John Shu’s photo by Saverio Truglia

Katherine Applegate: John, we might never have met if it hadn’t been for the good folks at FedEx. I think it was 12 years ago that I mailed you a copy of The One and Only Ivan. I was so nervous about sending it! I knew you from your popular blog, Watch. Read. Connect., and I was terrified you might not like the book. I mean, a talking gorilla is perhaps not everybody’s cup of tea….

John Schu: Hi, Katherine!

I’m BEYOND grateful you emailed me more than a decade ago about The One and Only Ivan’s book trailer.

I’m BEYOND grateful you used FedEx’s fastest delivery option to put Ivan’s story in my hands.

As I’ve shared with

thousands and thousands of students,

my life changed the day FedEx

left a box from you

on this porch on Periwinkle Lane.

A box containing

a red bow,

gleaming silver wrapping paper,

a lovely note,

and a The One and Only Ivan galley.

I knew my heart would never be the same after I experienced the first chapter.

A chapter with fifteen perfectly placed and chosen words.

Ivan’s story spoke to my heart

in such a private,

quiet way.

While revising the fourth draft of Louder Than Hunger,

a verse novel based on my own struggles with anorexia nervosa,

I fully realized why I’ve helped give away

nearly 30,000 copies of The One and Only Ivan.

You’ve changed so many lives through

story,

poetry

and compassion.

What does it feel like to send The One and Only Family,

the final book in The One and Only . . . series,

out into the world?

KA: It’s bittersweet. Like sending your kids off to college, or saying goodbye to some old, dear friends. I never dreamed that Ivan’s story would expand into a quartet of books . . . and without your endless support and enthusiasm, I’m not sure it ever would have happened.

You know, if someone had told us, back when we first met, where our literary lives were headed, I don’t think either of us would have believed it. We were at Anderson’s Bookshop at their Children’s Literature Breakfast.

I remember being so amazed by your seemingly boundless energy. (And I still am!) But more than that, I was struck by how much you adored books. To see you evolve from “book evangelist” to New York Times bestselling author: I can’t say that was a surprise at all. If I’d been writing your story, that’s where the narrative arc would simply have had to go.

It came full-circle so beautifully when I had the honor of writing the foreword to The Gift of Story. In it, you talk about how stories can heal us. And in the same way The One and Only Ivan helped you understand your pain and begin to heal, Louder than Hunger helped me get in touch with some of my own childhood trauma. I had severe OCD, anxiety and depression as a kid, and Jake’s path to recovery in many ways mirrored my own. Talk about the gift of story! Louder than Hunger is going to touch so many lives. It certainly touched mine.

That must be so incredibly gratifying for you.

JS: Thank you for those kind and uplifting words.

Thank you for sharing your story.

Thank you for writing these words about Louder Than Hunger that appear on the cover:

“Every so often a book comes along that is so brave and necessary, it extends a lifeline when it’s needed most. This is one of those books.”

That’s how I feel about all of your books.

When I read your words of support,

it felt as though my favorite teacher

put shiny stars and stickers

all over the top of my paper.

I felt seen.

I’m grateful you felt seen when you read Jake’s story.

Poetry helps me better express my feelings.

It helps me share different parts of my heart.

What do you love about poetry?

KA: Have you ever read the quote that says, “Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks”? That’s so perfect. Although when I’m writing free verse, I feel less like a painter and more like a miner, searching through mountains of coal for a word-diamond. That “eureka!” moment is my favorite part of writing. How about you?

JS: Oh, I love that quote.

I wasn’t familiar with it.

I just wrote it in my notebook—the notebook in which I’m working on a poem.

A poem that’s messy right now.

Your question reminds me of what Susan Van Metre,

the brilliant editor of Louder Than Hunger,

said to Newbery Honor author Jasmine Warga,

“John Schu turned his heart inside out to write this.”

That’s why I love poetry.

It helps me turn my heart inside out.

So does listening to music.

I think I shared with you that I taped a lot of lyrics to my bedroom walls during high school.

Lyrics written by

Alanis Morissette,

Tori Amos,

Tracy Chapman,

and Ani DiFranco.

For me,

music is therapy.

For me,

writing is therapy.

Chatting with you about poetry was the perfect prescription!

It is time to press play on the playlist I created this morning and get back to that messy poem.

KA: I can’t wait to read it, my friend.

Katherine Applegate is the Newbery Medal-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for young readers, including the "One and Only" series, the Endling series, Crenshaw, Wishtree, the Roscoe Riley Rules chapter books series, and the Animorphs series. She lives with her family in Nevada.

John Schu has made a career out of advocating for the people and things he cares about most: kids, books, and the people who connect them. He is the children’s librarian for Bookelicious and the author of This Is a School (Candlewick, 2022) illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, This Is a Story (Candlewick, 2023) illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo, Louder Than Hunger (Candlewick, 2024), Louder Than Hunger (Candlewick, 2024) and The Gift of Story: Exploring the Affective Side of the Reading Life (Stenhouse, 2022). John Schu lives in Naperville, IL.