Exploring the Many Ways We Pray: Q&A with Mary Wagley Copp 0

Jaliza Burwell of Charlesbridge in conversation with Mary Wagley Copp, author of Sometimes We Pray

In Sometimes We Pray, author Mary Wagley Copp invites readers to explore the many ways people pray—through movement, stillness, reflection, and community. The book celebrates the diversity of prayer practices around the world while highlighting the shared human longing for connection, hope, and belonging. Available as both a picture book and a board book, Sometimes We Pray encourages young readers to appreciate spirituality in many forms.

I spoke with Mary about the inspiration behind the book and why this topic feels especially meaningful for children today.

What inspired you to write a book exploring prayer across cultures and beliefs?
As an ELL teacher working with recently resettled newcomers from many countries and cultures, I tried to create space for them to share their stories—their traditions, daily lives, and beliefs—with one another. Those conversations often blossomed into questions about both the differences and the surprising similarities among the cultures in our classroom. I was amazed by the students’ curiosity and generosity of spirit. Despite their different backgrounds, they approached one another with openness and respect. Their willingness to listen, to ask, and to learn from each other became one of the most powerful lessons in the room. It was after one particular class—in which two women gathered their prayer rugs and went off to a corner to pray—that I tucked away the idea of writing about prayer for a young audience. It was really my students who inspired me!

How did your travels influence the story?
I have traveled extensively and lived abroad. Each time I interact with people from other cultures, I’m reminded that despite our different traditions, our deepest yearnings are remarkably alike. We want to be loved. We want to belong. We want our children to be safe. We strive for happiness. I also believe that in many forms of prayer there’s a shared longing—one of which is a desire to connect to something larger than ourselves and to care for one another while we are here. Travel and living abroad can certainly strengthen this perspective. But so can the simple act of getting to know someone whose story unfolds differently from our own. And I hope Sometimes We Pray inspires readers to do just that.

Your approach to writing this book makes it seem so welcoming to religious and nonreligious readers. Why was that important to you?
I appreciate the use of the terms religious and nonreligious rather than believers and nonbelievers. After all, we all believe in something. Many people who pray do not consider themselves religious. They may not attend services, belong to a formal faith community, believe in a supreme being, or observe traditional holidays. Yet they still trust in the power of prayer—in reflection, intention, connection, and/or hope. Accepting the value of prayer, within or outside of religion, acknowledges the wide and nuanced ways people make meaning in their lives.

How did you approach representing many cultures respectfully?
I interviewed people from many different backgrounds and faiths with varied ways of praying. I also asked readers to review the manuscript and share their thoughts. I’ve strived to do this with the utmost respect for the faiths represented. Because this is a picture book—with a necessarily limited word count—I couldn’t explore any one form of prayer in depth. In some ways, that constraint was helpful. It encouraged me to speak simply and spaciously, leaving room rather than filling every corner with explanation—something young readers would not have appreciated! I certainly didn’t capture every culture or spiritual tradition or all the ways people pray. But I hope the book—both text and illustrations—hold enough diversity and recognition for readers to feel both seen and curious. My deepest hope is that Sometimes We Pray is a springboard for conversation, inviting readers to share their own practices, questions, and stories about prayer.

I think one of the most beautiful parts of this book is that it shows prayer as something that connects people, rather than something that separates them. Was that an important element for you to work in?
So often, we see prayer as connected to religion. And so often, we see religious differences as lines that divide us. Yes, we are different. We eat different foods. We raise our children in different ways. We dress, worship, celebrate, and mourn in our own traditions. But beneath those visible differences runs something deeper—something shared—something I believe is often embodied in our prayers. We all long to belong. We all hope for love. We all wish for happiness and good health. Those shared longings are our common ground, the threads of our shared humanity. When we choose to look for that common ground, we see beyond what divides us. And in that realm, we discover not just who others are but who we can be.

In what settings do you hope this book will be shared—at home, in classrooms, or as part of special celebrations?
Everywhere! All the time! I think Sometimes We Pray is appropriate in all venues. It is meant to pique curiosity and to invite inquiry.

At Charlesbridge, we were so excited to release this book simultaneously as a picture book and a board book. It makes the story so unique. Are you excited to be reaching a wider audience? Was this choice important to you?
I love that Sometimes We Pray is a picture book and a board book. It was not my decision, though! Board books are so important for our youngest children and when we introduce words, concepts, and pictures early on, we can lay an important foundation for literacy and learning.

