The First Rules of Climate Club
Angela Kecojevic interviews Carrie Firestone about The First Rules of Climate Club
Angela: The First Rules of Climate Club - the book was amazing. I loved the climate message, the feeling of hope for the world (through these young minds) and the friendship bond between the children.
Where did the idea for the book come from? Did you have a club like this when you were at school?
Carrie: Thanks so much! I wrote The First Rule of Climate Club as a companion book to my middle grade novel Dress Coded, but the idea of a climate club came from an environmental club I organized when I was a high school teacher in New York City. My students and I worked together on educational and community clean-up projects. I wanted Climate Club to be a testament to how powerful our work can be when we join hands with others.
Angela: The theme of friendship was powerful throughout, especially the relationship between Mary Kate and Lucy. My heart broke for them on several occasions! How much research did you do for this element of the story?
Carrie: I wanted to write about how to navigate friendship when one of the friends is confronted with a serious health issue. Many young people (and adults) don’t know how to handle a mentally and/or physically ill friend. My hope was that Mary Kate could model what it means to show up for a friend. My research on this part of the story came from life experience, as I have played both the patient and caregiver roles at different times in my life.
Angela: One of my favourite parts of the book was the letters the children sent in to apply for the club. I learnt so much from this, especially about leaf blowers! I never realised (and I’m sure I won’t be alone in this), how bad they are for the environment. It was also a clever way to educate children about climate issues. How did this part of the story come about?
Carrie: The letters were a second draft addition to the story. I always seem to write books with large casts and I really needed to find a way to differentiate the students in the class, so I came up with this idea of scattering their “why I want to join a pilot climate class program” application essays throughout the book. It was one of those rare, but exciting aha! moments. And I definitely got into the lawn machinery research weeds. Gas-powered leaf blowers are the worst of the worst.
Angela: Having children go head-to-head with the authorities was perfect. It was refreshing to see them fight for their beliefs. As we know (with regard to climate), every voice counts. Have you always wanted to write a climate adventure story? And if so, did you face any battles writing it? Climate Fiction is now a hugely popular genre. We are hungry to read more and more!
Carrie: I have been an environmental activist much longer than I’ve been a novelist, so YES I’ve always wanted to write climate fiction. I decided to ride on the DRESS CODED coattails because, while there’s been a lot of interest in activist fiction, I haven’t seen as much interest in climate justice fiction (at least in the U.S.). I’m hoping more publishers acquire and amplify action-based realistic climate fiction.
Angela: It would be great if every school had a climate club. What would be your three rules for joining?
Carrie: Great question!
1. Figure out your superpower. It will sustain your work.
2. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for measurable action.
3. If your project or initiative “fails,” figure out why and start again.
Angela: If a school wanted to embrace a Climate Club and actually try to incorporate a few changes into their daily school life, what would the Climate Club advise them to do first?
Carrie: I actually created a guide to starting a Climate Club in your school or community on my website in the Resources section.
Angela: Mary Kate was an excellent hero in the story. She was loyal, brave and feisty. Tell us about her dreams and plans for the world! She also writes letters to her future self. Have you ever done this?
Carrie: Thank you! I have a soft spot for Mary Kate. I think she will continue pushing for environmental justice in a lot of different ways, and will stay connected to the community she has built around her. My own daughters are pursuing environmental studies majors in college, and I could see Mary Kate and Lucy doing the same. I think I’m too superstitious to write a letter to my future self but if I could write to my past self, I’d say Don’t worry so much. We’ve got this.
Angela: One of the many things that stood out for me in the book, was that we, as adults, should listen to the voice of children. Was this an intentional message? Do you think children should be more heavily involved in voicing their opinions on climate change? They are, after all, the voice of the future.
