Get STUCK inside this new nonfiction picture book

One of my favorite things about reading nonfiction picture books is all the amazing things I can learn about as an adult in just a few pages. Like the La Brea Tar Pits.

I don’t ever remember hearing about this natural and historical marvel until I read Joyce Uglow and Valerya Milovanova‘s picture book STUCK: THE STORY OF THE LA BREA TAR PITS, which arrived on my doorstep earlier this year.

The La Brea Tar Pits are bubbling pits of naturally occuring asphalt in Los Angeles that have been around for an EXTREMELY long time. During that time, countless animals, insects and plants fell into the pits, got stuck, died and were preserved. Humans subsequently excavated many of those remains. The oldest remains excavated so far date back more than 38,000 years.

Maybe you’re better informed than I am. Maybe you already know everything there is to know about the tar pits. But, I’m betting you don’t. That’s why I invited author Joyce Uglow joins Picture Book Builders today to share more about her debut book.

Please tell us the origin story of your book.
Smilodon inspired me. Yup! A fossil exhibit of the Saber-toothed cat at La Brea Tar Pits Museum grabbed my heart and wouldn’t let go.

I went down the rabbit hole of research — or should I say — the stories revealed by the fossil records trapped me? Quite frankly, this topic took over my waking (and some sleep too) hours.

Five million fossils have been sorted, cleaned, catalogued, and studied to date at La Brea. An astonishing 160,000 bones from approximately 3,000 individual Saber-toothed cats have been found at La Brea. Since 2018, I’ve read research and interviewed scientists to ensure accuracy in the book’s text and in the art. I dedicated STUCK! to La Brea scientists Dr. Emily Lindsey and Dr. Regan Dunn in gratitude for the important work they do for paleontology and climate science.

STUCK: THE STORY OF THE LA BREA TAR PITS flowed into a lyrical nonfiction text from the layers of facts I discovered. By the time that Children’s Book Insider’s above-the-slush-pile submission opportunity opened, my critique group members had read and reviewed the text multiple times. I submitted STUCK to Bushel and Peck Books early in 2023 and received that fabulous yes email in July. Woohoo! STUCK was on its way into kids’ hands with a March 4, 2025 release date.

What did you find compelling about this story? How did you decide the best way to share it with young readers? 
The work being done at La Brea is earth-shakingly fabulous. I realized the story is MUCH BIGGER than the millions of fossils stored and displayed in the museum. Paleontologists’ research unearthed findings showing the climate changes that impacted the ice-age ecosystem trapped over 50,000 years in hidden pools of asphalt.

The warming, drying, and GULP! human-caused fires contributed to the extinction of Ice Age megafauna. Like the dragonfly on the book’s last spread, I see the importance of searching for ponds without bubbles. Asking questions and seeking solutions to sticky situations. It may appear this book is about the origin story of Rancho La Brea, but it’s really about learning from the past.

Very few kids want to wade through dense info dumps. Even though a lyrical style can lean sparse and feel somewhat vague, poetry can provide food for thought — fodder, if you will — without getting mired in the muck of research details. The first spread goes like this:

Thousands of years ago,
unsuspecting ice age animals
were drawn to shallow water…
only to find oozing, oily stickiness.

How has having your first picture book out in the world compared to your expectations?
Great question! Before I experienced the acquisition and publication process, I had more questions than expectations. Would my style be well received in the writing community or bomb or something in between? Will my debut even sell? Might one lead to more? Will kids want to talk to me about my book?

Now that I’ve met kids with STUCK in my hands, My glow and expectations are growing. I believe my list of school visits and presentations will stack up and STUCK will live in homes, classrooms, libraries, and museum gift shops.

In this day of thousands of picture book submissions, I expect to continue researching topics and
writing picture books to inspire curiosity and STEAM onward! I’m no longer surprised by passes, the sound of crickets, and the publishing industry’s slow pace. It’s expected.

How has your career as a teacher influenced your writing?
Because some of my students needed a creative approach to learn to read, I used writing to reach them. They told me stories that I wrote for them. In time, they wrote and read my stories. They grew the confidence and skills to read published books. I also created a “publishing company” with my students in Writers’ Workshop each year. We read, wrote, revised, and learned together.

My favorite book my Second Grade Super Stars published was called Birthday Recess. (Thinking about that story now, maybe it’s one that has the chops to become a picture book.) One year, my fifth graders decided that they inked their thinking and the name Storied Ink was born. 

As an educator, I found picture books provide a great deal more than a story. For three years, I did active classroom research on the effectiveness of using picture books as mentor texts. My students’ writing and speaking vocabulary improved, their engagement in content area discussion blossomed, and they grew an intense interest in the topics we read about in picture books.

As you can imagine, my career with elementary-aged students taught me plenty. As a poet and picture book writer, I pay attention to questions kids ask and topics they’re drawn to. I write every day and read as many picture books as humanly possible. I often dive into research to answer my lingering childhood questions, too. I’m a forever cheerleader for team education, but also a big supporter of fellow creatives.

With my 2025 One Little Word as ELEVATE, I co-founded uGROnews on Substack with writer, Kathy Groth. We work to support and lift the work of others. If you’re inclined, subscribe to my newsletter and the Creative Point of View on uGROnews. If you’d like to be featured, please contact me.

What are you working on now?
I have many picture books projects I’d love to launch into the world. Two tell stories about home — one built in pine, the other in combs. The third takes readers into the ocean to swim through the immense amount of learning accomplished at whale school. My nonfiction work-in-progress stands for peace in an extraordinary piece of art that ironically got knocked down by tragedy. I have a poetry collection that keeps waking me up, too.

Cindy Mackey, author of IF A BUMBLEE LANDS ON YOUR TOE and I created the Stuck Bumbleebee Poetry Illustration Challenge. Look for our one-word prompts starting today. Join us in writing poetry and/or creating illustrations. More details can be found here. Write, draw, or simply enjoy the creative work.

Thank you, Pat, for featuring my debut on Picture Book Builders. I’m honored to be here and know that my work is better because of amazing creators who built picture books before me.