AGM: Welcome, Torrey! Let’s jump right into our chat with a wonderful line from JUST RIGHT:

“Toby’s mom always says there are people who make you feel just right.”

What inspired this story, and what does that idea of feeling “just right” mean to you — especially when writing for young readers?

TM: During nearly 30 years of teaching and writing bestselling middle grade novels, I’ve seen magic happen for kids and families. There’s magic in pairing kids with “just right” books. But kids don’t read all day. So how can we keep magic happening when books aren’t in their hands? By teaching them the magic of pairing with “just right” people and spaces. That’s social literacy, and matters too.

If we want to improve kids’ lives, let’s ask, “Can kids read situations and people? How well can they pivot from not right people and settings?” No matter the zip code, all ages struggle to pivot. So, from my teacher’s and writer’s heart, JUST RIGHT is a GPS to help kids find their just right person, people, and spaces. Toby does. The result? A gamechanger for him, his uncle, and the world. I imagine JUST RIGHT helping more adults tune in like Toby’s mom and uncle. It inspires me to imagine more kids flipping their moods from down to up.

AGM: Torrey! I love that idea—social literacy and finding the people that make you feel “just right”. What a powerful message for kids and adults alike.

You clearly have a gift for writing about families— real families… and especially uncles! (We can’t get enough of them in your books!) What draws you to those family relationships, and how do you bring such heart to the way you write about them?

TM: You hit bullseye on something I LOVE writing about what shaped me—family, including uncles. Thanks for saying I’m good at writing about them! I want to do right by uncles and families with my storytelling because key uncles and family did right by me.

Fun fact: the real garage-owning uncle who inspired Toby’s (in JUST RIGHT) wasn’t blood-related. If a stranger can become my family and matter so much that I still talk and write about him, it’s a reminder “it takes a village to raise a child” and anyone can step in, step up, and lift a kid. JUST RIGHT helps kids find their best family. And what does the best family do? Everything a best friend does. What’s that? In a letter to my daughter in The Talk, I share a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. acronym to spot best friends. Shoutout to two of my favorites: Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson, the editors of The Talk.

Friends F.ight for you, R.espect you, I.nclude you, . . . and for the rest, read JUST RIGHT because Toby’s mom and uncle beautifully fulfill the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. checklist. From my heart to the pages of JUST RIGHT are my family who are Toby’s, which is why they feel real. A reviewer wrote, “I want a hug from Uncle.”

I hope adults answer that call by being to kids in their lives what Uncle is to Toby.

AGM: Yes! Torrey! Shoutout to Cheryl and Wade, and all the friends who make us feel seen, heard, and respected.

As we mentioned, JUST RIGHT marks your picture book debut (Congratulations!!!) How did it feel to move into the picture book world after writing middle grade? What excites you about connecting with picture book readers?

TM: Thanks for your congratulations! So far, it’s a “dream come true” within more dreams like Russian nesting dolls with many dolls inside one. First, I’ve always dreamt of writing a picture book—dream come true. That reminds me of another. The National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature—Meg Medina—invited me to our nation’s capital from her short list of guest-authors who capture today’s voices of young people—dream come true. Discussing and archiving my book TIGHT? Dream come true. Meg asked me to bring someone else’s book that everyone should know about. I brought the picture book EACH KINDNESS by Jacqueline Woodson, a teacher’s dream because it ignites all ages talking in ways most books don’t. That’s partly why I write and teach—to spark and build conversations. Fans of my novels warm my heart because they say my books do that.

EACH KINDNESS connects to JUST RIGHT because recently a celebrated Columbus, Ohio librarian posted on social media that she read JUST RIGHT to classes and hasn’t seen kids react that way since EACH KINDNESS! To have Beth Parmer, near her 27th year as a K-5 librarian (so she knows her stuff), say JUST RIGHT brings her back to EACH KIINDNESS is a DREAM COME TRUE. Another dreamy part? During my author-visits, I get to see those reactions and be part of conversations sparked by JUST RIGHT.

AGM: You are bringing the dreams—working with Meg Medina, reading Jacqueline Woodson’s EACH KINDNESS, and love from a respected librarian—dreams on dreams on dreams!

