Julie Sternberg received her MFA in writing for children from the New School. She is the author of Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, a Junior Library Guild Selection, an ABC New Voices Project Selection, and one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing. She lives in Brooklyn. For more information, visit her website: www.juliesternberg.com.
LIKE BUG JUICE ON A BURGER is the sequel to LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE. In PICKLE JUICE, the main character, Eleanor, has a tough time after her beloved babysitter moves away. I wanted to write about how it would feel for Eleanor to move away this time, at least temporarily, from people she loves. So, in BUG JUICE, Eleanor goes to sleepaway camp for the first time. She does not have an easy time.
Favorite place to write …
Sitting at my dining room table, looking out at trees growing in Brooklyn.
Since I now have Willa Cather on my mind, I’ll go with Thea Kronborg from Cather’s THE SONG OF THE LARK. Thea leaves a small town and, by virtue of both natural talent and fierce determination, becomes an opera star in New York. I’ve already read her story many times and might well read it many more. How fabulous it would be to discuss it with her! And hear her sing. (She might not sing on vacation, though. She’s protective of her voice, and stubborn.)
