Jonathan Tweet

When my daughter was little, I wanted her to have a book that would teach her where we all came from, something that could explain evolution in a way that a little kid could grasp. Also the story had to have heart, like any good origin story does. But how can you possibly explain evolution in a way that’s as simple and colorful as Adam and Eve, all while getting the science right? I couldn't find a book like that, so I started to write Grandmother Fish. It was no easy task, but after fifteen years of working on it, I finally had the flash of insight that made the story sing. In the story, children mimic the sounds and motions of the animals that came before us. They wiggle like Grandmother Fish and hoot like Grandmother Ape. Mimicry is the key that allows the story to reach kids that are younger than I ever thought possible. My artist Karen Lewis is also in Seattle. She is, among other things, a children's science illustrator, and she knew when she heard about the project that she would be perfect for it. Karen and I collaborated closely, and the book ended up better than I had ever imagined. We raised money for it on Kickstarter, published it ourselves September 2015, and sold out before Christmas. Several publishers wanted to sign us, and we went with Jean Feiwel at Macmillan. Their edition released September 2106. All life on Earth is related. Children love learning that message, and I'm honored to share it with them. In 2016, Karen and I raised money on Kickstarter for Clades and Clades Prehistoric, two versions of an animal-matching game based on evolutionary relationships among animals. For 30 years, I've been a professional designer of geeky games, working on big names like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: the Gathering. My original RPGs, such as Over the Edge and Everway, influenced the "indie" movement in tabletop roleplaying.