Carrie: I definitely wanted the children in this book to hold the adults accountable. Adults are often saying “the kids are going to save the world.” This is another way of saying, “we’re kicking the can down the road.” While there’s a place in the climate movement for everyone, and young people can do amazing community-based projects and help get effective leaders elected, it’s the adults who need to do the hard work right now. If kids feel the need to speak loudly to get adults to act, I fully support that!
Angela: Apart from the CWFL, do you belong to any clubs that have inspired you?
Carrie: It’s not exactly a club, but I co-founded a civic engagement and service organization with my friend in 2016. We’ve met extraordinary people and have built a community of like-minded public servants and visionaries who inspire me every day. I also love interacting with other readers, writers, and teachers of children’s literature. Books are the ultimate connectors and I’m grateful for books that inspire us all to live more meaningful lives.
Angela: What are you working on at the moment?
Carrie: I’m in the research rabbit hole, studying Progressive Era superwoman Inez Milholland and her suffragist friends. I’m hoping the activists who have come before us will provide clues to how to navigate the climate crisis through good, old fashioned rabble rousing.
Thank you for these great questions!
Find out more about The First Rule of Climate Club.
Carrie Firestone is a life-long environmental activist and author of young adult and middle grade fiction, including THE FIRST RULE OF CLIMATE CLUB, a middle grade climate justice novel. When she’s not writing, Carrie chairs her town’s clean energy commission and is working on developing replicable municipal level climate initiatives. Carrie lives in Connecticut, USA with her husband, teen daughters, and rescue dog Roxie.
Angela Kecojevic is a senior librarian, author and creative writing tutor. She has written for the Oxford Reading Tree programme and the multi-award-winning adventure park Hobbledown where her characters can be seen walking around, something she still finds incredibly charming! She is a member of the Climate Writers Fiction League, a group of international authors who use climate issues in their work. Angela lives in the city of Oxford with her family.
Solutions Spotlight
In The Last Good Summer, J.J. Green shows how illegal dumping can effect the landscape.
Belle had her mobile phone in her hand, ready to record photographic evidence. She slowly scanned the site, careful to note the remarkable – and the unremarkable, for that matter. Anything could be a useful lead; an important clue.
‘Let’s check out that heavy machinery over there?’
She pointed to a yellow digger and a bulldozer, incongruous in such natural surroundings, parked a distance away at the far edge of the quarry. The bulldozer had lumps of soil stuck to its blade. At one side of the quarry floor, the sandy soil was freshly turned. At the other side was a quarry lake. Belle went towards the soil first, taking photos as she went. The soil was covered in tracks, from the digger and the bulldozer no doubt, and in parts, she could see tiny plumes of smoke hovering close to the surface. Belle’s hand shot to her face, covering her mouth and nose.
‘Fuck, can you get that stink? It’s like rotten eggs.’
‘Aye,’ Dermot said, coughing, ‘I get it. It’s burning the eyes out of my head. I’m used to rotten smells at work but this is taking the piss.’
‘The soil’s been disturbed here,’ Belle said. ‘Could be they’re dumping waste and covering it over with topsoil. Let’s take a look at the lake.’
As she drew nearer to the water, her nostrils were assaulted with yet stronger odours. She felt her stomach lurch and her hand involuntarily reached up to hold her nose. Behind her, she heard Dermot hurling up his lunch, breakfast and whatever else was in his stomach.
‘God help us,’ he mumbled. ‘Do you want to go back to the car?’
‘I’m okay,’ Dermot said, breathless, ‘there’s nothing left to throw up at this stage. How’re you able to stand it?’
‘I’m holding my nose, though it’s still awful.’
‘It’s like something went up this quarry’s asshole and died.’
‘That’s exactly what it’s like. I remember Daddy taking me to a meat factory when I was a kid – the stench would’ve floored an elephant. This is similar but worse, I think.’
She didn’t dare go any closer. The water was deathly still, sludge-like and as black as a winter’s night, and a tell-tale rainbow from an oil spill oozed across its surface. A spindly frog, dead and decaying, lay by the water’s edge. Belle snapped some more photos.