A Chat with Anna Rose Johnson

InterviewsBooks

Oct 24

Today, I’m in conversation with Anna Rose Johnson about her heartwarming children’s book, The Star That Always Stays.

Click the play button below to listen to my conversation with Anna Rose Johnson.

With its cosy autumnal scenes, The Star That Always Stays was the perfect October pick for my Comfort Book Club, and I’m so looking forward to discussing the book on YouTube with my mum next week. In the meantime, I thought everyone who has read along with us this month, or who is interested in trying The Star That Always Stays, would enjoy listening to this interview.

*Anna Rose Johnson, photographed by Daniel Johnson*

I was fascinated to learn how Anna Rose drew on her own family ancestry in creating the characters and stories in The Star That Always Stays. Set in Michigan just before the outbreak of World War 1, The Star That Always Stays follows the story of Norvia, a young girl who has grown up with her many siblings on Beaver Island, but is forced to move to Boyne City after the divorce of her parents. Norvia had always loved the stories about her ancestors told to her by her grandfather and was proud of her Ojibwe heritage, but after the move and gaining a new step-father, she feels she has to hide who she truly is. As Norvia navigates a new family and a new high-school, she turns to books for comfort and inspiration, and she realises that becoming a heroine means embracing courage, faith and her own identity.

The power of storytelling plays a big role in The Star That Always Stays, and I so enjoyed hearing how books like Little Women and the Betsy-Tacy stories partly inspired Anna Rose Johnson as she was writing her own children’s book.