Humor, American Sign Language, mystery… Karen Kane has woven together a lot of themes that appeal to reluctant readers in her new book Charlie & Frog. In this interview, Beth Bacon talks with Karen Kane about the story behind her funny, engaging, hard-to-put-down story for middle grade readers.

Your book mashes together two genres: humor and mysteries. Where does your humor come from? Why is humor important in kids’ books?

Believe it or not, I had no idea I was funny until I was in my thirties and I had to give a speech at my synagogue. The speech came to me in a dream, and it was hilarious. I woke up giggling. It was like my inner comic woke up and was ready to come out!

Humor is important in a kid’s book because humor is a great way to connect a reader to your story. Humor can also be a vehicle for talking about hard things, such as having “lousy parents” like as Charlie has. And laughing is so integral to being a kid. Kids love to laugh.

Some kids who are reluctant to read choose mysteries over other kinds of books. What do you think makes mysteries a good genre for kids who are reluctant to read?

Mysteries are great for kids who are reluctant to read because mysteries make you want to turn the page, just to find out what happens next. And, of course, to solve the mystery! Mysteries can keep a reluctant reader engaged because there is a puzzle for her to solve.

Your book, Charlie & Frog, involves American Sign Language (ASL). Did you do this with a goal in mind, or did it just flow naturally because your other job is an ASL interpreter?

It was never my goal to write a book with a Deaf character or with ASL. But then again, I have spent the last twenty-five plus years interpreting for Deaf people. And one day Frog was there on the page, with her strong, assertive personality. She is very much like many Deaf girls that I know.

The characters sometimes talk in ASL. Was it hard to write the sign language into in the story? What techniques did you use?

In Charlie & Frog, characters sign ASL, speak English and write English. My editor first tried to have different fonts to show the different forms of communication, but it was visually too distracting. In the end we used regular font for English, italics for ASL, and italics without quotation marks to show writing.

What was challenging was making sure I described the signs correctly without becoming too didactic. I had Deaf interpreters read my sign descriptions and make sure they were correct.

Can you tell us how people—both hearing and Deaf—have reacted to your book?

It has been very positive, from both hearing and Deaf readers! What has surprised me is the number of people who have told me they want to learn sign language after reading Charlie & Frog. It surprised me because that was never my goal. My goal was to write a funny, heart-warming mystery. I love that an added bonus of my book is that people learn about ASL and Deaf culture and are inspired to learn more about both.

Please share some special feedback you’ve received from kids or parents or teachers.

What makes me smile is when readers have connected with the humor in Charlie & Frog and even mention their favorite funny moments. And readers have mentioned a chapter near the end, in which Grandpa Tickler has a moment of change. They told me reading that chapter made them cry, which of course made me glad because I rewrote that chapter a dozen times in order to get the emotional climax right.

And one family in Australia wrote to tell me that Charlie & Frog was “really lovely to read out loud [and] the words flowed really well.” That was also a proud moment because I worked hard to achieve that.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about Charlie & Frog?

The sequel to Charlie & Frog —The Bony Hand — comes out in May 2019. I am editing the right book now!