839 --> 00:24:00.279
should have been swimming instead of walking. But yeah, you

431
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:05.319
don't know what is lurking. So as we close this

432
00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:09.480
all out, because yeah, we could just keep talking forever

433
00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:12.039
on this. I love books. What do you want to

434
00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:15.559
leave our listeners with? And how may they reach out

435
00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:15.839
to you?

436
00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:19.839
I am assuming I'm talking to a lot of parents

437
00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:24.000
out there. I sorry that was Ruth Bader making a

438
00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:24.519
big yawn.

439
00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:29.519
Your mom, radio, pet and kid cameos are always welcome.

440
00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:34.400
I just want to encourage parents to encourage their kids

441
00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:38.160
to be readers and maybe think about I just led

442
00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:40.480
a day camp where there were so many kids who

443
00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.599
didn't even know how to do imaginary play because their

444
00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:47.680
only imagination they had to be characters and video games.

445
00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:50.799
They didn't know how to do real play anymore. So

446
00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:55.359
maybe less screen time, more book time, more just free

447
00:24:55.400 --> 00:25:01.240
time to think and wonder and ask questions. So that's

448
00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:04.000
what I'd like to leave people with. A weekly trip

449
00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:10.400
to the library is free and so eye opening for kids.

450
00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:12.480
Let them choose what they want to read. They may

451
00:25:12.519 --> 00:25:15.240
not get through all of them. I know it hurts

452
00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:17.079
to read the same book over and over and over.

453
00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:21.160
But if that's what a child is interested in, just

454
00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:25.079
nourish that that interest and answer those questions that seem

455
00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:27.319
like they're never going to end. And if people want

456
00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:29.519
to reach out to me, they can do that through

457
00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:34.119
my website. It's www. Dot boone writes like with a Pencil,

458
00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:36.839
wriites dot com.

459
00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:40.200
All of Mary's links are going to be live on

460
00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:45.200
bard of momradio dot com, including linkstriver books. I so

461
00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:49.680
encourage you children learn by what you share with them.

462
00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:55.279
Read to them, even when they are infants. Start reading.

463
00:25:55.799 --> 00:25:58.519
Doesn't matter that they don't understand, it doesn't matter that

464
00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:02.000
they're not attending the book. It's in material. Keep reading

465
00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:06.240
to them create the readers that are going to sheep

466
00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:10.160
this world. And so Mary, I thank you so much

467
00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.119
for taking the time to come and share your journey

468
00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:16.519
with us. Come back next year when the Flying Feminists

469
00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:21.279
and Unfathomable come out and let's share what is happening

470
00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:25.279
as they are getting out there to kids all over.

471
00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:26.279
So again, I.

472
00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:29.480
Would love to I so appreciate you taking the time

473
00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:32.000
to talk to me, because I do think readers are

474
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.640
leaders and we need more of them.

475
00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:37.279
So right on and for all of you tuning in,

476
00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:40.000
thanks so much. We're going to close out with our

477
00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:44.400
fabulous theme song from Smith's Sisters and the Sunday Drivers.

478
00:26:44.839 --> 00:26:47.599
So till next time, This is Dory Di Carlos saying,

479
00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:51.240
go out and create a marvelous youth. Bye for now.

480
00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:56.799
She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she

481
00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:01.519
is straw, she is true, she is true, she is braise,

482
00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:02.920
she is bold.

483
00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:07.279
She she is you. She is she is.

484
00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:10.079
She is sure, she is she is strong, is strong,

485
00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:15.720
she is true, is true, she is braised, she is bold,

486
00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:18.599
she is she is you. Is you, she is you.

487
00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:22.200
She is sure of herself. Yeah, she takes care of

488
00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:25.640
his powerful and strong. Yes, she knows who she is

489
00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:28.759
has integrity, woman, strong and true.

490
00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:31.880
You know her by name. See this woman is you.

491
00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:36.079
She is sure, she is strong, is strong, she is true,

492
00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:41.119
is true. She is braise, she is bold, she is,

493
00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:46.359
she is you, she is she is, she is sure,

494
00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:49.640
she is strong, is strong, she is true, is true,

495
00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:53.960
she is braid, she is she is.

496
00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:55.799
She is you, she is you.

497
00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:00.599
She is adds value and hope has proved to be brave.

498
00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:04.759
See it's never too late, never time to behave Reaching

499
00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:09.359
for dreams doesn't matter. The age believes in herself, unleashed

500
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:12.000
from her cage. She is sure, she is sure, she

501
00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:16.880
is strong, is strong, she is true, is true, she

502
00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:20.920
is brave, brave, she is bold, she is you, she

503
00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:24.920
is she is she, she is sure, she is she

504
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:27.960
is strong, she is strong, she is true, is true,

505
00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:33.519
she is brave, is brave, she is she is you.
Mary Boone Profile Photo

Mary Boone’s book research has taken her places many people have never been … chest deep in the Union River to count salmon, inside a cricket barn, and, perhaps most daring of all, the front row of a Justin Bieber concert surrounded by screaming teens. Mary has written 70+ nonfiction books for young readers, most recently Pedal Pusher, School of Fish, and Bugs for Breakfast. Two more books are set for release in 2026: Flying Feminist and Unfathomable: 20 (Wild But True) Stories of the Sea. Mary and her family live in Tacoma, WA, with a stubborn Airedale terrier named Ruthie Bader.