What to Read to Your Kids

It is at once the saddest and happiest of weeks, because although the seventh title was just released in Karina Yan Glaser’s beloved middle-grade series about a contemporary biracial family with five children and an entourage of rescue animals living in New York City, it is also the last. The Vanderbeekers Ever After may be out in the world, but our time in the company of this dearest of families is drawing to an end.

For our family and so many others, this feels like the end of an era. No series has left more of an imprint on my family’s hearts. No series has been greeted with more excitement in our house. No series has grown more with my children or withstood the test of time, from budding elementary readers to discerning teens. No series has been more fun to read aloud! When my kids look back as adults at the years I spent reading to them, these are the books they are going to remember.

I’ve written quite a bit about this series over the years—I penned a blog post about the beautiful thread of community that runs through these stories and an IG post with my family’s Top Ten Reasons Why We Love the Vanderbeekers—so it felt only right to celebrate (commiserate?) its conclusion by turning the mic on Karina herself. Today, I’m sharing an interview I did over the summer with Karina, where she puts into words what this journey has meant to her. Along the way, she shares how hard it was to write this last book, one of her favorite pieces of fan mail, who might play Mr. Beiderman on the big screen someday, and what’s next for her. As I do when I interview favorite authors (see past interviews with Corinna Luyken and Shawn Harris), I also ask about how she has worked to inspire a love of reading in her own children—and which reads alouds are near and dear to her family’s hearts!

Q: First of all, congratulations! Seven bestselling books, one beloved family. They say all good things must come to an end, but this certainly feels bittersweet for those of us who have adored this family from the very first page. Can you put into words what it feels like to be closing the curtain on the Vanderbeekers?

Thank you so much! It is very strange to be ending the Vanderbeekers series. I feel like this series has so closely mirrored my own experiences as a mom raising kids in New York City, and now I feel like the Vanderbeekers are growing up and experiencing independence. It’s a wonderful and tragic thing! 🙂

Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced in writing this final book? What did you want to leave readers with?

I found this final book to be very difficult to write, but then again, I feel like every book is difficult to write! I always want to give my best effort with every story, and I wanted the series to describe an arc from the first book to the last. Closing all those little storylines and adding something new to the series that demonstrated the growth of the characters was quite a challenge.