Interview: Valerie Bolling
SARAH STEINBACHER: “Stirring and relevant…meaningful and celebratory,” your newest picture book, THE MARCH FOR HOPE, reminds readers “of the strength and importance of raising their voices in support of equality and justice” (School Library Journal, starred review). Why do children need stories that empower them to speak up?
VALERIE BOLLING: As with most things in life, children need models, and these models can be found in stories. When children read about a character they can relate to, who has spoken up, it encourages them to do the same. This is why we need to read stories to children that feature positive role models who have stood up for change and made a positive difference in our community and world. When we read these stories to children, and have rich discussions about the concepts and themes in the stories, this inspires children to use their voices to be changemakers themselves.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Your picture book biography of Civil Rights activist Marian Wright Edelman, A FLEA FOR JUSTICE, is “a spirited account of a life devoted to service” (Kirkus). In the face of school and library book bans, what can children and adults do to help ensure kids have access to diverse stories?
VALERIE BOLLING: Speak up!
Children can hold fundraisers, and use the money earned to buy more diverse books for their school library and/or donate books to an organization that is working towards educational equity.
Both children and adults can contact elected officials and ask them to vote for bills that protect students’ rights to read the books that they want to read.
Adults can thwart book-banning efforts, because students should have access to all books. There are a few people with very loud voices who are making decisions not only about what their children should read, but also what other people’s children should read---and that’s not right. Those of us who believe that students should have access to all stories must speak up.
Our voices need to be loud, and we need to take action at the polls, too. That’s another issue right now: voting rights. We need to speak up and fight for those rights as well. What a shame that we have to continue to do this in 2026!
SARAH STEINBACHER: “Black family pride and joy abound” in TOGETHER WE SWIM, a 2023 Kirkus Best Picture Book (Kirkus, starred review). With “succinct, concise, yet seamless rhyming lines” (Booklist, starred review), “this excellent read-aloud celebrates accomplishment and honors fear and a misstep or two” (School Library Journal). It’s a “joyful exuberance of conquering one’s fears…with the calming steadiness of a loving family” (Horn Book). What do you like most about writing in rhyme and what do you like least? What are the specific challenges of writing with sparse text?
VALERIE BOLLING: Writing in rhyme is fun, and I always feel a sense of success when I’ve created a rhyming pattern that works. What’s difficult is that those moments don’t always come easily. When writing with sparse text, each word matters even more than in a regular picture book, which already has limited words and only 28 pages of text. Choosing the right word to convey a certain feeling or action can take significant time and careful thought. But when you get it right---or, at least, right for now---it’s gratifying.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Your picture book, RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN, is “pure joy” that’s “sure to resonate with many” (Kirkus). You’ve shared that you started writing poetry in the first grade. What advice do you have for budding poets?
VALERIE BOLLING: The most important piece of advice is: write. If you want to be a poet, write poems. There are so many ways to do this. You can write about a special moment in the form of a poem. You can sit outside, or in another place, and activate your five senses, listening to what you see and hear around you, jotting down those words and phrases, and then using them to create a poem. In the spirit of the first question about speaking up, if poetry is not a part of the curriculum at their school, students can speak up and ask their teacher to make room for poetry in their classroom. They might even suggest that their teacher read WRITING POETRY MONTH BY MONTH: INSPIRING THE POET IN ALL STUDENTS—-or give this book to their teacher as a gift.
SARAH STEINBACHER: What can you tell us about your upcoming board book, CHLOE’S COMMUNITY GARDEN (coming Feb. 16, 2027)?
VALERIE BOLLING: I’m excited about CHLOE’S COMMUNITY GARDEN. Though it’s my second published board book, the first one, MIGHTY, MIGHTY ME, was a work for hire written for a nonprofit organization, Reach Out and Read. Therefore, it’s not available in bookstores and libraries. I’m glad that children across the country will be able to connect with Chloe, since this book will be available widely. Here’s a description of the book:
Join Chloe in an exploration of plant science, because STEAM is everywhere and for everyone!
Plant and pluck. Weed and water. Chloe likes to help Daddy in the community garden, but she wonders What do plants need to help them grow? With the help of other members of her community, Chloe learns that plants need sunlight, food, water, time, and more to grow―just like her!
SARAH STEINBACHER: Do you have any other projects you’d like to share?
VALERIE BOLLING: In addition to writing books for children, I also write books for educators. My second professional book, WRITING POETRY MONTH BY MONTH: INSPIRING THE POET IN ALL STUDENTS, will be published on Nov. 16, 2026. You can read about it here.
Follow Valerie through her website, Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
*****Order Valerie’s newest picture book, THE MARCH FOR HOPE, available now.*****
*****Pre-order Valerie’s professional book, WRITING POETRY MONTH BY MONTH: INSPIRING THE POET IN ALL STUDENTS, available 11/16/2026.*****
*****And be on the lookout for Valerie’s next board book, CHLOE’S COMMUNITY GARDEN, available 2/16/2027*****
