Goodreads asked Cynthia Leitich Smith:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Cynthia Leitich Smith Quoting co-author Kekla Magoon about The Blue Stars middle grade graphic novel series, ill. by Molly Murakami (Candlewick):

"Cynthia and I were colleagues for years before we became close friends, and as soon as we spent more time together, we totally clicked!

"When I visited her in Austin, we had so much fun exploring and adventuring that we felt like kids again. We’d race to her little blue car shouting, 'To the Bluebird!' at the top of our lungs, as though it was our superhero mobile.

"We started to imagine: what if we had known each other in sixth grade, when we both could have used a cool and quirky best friend? What if we had been middle school superheroes with a Bluebird that flew?"

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