Research

Cindy Trumbore and I are on the way to observe prairie dogs in New Mexico.

Cindy Trumbore and I are in Puerto Rico's El Yunque rain forest.

Here I am with two beautiful and beautifully costumed girls at my Korean grocery in Queens. I love to take advantage of the many ethnic stores that surround my neighborhood, especially when I can be working on my books at the same time that I am finding exotic and delicious treats for supper.

I started shopping at the Korean supermarket as soon as Nancy Patz and I began to work on Babies Can’t Eat Kimchee! just to get into the mood. Grownups and children in my family now can and do eat kimchee among many other delicacies that might not have appeared on our dinner table without this delightful exploration.

As I began to work on my next book which was set in Pakistan I moved a little farther down the street to shop in Jackson Heights where they have the best dahl and spices to match.

I always have my phone camera ready.

Susan L. Roth, up many flights on a Columbus Circle construction site in New York City, August 2001, researching Hard Hat Area, the book about ironworkers.