Karen Romano Young
Karen Romano Young has dived to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in a tiny submarine, crunched through Arctic ice in an icebreaker, and visited labs, museum workshops, and research institutions across the U.S. to write and draw about science. She was a lead science communications fellow aboard Dr. Robert Ballard’s research ship E/V Nautilus.
Karen has written and/or illustrated more than 30 books for children and is the creator of Humanimal Doodles, a science comic. Her nonfiction books include Try This! and Try This Extreme! (National Geographic). Her fiction work includes The Beetle and Me: A Love Story; the graphic novel Doodlebug: a Novel in Doodles; and Hundred Percent. Her next book for Twenty-First Century Books is Whale Quest.
Karen lives with her family in the woods of Bethel, Connecticut. Her next adventure is a stint at Palmer Station, Antarctica, as the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Grant. She has not yet traveled to space.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Here’s one: Paddle-to-the-Sea
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“Once upon a time. . .”
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Trina Schart Hyman, Philip Pullman, David Macaulay
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
It was what I needed to be.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Never give up.
