Students at Arroyo Seco Junior High School got a rare opportunity Monday to hear directly from Sara Pennypacker, a New York Times bestselling author, as she visited campus to talk about reading, storytelling and her newest novel, The Lion’s Run.

Pennypacker, known to many students for her popular novel “Pax,” told the crowd she was especially excited to be back in schools after several years away from in-person visits.

“I’ve been in the cave for years,” she joked, referring to writing in isolation. “I missed you.”

She praised young people as some of the most dedicated readers there are and encouraged students to hold onto reading for pleasure, even as life gets busier.

“Your real job right now is learning who you are, who you could be and who you’re supposed to be in this world,” Pennypacker said. “There’s no better way to do that than to read a lot, especially fiction.”

The Lions’ Run book

Pennypacker’s new book, The Lion’s Run, is a middle-grade historical fiction novel set in Nazi-occupied France in 1944. It follows Lucas, an orphaned boy who believes he is a coward, but slowly discovers his courage through small, compassionate acts.

“The Lion’s Run is historical fiction, which I had never written for kids,” Pennypacker said. “I think it’s really wonderful to offer historical fiction to kids because it shows that other kids have been through hard times and that hard times are temporary.”

In the story, Lucas becomes involved with the French Resistance as a courier, rescues abandoned kittens, helps protect a girl hiding her horse from Nazi confiscation, and encounters a young mother connected to a Lebensborn clinic – a real Nazi program that took babies from occupied countries to be raised in Germany.

Pennypacker said she first learned about the Lebensborn program more than 20 years ago but struggled to find an appropriate way to introduce such a heavy topic to young readers.

“Then I learned that kids as young as 10 were used as couriers during World War II,” she said. “Once I knew that, I thought, ‘That’s my way in.’”

Rather than presenting simple good-versus-evil lessons, Pennypacker told students she aims to write stories that raise questions.

“It’s not my job to tell you what to believe or think,” she said. “It’s my job to write books that help you ask questions.”

One idea she discussed is what she calls the “theory of termites,” the notion that while one termite can’t do much, thousands working quietly together can bring down something enormous.

“Just do a little bit,” she told students. “Thousands of people doing little bits are going to be really effective.”

New York Times best selling author visits Arroyo Seco Junior High School (Sophia Lesseos KHTS)

She told KHTS Radio that her latest book could also be related to what is happening in the world today.

“I’m really sick of the media dressing courage up in hero muscles and guns,” Pennypacker said. “Real courage is often quiet. It’s caring.”

Students asked Pennypacker about her writing process, how long it takes to finish a book, and what advice she has for young writers. She shared that most of her novels take about two years to complete and require extensive research, including traveling to locations when possible.

Pennypacker also told students she didn’t decide to become an author until she was an adult reading to her own children – a reminder, she said, that it’s never too late to discover what you’re meant to do.

“I hope you find something that you just know is for you,” she said. “And the best way to find that is to read a lot.”

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