A few weeks ago, I had lunch on a Saturday, wait for it—without the kids. Not only was my lunch date void of playing tick-tack-toe a thousand times too many, but it was full of wonderful conversation with my dear friend, and Winter Park author, Taryn Souders.
We spent our time talking about her new book, Dead Possums Are Fair Game, which released this Tuesday. Specifically for readers 8-12 years old, this book is the delightful tale of Ella, who believes the world would be a better place without math or messy roommates.
HI The title of your book. It’s fabulous. Tell me about it.
TS I wanted a title that would appeal to girls and boys, something all kids would be intrigued by. The expression “fair game” means it’s up for grabs—work with it any way you can. Since Ella is attempting to use this dead possum to pass her end-of-the-year math project, I thought Dead Possums Are Fair Game would work.
HI Why did you want Ella to struggle with math?
TS Ella was me in school. She mainly struggles with math because she doesn’t like it. Since she doesn’t enjoy math, she never takes the time to figure out how to make it work. It’s one of those situations where, “I’m not good at it because I don’t like it. I don’t like it because I’m not good at it.”
HI Viscous cycle for sure. So you struggled in math, yet you went to college to be a math teacher?
TS I had a really, really good math teacher as a junior in high school. She made math fun. She made it understandable. I decided I wanted to help kids the way she helped me. I could say to my students, “I know exactly how you feel right now.”
HI What do you hope children gain from the book?
TS I want children to realize being a perfectionist is not the end all, be all of life. Life is full of mistakes. A lot of good can come from them. Ella is a perfectionist. I want anyone who struggles with perfectionism to walk away from reading this book knowing it’s okay to make a mistake.
HI That’s something, even as moms, we can relate to. Let’s talk about motherhood. You’re one of us—an Orlando momma. Share a few things you find difficult about being a mom.
TS The sibling rivalry. I have three kids. Nathan’s six. Jireh’s 11 and Elenna’s 12. They argue. Every day. The hard part is they each emphatically believe their point of view is the right one. The sibling rivalry just drives me up the wall. It really does.
HI I can relate. Sometimes I want to know if will end. What else?
TS They want to continue to argue with us about decisions. My husband, David and I used to engage. Particularly with our oldest. She’d just want to talk about it and talk about it and talk about it. We got to the point we’d say, “This is what has been decided. We hear you. But this is our final decision. Thanks for playing.”
HI Like, the decision is final.
TS The decision is final, and now we’re moving forward. It’s my job to be their mom. It’s not my job to be their friend. Hopefully that will come later. It’s my job to protect them right now.
HI Absolutely. What are the good parts?
TS Oh, the kids. They’re wonderful. When they’re not fighting. Those are the good parts. When there’s laughter. We have family game night a few times a week. Those are the good times.
HI What do you want for Dead Possum Are Fair Game?
TS I would love to see the book in every school, in every classroom, from 3rd grade to 7th grade to show kids you’re not going to only encounter math in textbooks, you’re going to encounter math in real life.
HI Anything else you want us to know about the book?
TS It’s a really long process. I think I started writing this back in 2010 and didn’t get all the details hammered out until like 2014. So it’s been a work in progress for a long time.
HI Because you’re a mom.
TS Because I’m a mom.
The Writer’s Block Bookstore in Winter park will be hosting Taryn tonight, November 7th, from 4-6pm. You can meet Taryn and have her sign your copy of Dead Possums are Fair Game. It is a delightful tale that will not disappoint.
You can purchase a copy at The Writer’s Block or through Amazon.
Taryn’s website can be found here.
*unaffiliated links
