HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: Interview with Beth Anderson & a Giveaway!

Beth Anderson is sort of a regular over here at Picture Book Builders, because, well, she is just so darn good at building picture books! I’m so happy that she’s joining us to talk about her latest book, HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: KATE WARNE AND THE RACE TO SAVE ABRAHAM LINCOLN, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport. Check out the amazing cover and all the details that are “hiding” in it — I see something new every time I look.

Andrea: Hi, Beth! Welcome back to Picture Book Builders! I’m excited to talk with you about your latest historical nonfiction picture book. How cool that the first female detective saved Lincoln’s life! She certainly deserves to be celebrated during Women’s History Month (and the rest of the year, too)! How did you first learn about Kate Warne and her mission?

Beth: Thanks for having me back, Andrea! It’s hard to remember where I first heard of Kate, but most likely in a newsfeed back in 2015. As a lifelong fan of detective stories and someone who finds Lincoln fascinating, a short article about her grabbed my interest. I dug in and began writing, but soon another book or two about her were announced. So I stuck it in the drawer. But…when the insurrection and attempt to stop an elected president from taking office occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, out it came—a piece of history newly relevant.

Andrea: I’m glad you didn’t let those other books about Kate prevent you from publishing yours. We need more books about difficult historical events in order to for young people to learn from the past and hopefully not repeat events like the January 6th insurrection.

It seems like Lincoln had an inkling of the risk he was taking when he said on the first day of his trip, “I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return…” It’s striking that he refused to cancel his public events even after he was informed of the plot to assassinate him. And his itinerary with all his train stops was public information! What do you think this shows about his character? Do you think Kate Warne agreed with his reasoning? It certainly made her job much more difficult!

Beth: Lincoln had been receiving threats on his life constantly since winning the election in 1860. He pushed them aside and carried on. On his inaugural train stop in Philadelphia, he learned from two different sources of the specific plot that awaited him in Baltimore, yet he refused to disappoint the people and cancel his public events. History weighed heavy on Lincoln inside Independence Hall on George Washington’s birthday, Feb. 22, 1861—the spot where the Founders had come together, risking so much, to create the United States. The primary sources and his speech at that site provide a glimpse inside the man and show how deeply he was affected. He couldn’t back away. He said, “I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it [the nation].” I think Kate, though worried and frustrated that he wasn’t willing to go along with their plan immediately, would have had great respect for his courage in putting the nation before himself, and she also would have felt the weight of the future resting on her shoulders.

Andrea: I also have a ton of respect for leaders who put the nation and the people before themselves. Thank goodness that Kate and Lincoln prevailed! As you say in your extensive and fascinating back matter, “Sometimes the best protection is deception. And the best deception often takes advantage of appearances and assumptions about people.” As a woman, Kate knew that people would tend to overlook and underestimate her, and she used that to successfully complete her mission. Was that the heart of the story for you? Is that what you’d like young readers to take away–that women should not be underestimated? Were you ever concerned that the story could reinforce the false stereotype that girls and women are deceitful and conniving?

Beth: This story was a bit different than others I’ve written where I have drilled down to find a specific heart to bring meaning from a piece of history to kids today. With what we had just experienced, this was more than a story of a capable woman in history. I found several heart pieces, but the focus thread was more of a force than a heart idea. That force was the sense of urgency—urgency to act, to step up, to believe you have something to offer a greater good. As editor Carolyn Yoder said, everything else comes with that. We’re in a time of urgency in multiple arenas that needs us all to recognize consequences beyond ourselves and act—for the good and not the glory. 

But yes, one of the ideas that struck me early on was how Lincoln and Warne were both underestimated based on appearance and assumptions and faced that as an additional challenge. One goal of that lengthy train trip was to build support and let people see him as a capable leader. In the story, we can see that self worth must come from within rather than accepting worth or opinions on one’s capability imposed by others. I think that’s a reminder for all of us that you never know from someone’s appearance what they’re capable of. I didn’t consider the idea of girls as deceitful and conniving as I guess I don’t think of that as part of the stereotype. The historical era’s opinion of women and girls didn’t even give them credit for being capable of that – ha! – but was about weakness, inferior intelligence, and emotional instability. And Kate proved them wrong on all counts! 

Andrea: Speaking of that sense of urgency, you do a fantastic job of starting the story off with high tension and maintaining it throughout the book. The pacing is swift. There’s literally a date countdown and a “ticking clock” shown in the illustrations on almost every page. What other types of elements/craft devices did you employ to keep that sense of urgency and danger?

