Jean Reidy: Hi. This is Jean Reidy. I'm the author of Truman, illustrated by the amazing Lucy Ruth Cummins. Truman was inspired by a tortoise friend of mine named Hagrid, who belonged to a writer friend of mine named Sarah. And Hagrid and Sarah used to live in Colorado, but Sarah and I would get together and write. And Sarah also had a full time job, and I always wondered what her Hagrid was doing all day when she was off working or writing. And that was the inspiration for the story.

Well, it was really important for me to stay in that really close third person voice. I didn't want to do first person because I did love the narrator voice. It allowed me to have a voice that was maybe different than what Truman's might have been, and yet by close third person, I could get inside his head. And I loved being close enough to translate his thoughts as well.

I felt as though Truman was not only a tortoise, but he was a stand-in for a child. And so we have Sarah who is also going off to school. When she says, be brave, one of the things that was in my head in writing it is that was a little bit of self talk on Sarah's part because don't we all have trepidation when we start off on something new. And given that they were both peaceful and pensive, and they're seen inside the apartment and doing the same things, that it had to be a very big moment for Sarah too, and that they were sharing that. And it was really important to me, and Lucy Ruth Cummins did an amazing job with this, in showing, especially toward the end of the book, that it was very likely that Sarah missed him too. After all, the work she creates at school was a story about her Truman.

And so they have these reflective feelings for each other. And I think that's just so representative of any kid in these milestones. And so it was a tribute to all kids who take those small, but courageous steps every day in their own growing up, just like Truman did, just like Sarah did.

Now, I'm reading an excerpt from Truman. It's just a few pages in on the day that everything changes.

One day, Sarah ate a big banana with her breakfast, clipped a blue bow in her hair, and buttoned up a brand new sweater. She strapped on a backpack so big, 32 small tortoises could ride along in it, but zero tortoises did. Sarah placed seven green beans in Truman's dish, two more than usual. She kissed her finger and touched it to his shell and whispered, "Be brave." Then she left.