Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Julie Winterbottom!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: Julie Winterbottom
Julie Winterbottom writes books for kids about nature and ecology and is the author of two humor books, Pranklopedia and What a Blast!. She is the former editor-in-chief of Nickelodeon magazine, where her dual passions for quirky nonfiction and irreverent humor found the perfect home. When she’s not writing, she loves exploring the shores of the Hudson River near her home in Beacon, New York.
About the Book: Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World about Water Pollution
An entertaining and gorgeous picture book biography of scientist and environmental hero Ruth Patrick, one of the first to warn about the dangers of pollution.
A brilliant scientist and intrepid explorer, the ecologist Ruth Patrick taught the world how to care for the environment. She studied water pollution long before it became a public concern and gave other scientists the tools to do something about it. Born in 1907, Ruth Patrick was one of the only women in her field when she made her breakthrough discovery about biodiversity and the ecosystem of rivers, forever changing how ecologists understand pollution.
Lyrically, joyfully written, exquisitely illustrated, and full of fascinating details and a rich afterword and timeline, this STEM biography will inspire readers who love the environment to follow their passion and curiosity.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What sparked your interest in writing about this topic?
A few years ago, I was skimming a book of essays about women in science when I came across the story of Ruth Patrick. I was instantly captivated by a description of Patrick at age five, peering through her father’s microscope at a drop of pond water and becoming entranced by the gem-like microscopic algae she saw there. When I learned that Patrick went on to become a pioneering ecologist on a par with Rachel Carson, I knew I had to write about her.
YABC: How do you tailor complex information to make it accessible to younger readers?
First, I make sure I really understand the material myself. Then I choose just one or two ideas to zero in on. After that, it’s all about language and voice. When I was writing Magic in a Drop of Water, the section about biodiversity and ecosystem health kept sounding like a textbook. I decided to try writing that passage from the POV of the community of aquatic plants and animals impacted by pollution. I let them tell what happens when the toxins kill so many species that the balance in the community is lost. It made an abstract idea very concrete and relatable.
YABC: How do you decide which visuals will best support the content and keep readers engaged?
As a picture book author, I don’t dictate the exact visuals. That’s up to the artist. But I did make sure while writing the text to change the setting on every spread so the visuals would not be boring. We were very lucky to get Susan Reagan to illustrate the book. Her renderings of microscopic life and stream inhabitants are not only gorgeous, they’re scientifically accurate.
YABC: Were there any surprising things you learned about the topic during your research?
Ruth Patrick spent her whole career studying diatoms, microscopic algae found in every body of water. Before I began my research, I had never even heard of diatoms. I was amazed to learn that these tiny organisms produce a quarter of all the oxygen on Earth. Without them, there would be no life on the planet!
YABC: Do you have a playlist you listened to while writing?
I don’t. I love music (I play accordion in a Cajun band), but I need silence when I write. I listen to the sound and rhythm of the words in my head as I write, so having someone else’s music playing in the background would be very distracting—like trying to listen to two radio stations at once.
YABC: Do you have an unusual office supply that helps you in your writing routine?
I’m going to count a kitchen timer as an office supply. I use one to get myself to write for a period without stopping to check email or give in to the million other distractions that beckon. I set the timer for 45 minutes or an hour, and I’m always happily surprised when I end up writing way past the buzzer.
YABC: If you could collaborate with any other writer in history, who would it be?
Collaboration in writing can be hard, but assuming it would go swimmingly, I would love to collaborate with A. A. Milne. He’s best known for Winnie the Pooh, but what I love most are his poems. They are so inventive and silly, and they have such rollicking rhythm and rhyme, you cannot NOT read them out loud.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
I think my ability to channel an imaginary kid audience—or myself as a kid—when I write. When I do that, I can instantly tell if something is boring or confusing—or just right. I guess another way to put it is that my superpower is that I still haven’t grown up!
YABC: What new release book are you looking forward to in 2025?
I can’t wait to read What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean by Kirsten Pendreigh. It’s a rhyming picture book about the incredible sounds fish make to communicate and survive. I read a book for adults about this topic a few years ago and thought, “That would make a great children’s book!” I’m glad Kirsten was the one who beat me to it because she writes lovely, lyrical prose.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m working on a nonfiction book picture book about a musical instrument and another one about bears. I keep thinking I should combine them into one book about a musical bear!
Title: Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World about Water Pollution
Author: Julie Winterbottom
Illustrator: Susan Reagan
Release Date: 3/25/2025
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers; Rocky Pond Books
ISBN-13: 9780593620229
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
Age Range: 6 – 9 Years
~ Giveaway Details ~
One (1) winner will receive a hardcover copy of Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World about Water Pollution (Julie Winterbottom) ~US Only!
