Intro Hi and welcome to the Books Between Podcast! I believe in the power of stories to inspire us and to change our lives for the better. And I know that being a reader encourages us to be more empathetic and to be better citizens in our world.  And I want to help you connect kids with those amazing, life-changing stories and bring you inspiring (and fun!) conversations with the authors and educators who make that magic happen.  Every other Monday, I bring you book talks, interviews, and ideas for getting great books into the hands of kids between 8-12. I am Corrina Allen - a mom of two tween girls, a teacher to 23 fifth graders, and I’ve been planning a baby shower this week! My brother (who is also a teacher) and his wife (who is a librarian) are expecting their first this April. So - of course, I had to throw them a picture book themed baby shower. This is Episode #44 and today I’m sharing with you a conversation with author Jack Cheng about his debut middle grade novel (and the MG at Heart February Book Club pick) See You in the Cosmos! And then I’ll end with a Q&A. A few quick announcements. For those participating in the MG at Heart Books Club - the Twitter Chat to discuss See You in the Cosmos will be on Monday, March 6th at 8pm EST. Just follow the Hashtag #mgbookclub and I’ll see you there! Also, the March book is The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser. And the April book is The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson. If you want to know the rest of the schedule along with other great middle great content, please head over to MGBookVillage.org - we have a book-release calendar and a great blog. One of my favorites from this past week is the post from Sayantani Dasgupta (author of The Serpent’s Secret) called “Nothing About Us Without Us: Writing #OwnVoices Fantasy in the Age of Black Panther”  - if you haven’t read it yet - it’s great. (And go see Black Panther - it was phenomenal!!) So - there’s lots going on at MGBookVillage. It’s where all the transcripts of this podcast can be found. And - Kathie and Jarrett and Annaliese and I have been cooking up something pretty awesome for March. So stayed tuned! Jack Cheng - Interview Outline Joining me this month to ask Jack Cheng questions is one of the founders of the MG at Heart Book Club - and an author herself , Cindy Baldwin. Her novel, Where the Watermelons Grow, is out this July. We got the chance to connect with Jack on Skype last week and here is our conversation... See You in the Cosmos CA: For our listeners who haven’t yet read the novel, can you tell us a bit about Alex’s journey in See You in the Cosmos? CA: The premise of this book is that the entire thing is recorded on Alex’s Golden iPod.  What were some aspects of writing the novel that were challenging because of that decision? CB: Did you ever consider writing it another way? CB: Alex is such a pitch-perfect balance of being really naive but also really precocious and shouldering a lot of adult responsibility. How did you strike that sweet spot in his voice between a kid who's shouldering adult responsibilities but also being really clueless? CB: How did you figure out how to assign time logs to the recorded entries? Did you read any of them aloud or was it all random guesswork?   CA: Where you a fan of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos?   JL: Yours is the second recently released kidlit book I’ve read in the past few months that features the Voyager Golden Record and spacecraft centrally. (The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole is the other one.)  Carl Sagan said that “the launching of this ‘bottle’ into the cosmic ‘ocean’ said something very hopeful about life on this planet. I’d love to know what YOU think it is about the Golden Record project, and the launching of it out into space, that so captures and ignites the imagination, and why it might be a powerful thing for young people in particular to learn about. CB: Have you ever built a rocket? And what kind of research did you do? Your Writi