Beth: That tension was the most difficult part of the story. I had to really dig into risks and stakes, but to make those clear, I had to provide context containing complicated logistics involving railroads and such. As you know well, too much of that context bogs down the narrative. Finding that balance of clarity, action, and emotion required many revisions. I had to look for ways to create scenes to bring the reader into Kate’s experience. I had to think about how to bring in setting details that contributed to the dangers—like the ever-present rebel spies. I had to be ruthless in cutting anything that didn’t move Kate’s mission forward—like extra characters, interesting tidbits, and needless complications. Also, structure came into play as I dealt with Lincoln’s timeline as well as Kate’s. If you leave one to tell a bit of the other, tension fizzles. So all of Lincoln’s actions that I needed as part of the story, except the opening, had to be put within Kate’s experience. Many of those pieces took the form of questions. 

Andrea: Oh, that does sound complicated. You’re essentially weaving together slices (ribbons?) of two people’s lives, but only telling it from Kate’s POV, even when she’s not present in the scene. That’s a great reminder that we need to always be thinking about and telling the story from the MC’s perspective and experience.

Let’s talk about the intricate and amazing artwork. It’s so layered and evocative of the time period, with a collage of textures, patterns, and what look like old photos and engravings. Did you and illustrator Sally Wern Comport collaborate? I imagine that you must have had a lot of research images and photos that would have been helpful, so she didn’t have to “reinvent the wheel.” And I’m curious whether your publisher had a historical consultant review your text and Sally’s illustrations to ensure accuracy?

Beth: Ah, the magnificent artwork! All Sally! I shared some info with details on times and places and was able to provide some images and references, but Sally took it to a whole new level with all the period details she found and incorporated it all into the look of an historical scrapbook. She has a wide skill set!  Our collaboration was only through editor Carolyn Yoder. (I’d love to meet Sally some day and ask her lots of questions about her process!) She shared a lot of samples with the sketches, but I still couldn’t imagine how that would all play out. Totally amazing! A team of people vetted art and text. The Calkins Creek pros are brimming with historical knowledge, and it always amazes me how each person notices different things. The vetting involved many back-and-forths with all the clocks, maps, and other details.

Andrea: How wonderful to have a team to vet the text and art! Since 2021, when I last interviewed you on PBB for TAD LINCOLN’S RESTLESS WRIGGLE, you’ve published five more picture books, including FRANZ’S PHANTASMAGORICAL MACHINE (2022), THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BATTLE FOR SCIENCE (2024), and this year’s HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT. For any picture book writer, this would be considered prolific–but knowing how much research it takes to write a historical nonfiction PB, I’m beyond impressed. You write across a range of time periods, too. How do you do it? Does any of your research overlap, such that you can use it for another book?

Beth: I think no matter what era you write, each project informs the next. There’s so much learning involved with each time period that in addition to learning more details of the periods, my general awareness of what kinds of questions to ask, who to contact, and what I need to dig into to get what I need grows with each manuscript. Many lessons carry over even though they may involve different times or places. I have found a couple very knowledgeable and generous experts on the American Revolution and Abraham Lincoln who are my go-to people for questions, details, and vetting for those areas, and that’s huge.

Andrea: It’s amazing how the academic community is so generous with and supportive of kidlit creators! I think most of them can probably recall a children’s book that had an impact on them as a child. On that note, what’s next in the pipeline for you? 

Beth: I’ve got two more books in process with Calkins Creek. The announcement is coming any moment for THE PATRIOTS AND THE POX: GEORGE WASHINGTON’S BATTLE TO SAVE THE CONTINENTAL ARMY, illustrated by Ashley Yazdani. It’s a very timely American Revolution story releasing Fall 2026 during the 250th anniversary of the revolution. The other is Abraham Lincoln related…do you see a pattern here? It’s the story of spunky, teenaged sculptor Vinnie Ream, to release Spring 2027.

Andrea: That’s great news! I can’t wait to read them. In the meantime, I hope LOTS of educators and caregivers read HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT to kids and talk to them about good leadership, government, and civics! Thanks for chatting with me again, Beth!

Beth is offering a copy of HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: KATE WARNE AND THE RACE TO SAVE ABRAHAM LINCOLN to one PBB reader. Please comment below in the next two weeks to enter the giveaway!

Beth Anderson is the author of more than ten picture books, including HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT, THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BATTLE FOR SCIENCE, and LIZZIE DEMANDS A SEAT. Her books have received awards and recognition from Bank Street College, ILA, Colonial Dames of America, JLG, Chicago Public Library, Museum of the American Revolution, NCSS-CBC, and NSTA. A former ELL educator and Reading Specialist, Beth’s experience in the classroom continues to inspire and inform her writing as she shares true stories that widen our world and invite kids to laugh, ponder, and question. Born and raised in Illinois, Beth now lives in Colorado.