HUDSON, Wis. -- Award-winning author Amy Timberlake got the idea for her latest book after studying a map of her home state.
The map of Wisconsin from the 1870s showed the migration of now-extinct passenger pigeons through the state.
"It showed an area of more than 850 square miles that they passed through. The idea of it, the nesting, what that would look like, just the amount of dung it would mean, the whole idea fascinated me. I didn't know anything about it but I just felt I had to write about it," said the author, who also is an avid birder.
Her latest novel, "One Came Home," has been described as a "'True Grit' for the middle school set." It centers around a young girl who refuses to believe her sister is dead.
Timberlake, who now lives in Chicago, says believes there is no better setting for her books than Wisconsin, and she set about putting her character and the birds together to create some new historical fiction.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It just captured my imagination. It is part history, part science fiction. Just a story I felt had to be told," she said.
Timberlake's previous publications, both prize-winners, include a picture book for children entitled "The Dirty Cowboy," and another novel for middle-schoolers, "That Girl Lucy Moon." She says she is a slow writer and that "One Came Home" took three years to complete and another year working with her editor before it was published by Knopf Books for Young Readers in January.
Timberlake said "One Came Home" has been the most well-received of any of her books. She will be busy in the coming weeks and months promoting it and is happy that those stops include her home state and her hometown of Hudson.
"Wisconsin is a great setting for any kind of writing. It is incredibly beautiful and has an amazing history -- like the passenger pigeons. And did you know that we used to have buffalo there, too? People don't realize what a gem it is. And to be honest, I kind of like that -- let's keep it a secret and to ourselves."
Timberlake says that it was in Hudson that she learned about the importance of community. "Growing up where everyone knows you and your family, that instills something in a person. And growing up along the St. Croix -- I always have to live near water because of it."
