What was the inspiration behind
the "crane books?" How did these
stories develop?
The first time I saw the sandhill
cranes, there were a couple of things
that stuck out. One was that there are
500,000 to 1 million of them on the
Platte River each spring. Two, they all
look alike. After doing a bit of research
and finding out that they mate for life –
if possible – it became a natural fit for
the first book Have You Seen Mary?
to see what happens when two become
separated. Then during a book signing
at Rowe Sanctuary for Mary, I started
sketching notes about what happens
when one of these cranes permanently
becomes separated, and then it became
a story about love and trying to cope
with loss.
Have you always been interested in
writing children's books?
I became interested in children's
books when my daughter, Madeline,
was a baby. As a parent, you read a
bunch of books to your kid. The more
I read, the more I thought that there
just weren't many fiction books about
nature. And there weren't many fiction
books that used photography at all. But
when I would read nature magazines
with Maddie, and then look at these
same publications with my younger
son, Eli, they were immediately drawn
to pictures.
I just thought young readers could
find a nature story interesting and
the photos that accompany the story
beautiful.
How does the experience of
reading a book through photographs
differ from drawings? Why have
you chosen to forego traditional
illustrations for your books?
I wanted to show how pretty and
beautiful these birds are, and there was
no better way to do that than working
with world-class photographer and
Lincoln native Michael Forsberg.
Nebraska is still, to many people, a
By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
An Interview with Jeff Kurrus, author of
Can You Dance Like John?
By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
A Crane
Book For All
Ages
34 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2018
