research—all these things help stimulate the
desire to write.

KATIEWEAVER ELLENOH
Ellen Oh is the author of six books and the
editor of two anthologies. She is also the
cofounder of We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to increasing diversity in
children’s literature. Her newest book, “Finding
Junie Kim,” which will be published in May, is
the most personal one she’s ever written. The
story was inspired by her mother’s real-life
experiences as a lost child during the Korean
War. Oh lives in Potomac with her husband and
three children.

When did you first realize you wanted to
be an author?
When I was pregnant with my first child,
I remember going to bookstores in order
to start a library of children’s books. And
I couldn’t help but notice that there were
not a lot of books with Asian faces on the
covers. It was not that different from when
I was young. Then The Washington Post
named Genghis Khan the “Man of the
Millennium,” and I was so shocked to see
an Asian on the cover that I started reading
all these biographies about him. I learned
more ancient Korean and Asian history in
the biography about a Mongol than in all my
years of schooling. It was so fascinating, and
I thought, why didn’t we know any of this
history? Why weren’t there books about this?
At that moment I decided that if I couldn’t
find the books I wanted to buy for my kids, I
would write them.

18 Washington FAMILY MARCH 2021
Where do you get your ideas
for your books?
My new book came from my family history,
but my other books have come from dreams,
being stuck in traffic and having a moment
of road rage, researching random bits of
history and trivia, etc.

What do you love about writing
children’s books?
It is hearing from my kid readers that I
love the most. Getting their letters, emails,
artwork, talking to them in person. They are
always a joy and truly why I adore writing for
children and young adults.

What does your writing process look like?
Process? What process?! I do have somewhat
of a process in that I have to have a fully
fleshed out outline with a conclusion before
I can start writing. But once I have that done
there is no process; I just write whenever I
can until the story is done.

What advice do you have for kids who
want to improve their own writing?
The most important tip of course is the one
we hear the most: Read. A lot. But I also
think that what makes a writer is taking
notes. Whether from observations during
the course of a day or through research, take
notes of things that you find interesting
or weird or unbelievable. I find that taking
notes—jotting down ideas, facts, news items,
Katie Weaver’s first book as both author and
illustrator, “When the Sky Roars,” available
in May, is a rhyming story about a little boy
determined to conquer his fear of thunderstorms.

She also illustrated “Oodles and Oodles of
Noodley Noodles” by Cindy Ninni Grant.

Weaver lives in Centreville with her husband,
four sons and newborn daughter.

When did you first realize you wanted to
be an author?
I’ve always been interested in children’s
picture book artwork and thought it would
be a lot of fun to do. As a stay-at-home
mom, in the evenings after the kids were in
bed, I learned how to use Photoshop and a
digital Wacom tablet to hand-draw digital
art. Knowing that it would be difficult for an
author to place their trust in a new illustrator,
I decided I would write my own book,
illustrate it and publish it for my portfolio.

So I wrote a rhyming ABC book, which I later
tossed out because it was terrible! Before I
could get the next story flushed out, Cindy
Grant found me and hired me to illustrate her
book. I loved working on her book so much
that I really wanted to create my own book,
and I knew that was meant to be my path
forward. By the time I finished her book, I had
a notebook full of ideas for children’s books.

Where do you get your ideas for
your books?
Every night before bed, my children ask me
to tell them a bedtime story. And every night
I make up new stories—crazy, outlandish
stories. If my story isn’t to my two-year-
old’s liking, he will make me start over, so
they have to be really creative! I get most of



my story ideas from my children by incorporating our own real-life
adventures and the things they’re most interested in.

Westminster School
PreK - 8 th Grade | Established 1962
What do you love about writing children’s books?
I think the part I have enjoyed the most is challenging myself to
become a better writer, better rhymer and better illustrator in order
to effectively tell a story to children in a way that is captivating and
entertaining. I haven’t gotten to the part where I get to see my book
being enjoyed by the children I created it for, though. I suspect that
will be my new favorite part once I get there.

What does your writing process look like?
I prefer to write in rhyme because I find well-written, lyrical
stories to be the most fun to read. What I’ve realized about myself
is that some days I can rhyme and it comes naturally to me and
some days I simply can’t. (Similarly, I have days I can’t draw a stick
figure, and other days artwork just flows out of me!) So, when I am
able to get into the rhythm of writing in rhyme, I have to get out as
much as I can.

What advice do you have for kids who want to improve
their own writing?
My 8-year-old has shown an interest in writing and is actually excellent
at creatively telling a story. We’ve encouraged him to read ... a lot. The
more he’s read and been exposed to, the better writer he’s become. We
also encourage him to read a lot of different types of books—different
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