Mrs. Merrill's Book Break: Author Tammi Sauer Takes a "Book Break!"

I'm very happy to welcome author, Tammi Sauer! Let's take a "Book Break!" with her, as she shares her reading and writing life with all of us!

Last year, NUGGET & FANG and I were featured on the 2015 Spring Scholastic Book Fair DVD which was shared with millions of kids across the nation. What an honor!

To create the video, people from Scholastic flew in from New York and Florida, set up a green screen in my living room, and made my characters come alive. It was fang-tastic!

This is the clip of our segment.

I came to write Nugget & Fang . . .

...during a time in which I was struggling to come up with a new idea. I decided to list all of the settings I had previously used in books (cowboy camp, barnyard, monster academy, pond...). After reviewing my list, I realized I had yet to set a book in the ocean. Ooh!

Whenever I start a book with the setting, I think about that setting and ask myself one big question, "What can go wrong here?"

As I thought about the ocean and asked myself the big question, a shark came to mind. But I didn't want to write about a typical shark. I wanted my shark to face an unusual struggle. Sooo...I gave him a minnow for a best friend.

Readers should read my book because . . .

. . . just like Fang, everyone knows what it's like to be misunderstood. Plus, I think this book offers heart, humor, and, thanks to Michael Slack, amazing illustrations.

My favorite place to read . . .

When I have a good book in my hands, I am happy to read just about anywhere.

I find it inspiring to have great books next to me as I write. These are a few of them:

A book that has touched my heart . . .

The book that made a big "heart connection" for me is the middle grade novel A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT. Linda Urban's book made me laugh and it made me cry--sometimes both at the same time! When I reached the last page, I wasn't ready for the experience to end so I started it all over again.

I collect my ideas and inspiration for writing . . .

...on my iPhone. It's something I almost always have with me. Whenever inspiration strikes—even in the middle of the night—I reach for my phone and jot down those ideas before they can slip away.

Readers should know . . .

...that I created my very own dance move in honor of librarians and my book CHICKEN DANCE, illustrated by Dan Santat. It's called "The Librarian." Sometimes kids invite me to perform it with them at school visits. So fun!

This is the link to "The Librarian":