As adults who have experienced life’s trials and tribulations, we process and respond to difficult situations differently than children. The innate innocence of youth provokes reactions and perspectives unlike our own; hence, it is important to provide a great deal of support to kids as they encounter and deal with heavy topics for the first time in their lives. In writing middle-grade novels about grief, disability, and complicated family dynamics, Jamie Sumner does just that.
Her books provide children with stories, characters, and experiences they can relate to, allowing them to feel seen and understood. They also encourage readers to step into the characters’ shoes and learn about what people in their real lives may be going through. Like the rest of her books, Jamie’s new book, Schooled, is representative of heavy, real-life childhood experiences, making it of value to kids and adults alike.
Trigger Warning: This article mentions grief and parental death. Please exercise personal care while reading.
About Jamie Sumner
Jamie Sumner is the author of Roll with It, Time to Roll, Rolling On, Tune It Out, One Kid’s Trash, The Summer of June, Maid for It, Deep Water, Please Pay Attention, Schooled, and Glory Be. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. She loves stories that celebrate the grit and beauty in all kids. She is also the mother of a son with cerebral palsy and has written extensively about parenting a child with special needs. She and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit her at Jamie-Sumner.com.
Thank you, Jamie. Let’s get started!
For readers who are unfamiliar with Schooled, can you give a brief introduction to the main character, Lenny Syms, and what is going on in his life at the start of the book?
We first meet Lenny as he moves into a college dorm with his dad, who is a college professor. He’s eleven, and he’s just lost his mom to cancer. Now he has to start middle school on a college campus! It’s a lot for one kid to take in, but Lenny is funny and tough while also grieving, and the group of kids in his new experimental middle school are amazing and full of their own quirks.
Starting “college” as a sixth grader sounds like a pretty unique experience. Where did the inspiration come from for a concept like this? Were you ahead in school as a kid?
I was a very motivated kid. I don’t think I was any smarter than anyone else, but I worked hard and I loved to learn. I never skipped a grade, but I think I could have stayed in school forever. I kind of did! I went on to get my Master’s in Education and taught high school English for over a decade before becoming a full-time author. A lot of the classroom scenes were inspired by my own favorite college professor, as well as units I taught to my own students.
What message do you hope children (and adults) take away from Schooled? Is there more than one lesson or a common theme?
Grief is big and hard and messy. It gets a bit easier if you talk about it. It’s easier still if you don’t try to force yourself to “get over” it or hit certain stages of grief at certain times. You can’t rush healing. Lenny learns this by experimenting with a graphic novel he creates to help him process his feelings. Interestingly, his dad has a much harder time working through it than he does. Kids are amazingly resilient, often more so than us adults.
I would also say it is important to recognize that people learn in different ways. The middle school in the book is called the Copernican School, and it allows each of the kids the freedom to audit college classes and design their own long-term project. This is incredible for Lenny, but others might need a more structured approach. You know how some people are visual learners while others are auditory or kinetic? I think our approach should consider the whole spectrum of ways to reach a child.
Your books often explore the journey of those with disabilities or in marginalized groups. Why do you think it is important for people to read and have access to more stories that focus on these communities?
It is vital to be able to see yourself in stories. To see your own experience reflected back validates it and honors it in a way that adds weight to your life. It makes you feel acknowledged, and it also teaches others who might not have your life about what it is like to be you. That’s why I wrote my first book, Roll with It.
My son Charlie has cerebral palsy, and there was not a single book in his library with a kid like him on the cover. He needs to see himself as the center of a story, and it needs to be a story that is not just about his disability, but about him. He is more than his diagnosis, just like any kid is more than the adjectives their teacher, peers, or society assigns to them. We are all complicated, and all our stories deserve to be told.
Did your experience as a writer for The New York Times and The Washington Post inspire your authorial career in any way? How so?
Writing nonfiction essays was my first foray into publishing. I think I felt most comfortable in this space because I was telling my own story and that of my family. Writing for these major publications taught me how to be succinct with my language and also how to start strong with a hook and circle back to it in the end. It sounds simple, but it is a great deal harder than you think to capture an audience and then give them a message that they will care about all the way until the end. It gets messier with novels as the word count grows, but it is just as vital to stick to your themes. No one wants to travel with you through hundreds of pages and be disappointed at the end.
Can you give us any sneak peeks on any projects you have coming up?
I have so many fun things coming! My first picture book, A Fish Like Me, comes out in the spring of 2026. It follows a child in a pool as he envisions himself as various sea creatures, and then you spy his wheelchair above the water and realize he is in swim therapy. It’s a celebration of how bodies move in all different and wonderful ways!
My next novel, Glory Be in verse, also comes out in the spring of 2026. It takes place over the course of six days as eleven-year-old Glory searches for her lost dog Roux all over the city of New Orleans. It’s a love letter to dogs as well as a love letter to the beautiful kaleidoscope that is NOLA!
A huge thank you to Jamie Sumner for speaking about her upcoming middle-grade novel with us! Be sure to follow her on social media (Instagram, Twitter/X, and Facebook) and add Schooled to your TBR. As you wait for the release of Jamie’s upcoming 2026 projects, check out her other kids’ and adult books here!
Interested in another interview with a children’s literature author? Check out our interview with John Parra!
For more book recommendations, browse our Mini Bookworms Delightful Recommendations collection on Bookshop!
