Brooke\u2019s emotional quest sits at the core of the book, which sees her newly blended family \u2014 including her less-enthusiastic-about-nature best friend\/stepsister \u2014 travel to Washington state\u2019s North Cascades National Park as a combination honeymoon-slash-scientific expedition.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first full-length book both illustrated and written by Everett, who previously illustrated several science- and nature-based books for kids<\/a> and who also maintains a busy YouTube channel<\/a> with her partner about their full-time travel.<\/p>\n The Revelator sat down with Everett to talk about her new book, the excitement and value of nature journaling, and life on the road.<\/p>\n (This conversation has been lightly edited for brevity and style.)<\/p>\n No, I\u2019m in Auburn, Alabama, but we\u2019re getting ready to hit the road again.<\/p>\n Aha. Will you be using the same modified bus I saw in your videos? <\/strong><\/p>\n No, we\u2019re done with the bus. We\u2019ve got a van and we\u2019ve done a truck camper with a pop-up tent on the back. And we did a scamp, which is one of those little fiber fiberglass egg-shaped tiny campers. And we just built out another van to travel in.<\/p>\n Wow. Did you do this whole book while traveling around mobile? <\/strong><\/p>\n No, funny enough. I started the book while I was mobile, and then when I got the deal, I was kind of overwhelmed with the thought of how much work was in front of me. So we got a house here in my hometown for little while. I did basically the whole book here. But now I\u2019m itching to get back on the road.<\/p>\n Great. So tell me, why did you write this book, and what do you hope readers are going to get from it? <\/strong><\/p>\n Well, there are a lot of reasons I wanted to write a book like this one. One of the main reasons is I get really excited when I see an animal in the wild. And I see that same excitement for kids and adults alike when I\u2019m hiking and we pass somebody and they\u2019re like, \u201cwe just saw some deer up there, be quiet and you won\u2019t scare them away.\u201d They just light up.<\/p>\n And I think as a kid, one of the most important questions is \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite animal?\u201d So many kids pick some faraway species, which is wonderful. But I want to remind kids that there\u2019s some amazing animals right here in the U.S.<\/p>\n And I wanted to shine a light on nomadic life, because my partner and I have lived out of a school bus, in a van, and a camper. When we tell people that, we\u2019re often met with a lot of confusion, especially in the east and from family and stuff. I think it\u2019s a misunderstood way of life, but it\u2019s a lifestyle a lot of people choose. I enjoy my time living in the campers and it has brought me closer to nature. That\u2019s just something I want to have front and center in this book.<\/p>\n Cool. And this is your first book-length comics work. You described it as \u201can emotional experience\u201d on your website, but at the same time it\u2019s a progression of your other illustrative work, which is science- and nature-based. Tell me about that journey and how all this work fits together. <\/strong><\/p>\n I always wanted to be an illustrator. I kind of thought writing was out of reach for me, because I\u2019m a visual person. But what\u2019s cool about graphic novels is it marries the two. It\u2019s as much about the illustrations as it is about the text.<\/p>\n I love illustrating nature and science. I like to be as specific as I can. I put a lot of research into it.<\/p>\n When I finally got to write my own story, I naturally wanted to build this whole world around nature and science, because I knew I would learn a lot while I did it.<\/p>\n What was your biggest challenge doing the book? <\/strong><\/p>\n It was nothing but challenges [laughs]. I had never written before, I had never worked on a graphic novel before, and I\u2019d never worked on a project of this size before. At 128 pages, that\u2019s around 600 illustrations \u2014 it\u2019s a lot of work.<\/p>\n I put a lot of research into it. I tried to be careful, but I still missed some things. And I\u2019m lucky that I had some expert reviewers look at the book and find some things.<\/p>\n For example, there was a panel where I illustrated a river otter floating on its back. And the expert reviewer was like, only sea otters float on their backs. And that was a cool fact that I didn\u2019t know, so I fixed it.<\/p>\n There was a lot of help behind the scenes, but it was an amazing journey.<\/p>\n You could have set it anywhere. You could have set it in your home state of Alabama. But you chose North Cascades. What attracted you to that setting?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the main reasons is it was one of the most recent parks I had visited when I started writing the story.