You can tell from everything you do and say: You are a teacher through and through! I get it. I couldn’t help but think of what I’d want to share with kids when it comes to your books. (Don’t get me started on the times I’ve shared HANDS with kids and teachers!)

So when you think about sharing JUST RIGHT in schools, what kinds of moments do you hope to create? How do you picture bringing this picture book to life for kids during those experiences?

TM: My hat tips to elementary school teachers and librarians. When my eighth grade U.S. History teaching load feels overwhelming and my mind gets cloudy, I think of them and there’s a break in the clouds where I see elementary teachers and librarians do more. They teach multiple subjects; I teach one. They teach kids with more energy and honesty. THAT “more” excites me about author-visits where I’ll meet multiple grades and experience their honesty and excitement for JUST RIGHT.

As a middle school teacher, I know how to facilitate honest conversations about this book, but collaborating with seasoned elementary teachers and librarians to steer those chats? I CANNOT WAIT! JUST RIGHT is already coming to life. While narrating the audiobook, the studio producer said he wanted to work on it because he was Toby and his dad was Toby’s. He said JUST RIGHT was healing for him and wishes more kids had Uncle. A reviewer said something similar—she wants a hug from Uncle. More adults have shared its impact and these moments will continue; however, you know the phrase “out of the mouths of babes”? I’m excited to hear how kids say JUST RIGHT resonates with their lives and hopes too.

AGM: I was chatting on a podcast with Stephanie Affinito, PhD the other week. She keeps a list of books she hugs at the end. When you were talking about the producer and the reviewer, it made me think: JUST RIGHT is on their “Books to Hug” lists.

Each time you visit the retreat center at Boyds Mills, it truly feels just right, Torrey! Before we let you go, can you give us a little sneak peek at what you’re working on next?

TM: Wow, that means a lot because [Boyds Mills] always feels just right for me too—magic, creativity, and amazing people all in one place. Teaching, retreating, chatting during downtime—[Boyds Mills] has given me lifelong memories and relationships.

I can’t wait for more highlights ahead on campus. I’m thrilled about placing the picture book that Floyd Cooper and I planned to publish in the Floyd Cooper Cabin at the retreat center! Confession: JUST RIGHT isn’t my first picture book—it’s my first published. For my first written, I must highlight Floyd. We became family-close and called each other brothers, yet our age-gap made him more my uncle. When he told me, “Let’s do it” in reply to my nervously joking, “We should make a picture book”, I leapt into writing it. His passing changed our plan, yet not before he gave me his blessing to find another illustrator. UNCLE is spectacularly illustrated by Bea Jackson, has my dedication to Floyd in it, and is my third book that will publish!

I’m also thrilled for approaching highlights off-campus. I’m leading an SCBWI Winter Conference session centered on JUST RIGHT in midtown Manhattan. Young readers made HANDS the 2025 Georgia Children’s Book Award winner so I’ll keynote at that conference and accept that award.

On the writing front, my middle grades were “happy oopses” because I meant them for one age range—grades six through eighth; however, upper elementary and high school aged readers also love them. Now, I’ve “happy oopses” with picture books. I meant to write one and three poured out. After JUST RIGHT, there’s LITTLE ARTIST illustrated by the remarkable Reggie Brown, and UNCLE illustrated by the brilliant Bea Jackson, both aligned with JUST RIGHT because all highlight the impact of caring adults.

My short story about a New York Puerto Rican tween will soon go nationwide in school curricula. It blends today with 1970s and 1980s New York history with issues all adolescents go through. My background is mixed and as a youth, I never was shown writing by contemporary NuyoRicans so I hope it makes young readers with Puerto Rican heritage—and kids everywhere—proud and feel seen. I’m also into finishing two novels I can’t discuss yet fingers crossed they’re just right too and will keep readers riveted and rereading them.

AGM: First, let me pause to say: UNCLES with Floyd will be celebrated far and wide over here (and everywhere!)

We are thrilled to celebrate all of your upcoming stories, Torrey! You make readers feel like they are a part of this great, big world—and for that, we’re forever grateful. Thanks so much for sharing stories with us that helped shape JUST RIGHT. We hope everyone finds a copy of JUST RIGHT to read to a kid… and who knows, maybe they’ll hug the book, too!