This book feels so timely. What do you hope young readers will take away from this story?
Today we have such deep divisions at so many levels: globally, nationally, and within our own communities. And the tone is divisive—often unkind. I believe the earlier we begin to listen, to try to understand, to honor differences and our shared underpinnings, the greater chance we have for more peace in this world.

Mary Wagley Copp is the author of Yoshi's Big Swim and Wherever I Go. She loved exploring the world with her parents and studying Spanish in Guadalajara, Mexico; visiting the symbol of ancient Greece, the Parthenon; and imagining how the Incans built Machu Picchu in Peru. When she is not reading and writing stories, she’s an ELL teacher working with recently resettled newcomers, and she recently traveled to Ethiopia and beyond.

Sometimes We Pray

Available in both hardcover and board book format.

The Brilliant Climate Scientist History Forgot 0

Why Eunice Newton Foote’s legacy matters—especially now.

By Lindsay H. Metcalf, author of Footeprint: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women's Rights

It’s been almost 170 years since Eunice Newton Foote discovered carbon dioxide’s atmosphere-warming properties—what we now know as the greenhouse effect. It’s about time the world discovered her.

A smattering of articles have noted her groundbreaking backyard experiment measuring the sun’s effect on various gases since 2011, when a retired petroleum geologist unearthed Foote’s 1856 research. But drive-by summaries paint an incomplete picture of a woman whose work and life intertwined with women’s rights activism and industrialization—the cradle of climate change.

Eunice grew up in East Bloomfield, New York. Her parents, modest farmers, scrimped together money to send her to a boarding school that offered revolutionary science classes to girls. Through her roommate, a sister to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Eunice became associated with the Cady family.

Eunice married Elisha Foote, a young patent lawyer who was also connected with Cady family. The pair began their life together in Seneca Falls, New York, where Eunice spent time inventing and experimenting in the Footes’ home lab.

As a woman, she couldn’t legally patent her first invention—a stove with a thermostat. So her husband did, in 1842. Eunice was reported as the inventor in The Lily, the women’s newspaper edited by Amelia Bloomer. Eunice was bursting with ideas she wanted to share with the world, but first, the world would have to recognize her agency as a woman. Thus began Eunice’s fight for women’s rights.

Her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the first women’s rights convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls. Eunice and Elisha both attended and signed the Declaration of Sentiments demanding the vote for women. Eunice also helped to publish the declaration in Frederick Douglass’ newspaper, The North Star.

A few years later, Eunice conducted her gases experiment. Fossil records had shown that the world had once been warm, and she wanted to know how. Eunice knew that limestone had been found to hold trapped carbon dioxide. Through her experiment, she concluded, “An atmosphere of that gas would give to our earth a much higher temperature.”

Eunice needed to get her discovery in front of the new American Association for the Advancement of Science. But a man would have to present her paper.

That man was Joseph Henry, the original secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Elisha Foote had known Henry since he taught Elisha as a teen in Albany. So Henry presented Eunice’s paper at the 1856 AAAS convention, and the next-day’s newspaper ran a tepid write-up admitting that Eunice “must be a charming person,” but her research “would hardly interest your readers.”

Eunice and Elisha continued to tinker in their lab, each earning patents for multiple inventions such as squeak-free rubber insoles (Eunice) and ice skates (Elisha). A few years after the Civil War, President Ulysses Grant appointed Elisha as US patent commissioner. Elisha directed which inventions would receive patents during the height of industrialization. His own brother, Henry R. Foote, earned one of the first patents for oil as a vehicle fuel—for a steamboat engine. The family of the first person to predict a warming climate contributed to its genesis.

History’s butterfly effect is wild. What if the world had listened to women of Eunice’s time? What if the world had taken her climate discovery seriously? Would people have been more cautious with their adoption of fossil fuels? Would we be struggling with human-caused climate change today?

Eunice’s story deserves space in our understanding of history. Likewise, the field of climate science demands space in public discourse. The Trump administration has taken drastic steps to erase documentation of human-caused climate change, first by scrubbing federal websites and documents of climate-change references and data, and most recently, by taking steps to shutter the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

My forthcoming novel-in-verse, Footeprint: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women’s Rights, attempts to correct the record, at least for Eunice. With one notable gap.

Because history rendered Eunice invisible, we don’t know what she looked like. (Don’t Google her; many images attributed to her are actually her daughter Mary or unidentified.)

But I think I found her.

(Dudley Observatory Dedication, August 28, 1856, Tompkins Harrison Matteson, 1857. Image from Wikimedia Commons.)

A painting by Tompkins Harrison Matteson depicts an observatory dedication that coincided with the 1856 AAAS convention where Eunice’s climate paper was featured. Dozens of scientists pose stiffly in the painting, entitled “Dudley Observatory Dedication, August 28, 1856.” Many remain unidentified by scholars.