<\/p>\n When I first got to North Cascades, I was in a very raw emotional state because we had just driven days through wildfire smoke. And when we got there, we finally got a break from it. We ascended the mountain and suddenly the skies were clear and it was lush and green. We got to Diablo Lake and saw that iconic view. It was like a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n We camped there for two weeks. And for that first week, we didn\u2019t have any wildfire smoke. It was a week of heaven after a pretty stressful experience.<\/p>\n During that week the blackberries were everywhere. I saw my first banana slug, which was very exciting. It was the first time I had seen trees of that size \u2014 just mind-blowing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s definitely one of my favorite national parks, and I\u2019ve been to 26 of them.<\/p>\n On that note, how do you feel about all the threats to national parks right now? <\/strong><\/p>\n I get really frustrated reading about shortsighted plans that don\u2019t adequately protect the wild spaces we still have. I\u2019m deeply disheartened by the administration\u2019s decisions to cut funding for America\u2019s best idea, national parks, and conservation as a whole. My hope is that my book inspires some kids to put nature forward and that our natural resources are worth vastly more than dollars and cents.<\/p>\n Tell me about the nature journal portion of the book. It both conveys information and Brooke\u2019s character. It\u2019s a completely different art style, while also complementary to your regular art style. How did you develop that? What were your goals with these areas of the book? <\/strong><\/p>\n I knew I wanted the nature journal to be the heart of the book. I think it was fun to draw things in Brooke\u2019s style. It kind of broke it up for me artistically.<\/p>\n The nature journal throughout the book is a place for her to record her animal observations, which is a huge part of her personality, but she also uses it like a true diary. She hides little folded pieces of paper in the notebook where she can write her personal thoughts.<\/p>\n Her drawings kind of change \u2014 she starts by putting a lot of effort into her drawings and adding cute, fun facts and stuff. And then when she\u2019s frustrated, her drawings reflect her feelings, and they get messy and sloppy, and she doesn\u2019t care about it anymore. That\u2019s so unlike this character, because this is a kid who thinks anytime she gets to observe an animal in the wild, no matter if it\u2019s a grizzly bear or a squirrel, that\u2019s exciting. But she gets so blinded by her obsession that she doesn\u2019t care anymore and you see that in her drawings.<\/p>\n That\u2019s one of the questions I wanted to ask. She\u2019s so obsessed with seeing her \u201cnumber one mammal\u201d and she gets upset when she doesn\u2019t see it and when her family members do. And I can understand that feeling. I\u2019ve had species I wanted to see, and other people say, \u201cI just saw one\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAnd you just missed it.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah! So I found it interesting that that was what created the drama of the book and allowed you to reveal so much character. Why did you choose that as the plot element? <\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I think because, like you, I can relate to that feeling. You know, Brooke has spent almost her entire life camping. And a moose is her number one favorite animal. Somehow it\u2019s the one she\u2019s never seen. And we can imagine that there\u2019s been a lot of times where she almost saw one, where she\u2019s on the trail and somebody was like, \u201cwe just saw a moose.\u201d And then the disappointment she probably feels when it\u2019s gone, when she gets to that spot.<\/p>\n So then her best friend-turned-sister, Jayla, sees the moose in her very first week of camping \u2014 her reaction to that is big. At first Brooke is kind of cold to Jayla. She probably doesn\u2019t even know why, because that\u2019s how jealousy can feel sometimes. It\u2019s kind of a complicated emotion, and the story is all about Brooke navigating her own feelings and learning to be happy for somebody else.<\/p>\n Obviously not every family can take this type of immersive experience. Are there ways kids can translate the lessons of the book to their backyard or their urban environment or their neighborhoods? <\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, absolutely. You don\u2019t have to go far to have an experience in nature. You can just go to your backyard or a local park.<\/p>\n If you bring a notebook, and any kind of art supplies \u2014 any notebook works, any art supplies work \u2014 and can you just sit and pay attention. Squirrels and birds and chipmunks or whatever you have near you can provide endless entertainment. You just need to slow down and pay attention to it.