Interview: Deborah Underwood
SARAH STEINBACHER: Your book OUTSIDE IN explores humans’ evolving relationship with nature. How do you think our current relationship with nature affects us? How do you hope that our relationship with nature evolves in the future?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: The fact that humans are becoming increasingly disconnected from nature takes a terrible toll—on us, on the planet, on our fellow creatures, and on the future. If we’re disconnected, it’s easier to ignore the havoc we’re wreaking on the natural world. We’re losing animal species at an alarming rate. Climate change is affecting us all. Artificial light at night is drowning out the stars and upsetting the natural rhythms of human and non-human animals.
The more we can step back and realize that online life will never evoke the awe we feel when we see the Milky Way or watch a kestrel land 20 feet away from us, the more we’ll connect, the more we’ll care, and the more hope we have of changing the dangerous direction we’re headed.
SARAH STEINBACHER: What motivated you to personify Outside as a real character that sings, beckons, cuddles, and even longs for us?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: I got idea for the book when I was sitting in a very old church in San Francisco, where I’d sought a moment of quiet during a busy conference nearby. As I sat there, I heard a passing bird cry. I was fascinated that even though I was inside this old human-created structure, nature found her way in, almost as though wanting to connect. That was the spark for the manuscript.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Your lyrical language shines throughout the story with evocative imagery such as using “slow magic tricks” to describe a caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly. What led you to choose words that depict nature as mysterious?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: I didn’t do that consciously, but nature certainly is mysterious, isn’t it? There’s so much we don’t know! In fact, I currently have an anise swallowtail chrysalis in an enclosure in my living room. I’d raised two caterpillars last fall, and expected both to emerge last year, but one has apparently decided to overwinter instead. Does the chrysalis contain a sleeping butterfly now? Or is it still goop, waiting to form when the weather’s right? I’m sure someone knows, but I sure don’t. I love the mystery, and the hope that in a month or two I’ll get to release a miracle butterfly in my garden.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Outside teaches the young girl in the story the natural rhythm of life. What other messages do you think nature can teach us?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: There are so many! I’ve learned about patience from the hawks that sit motionless outside my apartment, waiting to swoop. I’ve learned about persistence from my cat, who has decided that 4 a.m. is a perfectly good time to eat breakfast. I’ve learned about friendship from pigs; when I adopted a pig at a farm sanctuary, she was hanging out with her best friend every time I visited. And I’ve learned about resilience from the flowering cherry trees on my street that were vandalized several years ago, but look to be getting ready to blossom. I’d say that everything in nature has something to teach us, if only we pay attention.
SARAH STEINBACHER: In the end, Outside explicitly says, “I’m here…I miss you.” If you could send a message back to nature, what would you say?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: I miss you too, and I hope humans will wise up soon. And I’ll try to help that happen with my books and my actions.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Cindy Derby’s illustrations greatly enhanced the story’s overall atmosphere, earning the book a Caldecott Honor Award in 2021. What type of partnership did you have? Did you contribute any specific written or verbal art direction for the project?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: Aren’t the illustration amazing? This is a rare case: I knew Cindy personally before we were paired for the book. I loved her work, and when the editor asked if I had any illustrator ideas, I suggested Cindy. I’m so glad the editor loved her work too!
I included a few illustrator notes for clarity. But Cindy and I didn’t communicate about the book during the illustration process. In fact, there was a funny moment while she was working on the book that we found ourselves at a party together, and doggedly made non-book conversation (“Lovely weather!” “Yes, yes, it is!”), even though I’m sure we were both dying to talk about OUTSIDE IN.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Your book THE MAN WHO DIDN’T LIKE ANIMALS offers a playful and touching origin story for a treasured nursery rhyme. It touches on personal growth, finding common ground, and the importance of relationships. What made you want to subvert readers’ expectations about the song? Did you start the story with the surprise ending in mind or did that come after?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: The ending was a surprise to me! What I really wanted to communicate was the idea that people sometimes make judgments about a group, but when we get to know an individual from that group, our minds and hearts open. I’d been playing with this idea for years, but my attempts at a manuscript never really worked.
But I loved the idea of this tidy man who gets to know the animals he supposedly doesn’t like as individuals, and slowly accumulates a houseful. And then, when the house was full, I thought, “Oh boy…what on earth do I do now?” and the idea of Old MacDonald came to me.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Your newest book TINY GARDEN (releasing today 3/3/26) just got a starred review from KIRKUS. The story shares a similar celebration of nature as OUTSIDE IN, but with an ‘appreciate the little things’ twist. What inspired you to write TINY GARDEN?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: During the pandemic, I planted a garden, mostly to stop the weed-control guys my landlord hired from spraying a toxic herbicide all over. I had zero gardening experience, but with the help of gardener friends online and many native plant gardening videos from my public library, I ended up creating a space that gives me so much pleasure and feeds a whole lot of critters, too.
My garden’s a little bigger than Andrew’s, but I love the idea that even the smallest space can create shelter for animals who need it, especially as humans continue to take more and more land for development.
SARAH STEINBACHER: How did you get started in children’s books? What advice do you have for new authors?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: It was a very unglamorous process, I’m afraid. I read hundreds of picture books, read books about writing for kids, took an illustration class to understand that end of the business better, went to conferences, joined critique groups, wrote a lot of bad manuscripts that thankfully never sold, got more than a hundred rejections, and finally got better, got an agent, and started selling books.
So my advice would be to do all that! There’s no magic ticket, and it’s a tough business. I still receive rejections regularly, but in a sense that’s good, because it means I’m writing and that my agent is sending things out.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Do you have any other projects you’d like to share?
DEBORAH UNDERWOOD: My first graphic novel, FAIRY TALE FIXERS: CINDERELLA, illustrated by Jorge Lacera, came out last year. It’s a fun, funny twist on the familiar story: it’s about a detective rat who is called into the story of Cinderella to help sort things out. It’s safe to say the results are not what you might expect.
Follow Deborah on her website and on Instagram.
*****Order Deborah’s newest book TINY GARDEN here, available 3/3/26.*****
*****Pre-order Deborah’s upcoming graphic novel sequel FAIRY TALE FIXERS: SLEEPING BEAUTY here, available 8/11/26.*****