(Detail of Dudley Observatory Dedication, August 28, 1856, Tompkins Harrison Matteson, 1857. Albany Institute of History & Art. Photo by Lindsay H. Metcalf.)

One unidentified couple sits prominently onstage. The man looks like a young Elisha Foote—with the same beard, glasses, and build shown in a confirmed 1860s photograph. The woman beside him echoes Eunice’s physical description from her passport and resembles their daughter Mary.

(Photograph of Judge Elisha Foote from Wikimedia Commons.)

(Mary Foote Henderson image from Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.)

I showed the painting to historians. Leif HerrGesell, former director of the East Bloomfield Historical Society in Eunice’s hometown, called the image a “dead ringer.” Sam McKenzie, who self-published a biography of Eunice, said, “I think this is called . . . a scoop.”

Still, historians are cautious to confirm the image, and rightly so. If this is Eunice, it would be the first portrait of her ever identified. Either way, her legacy is finally visible. 

It’s futile to speculate what might have happened with fossil fuels and climate change if the public had known of Eunice’s carbon dioxide discovery earlier. What is worthwhile? Making sure that climate science remains visible and accessible—while we still can.

Lindsay H. Metcalf is the author of Footeprint: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women’s Rights, a young adult novel-in-verse releasing February 10 from Charlesbridge Publishing.

Footeprint

Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women's Rights

A fascinating novel-in-verse for young adults capturing the discoveries of Eunice Foote, a remarkable woman in science WAY ahead of her time.

Discover the extraordinary life and work of Eunice Newton Foote: The woman who identified carbon dioxide as a cause of climate change in 1856 (!) when most people preferred that women be seen rather than heard. This lightly fictionalized novel-in-verse account finally gives her the credit she deserves for her groundbreaking work.

Eunice’s most important discovery was recognizing the effect of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: a warming planet. But in a society driven by coal, kerosene, and crude oil, Eunice’s warnings went unheeded. After all, who would listen to a woman—especially a woman known to consort with suffragists?

From the Seneca Falls Convention to the halls of the US Patent Office in Washington, DC, Eunice Newton Foote blazed a trail for independence and inquiry. Today Eunice’s discoveries feel ever more prescient. She knew that reliance on fossil fuels would have a devastating effect. Today she is finally receiving the credit she deserves. Perfect for teenagers interested in STEM and the Age of Steam.

Be sure to check out the downloadable for a free discussion guide.

7 Children's Books to Celebrate Jewish Book Month 0

As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Jewish Book Month, it’s the perfect time to honor stories that nurture identity, community, and connection. Below is a curated collection of Charlesbridge titles that shine with faith, family, friendship, and interwoven cultures, offering meaningful reads for this milestone month and beyond.

A Moon for Moe and Mo

Written by Jane Breskin Zalben; illustrated by Mehrdohkt Amini

When Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, overlaps with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, two boys forge an interfaith friendship.

Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail

Written by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Susan Gal

Celebrated author Lesléa Newman unites a young boy and a stray kitten in a warm, lyrical story about Passover, family, and friendship.

The Golden Dreidel

Written by Ellen Kushner; illustrated by Kevin Keele

This rollicking adventure steeped in Jewish folklore and tradition will delight youngsters both excited and reluctant about the holidays.

Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story

Written by Fran Manushkin; illustrated by Kris Easler

A cat and dog create a Hanukkah miracle, just in the nick of time in this updated reissue of the beloved holiday classic.

On Friday Afternoon: A Shabbat Celebration

Written by Michal Babay; illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt

The Friday afternoon mitzvot turn into a rambunctious picture book adventure as their family gets ready for Shabbat!

Gingerbread Dreidels

Written by Jane Breskin Zalben; illustrated by Thai Phuong

Chanukah and Christmas come together in this story of an interfaith, intergenerational family's blended holiday.

Something Sweet: A Sitting Shiva Story (Preorder Now!)

Written by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Sarita Rich

As Lizzie participates in the Jewish customs of mourning for the first time, she begins to understand a new side of friendship. Maybe all Joshua needs right now is someone to listen.

You can find Charlesbridge's full list of Jewish books here.

As we mark this special centennial year, these picture books remind us why stories matter. How they help children honor their own traditions, discover the beauty in others, and feel connected to something larger than themselves. May these books continue to spark conversations, nurture empathy, and bring families together all year long.

Moving Tips from Lola 0

Moving Tips from Lola! Don't move house until you read this.