<\/p>\n Some of the advice I\u2019ve gotten from other artists is that the very process of slowing down, like you just said, and capturing an animal or plant in linework helps you see it in new light. It brings new observations that you might not have noticed otherwise. <\/strong><\/p>\n Absolutely. One of my favorite resources for nature journaling \u2014 and I think this is a good resource for kids and adults \u2014 is John Muir Laws and the Wild Wonder Foundation\u2019s amazing YouTube videos for cool things like how to nature journal.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s important for everybody to remember that nature journal journaling is not about making pretty pictures. If you enjoy that, that\u2019s great, but that\u2019s not what it\u2019s about. It\u2019s about making you slow down and notice things. These videos point out all the kinds of things you can make notes about, and it makes you just think about what\u2019s going on. Like, what time of day did I see this, what season is it, what kind of tree was it in \u2014 stuff like that.<\/p>\n And just as a side note, it\u2019s amazing how some of those journals from maybe a century ago contained vital science that reveals how animal migration has changed, how the climate has changed. People are tapping into this stuff either from their own lives or from generations past and learning new things. <\/strong><\/p>\n One-hundred percent. And that\u2019s something else that I hope readers get from this book: that everybody can be a scientist. It doesn\u2019t matter what age you are. You don\u2019t have to be a great artist. Making these observations \u2014 it\u2019s fun for you, and it could actually be something that somebody learns from one day.<\/p>\n Speaking of observations, were any of the wildlife scenes you drew in the book things you\u2019ve seen? <\/strong><\/p>\n Oh yeah. Brooke\u2019s top 10 most wanted mammals list is essentially my own wish list.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen half of the ones on her list. I\u2019ve seen a moose, but I haven\u2019t seen a moose swimming, which I think would be really cool.<\/p>\n Every time I get to see any animal in the wild, it\u2019s an honor. Even deer and squirrels and stuff \u2014 like when you\u2019re hiking and you get to share the space with these deer and they look at you and stop, and then they decide that you\u2019re not a threat and they keep eating. It\u2019s so cool just to slow down and watch them for a little bit.<\/p>\n The book\u2019s been out for a few weeks. You\u2019ve done some author events \u2014 how are kids responding? <\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I\u2019ve been blown away from responses. It\u2019s humbling. I did my first author event last weekend, and it went really well. The kids were so excited and they asked great questions.<\/p>\n We did a draw-along, where I showed them how I draw from references and how you can break down any image into shapes and draw anything. We drew a fox together and all the kids\u2019 fox drawings looked great \u2014 they were all so unique and they had their own style, but they were all definitely foxes.<\/p>\n And I\u2019ve had parents reach out and say that their kids devoured the book in one day and we\u2019re looking for book two.<\/p>\n So what does come next? Are you thinking about another book for Brooke or about something else? <\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I don\u2019t have any official news for Brooke and her family, but I can say that I\u2019m dreaming up some adventures and some interesting environments for them to explore. I think, fingers crossed, there might be more.<\/p>\n And for me personally, I missed camping while working on this, so we\u2019re about to hit the road again. We\u2019re packing up the van now.<\/p>\n Tuco, the dog in the book, is my real life Tuco. He\u2019s a senior now and we\u2019re getting the van ready to accommodate an 80-pound senior dog. We\u2019re excited. I think he\u2019s going to love getting one more adventure in.<\/p>\n Comics for Earth: Eight New Graphic Novels About Saving the Planet and Celebrating Wildlife<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t
\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cover-DiaryofaNatureNerd-203x300.jpg\")
So where are you calling from these days? Are you still 100% mobile or\u2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rv-diagram-1000.jpg\")
Courtesy Tiffany Everett<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DiabloLake-Smoky-1000.jpg\")
Diablo Lake without smoke\u2026and with. Photos courtesy Tiffany Everett<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/brookes-diary-1000.jpg\")
Courtesy Tiffany Everett<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Everett-and-Tuco.jpg\")
The author and Tuco. Courtesy Tiffany Everett<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/platt-pug.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tis the editor of The Revelator and an award-winning environmental journalist whose work has appeared in dozens of publications around the world. His \u201cExtinction Countdown\u201d column has run continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists.
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