Interview with Diane Debrovner and Stacy Cervenka, Authors of Roxie in Color
Diane: Welcome to Smack Dab, Diane and Stacy. Please tell us a bit about Roxie in Color. It’s about a 12-year-old named Roxie who is starting seventh grade in a new town and excited to make a fresh start. However, she’s worried that it will be harder for her to do that because both of her parents are blind. At her old school, she was known as “the girl with blind parents,” and she’s tired of being labeled. She wants to be known for the other parts of who she is too: an artist, a big sister, an animal lover, and the kind of person who bakes cookies for people she cares about for no special reason. She loves her parents, but she tries to keep their blindness a secret—at least until the kids at school get to know her. And some of the chapters in the book are told from the perspective of her mother’s guide dog, Nash. At its heart, the book is about feeling different and wanting to belong without having to hide who you really are. It’s also one of the few middle grade books that includ...