Q&A: The latest on the monkeypox virus in San Diego County

S1: The wait for vaccines to stop monkey pox in San Diego County.

S2: We may be seeing a little bit of a decline here , and I think that would be a great thing to see.

S1: I'm M.G. Perez with Maureen CAVANAUGH. This is KPBS Midday Edition. The plan to restore San Diego's marshlands.

S3: There's been a lot of advances in our scientific understanding of the tremendous benefits of marshland and also its impact on sea level rise , which has become steadily more concerning during the course of these global warming. Climate change studies that keep showing things are even worse than we had thought.

S1: And the new children's book Promoting Self-esteem. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Earlier today , the World Health Organization announced it has seen a 21% decline in monkeypox cases globally over the past week , giving hope that the current outbreak might be starting to recede. Meanwhile , San Diego's current case count stands at 239. That's according to the county's latest data. The county has also announced that this week it is distributing more doses of the monkeypox vaccines to area health care providers. Here to bring us the latest on the situation is Dr. Robert Schooley , infectious disease specialist with UC San Diego Health and professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Schooley , welcome.

S2: Thank you.

S1:

S2: And I think a lot of this reflects the fact that knowledge has spread about how the virus is being transmitted and behaviors are changing and people are getting vaccinated. And many of the same sorts of things that help slow down the early spread of HIV in the days of the early AIDS pandemic.

S1:

S2: We have about 60 more cases than a week ago , as you said , about not quite 240 , but the rate of rise has been declining. And looking at some of the other indicators we have , Dr. Nitschke group has been looking at monkeypox , DNA and the wastewater in Point Loma. That's down a little bit. So we may be seeing a little bit of a decline here and I think that would be a great thing to see.

S1:

S2: And it's quite disruptive. We haven't had any deaths in San Diego that I'm aware of. We've had about five hospitalizations. But what I really worry about is the impact on people who get it. There is some concern that the virus would find its way into either other populations. There was a concern for a while that it might be finding its way into the homeless population , and so far that's been slow. There are only about five cases that have been reported in the under house population. There over the longer term , people are worried that monkeypox could spread into non-human populations with which we interact. In other words , pets , rodents and other things around us. Monkeypox is not as restricted a virus as smallpox. Smallpox really only infects people. That's why we've been able to eradicate smallpox. Monkeypox can find its way into rodents. That's the natural host in Africa. There has been a report of one report of a dog that stuck with patients with monkeypox becoming infected. So we really want to try to keep the virus out of other populations while we work to vaccinate the human population and move it back to a future worry rather than our current concern.

S1: So the county tells us it's distributing 700 vials of the vaccine to health care providers in the area this week. We're told each vial contains about five doses of the vaccine.

S2: I mean , I think we're going to need to ramp it up quite a bit. There is a shortage nationwide , but that's beginning to catch up. I don't think we'll see an excess of vaccine for a couple of more months in terms of who really should be vaccinated. There is a vaccine trial that will be starting at UCSD looking at the genius vaccine , just verifying that the lower dose is now being used and dose the right amount of immunity that's rolling through the Food and Drug Administration as we speak and will be opening here probably in September. And we hope that in addition to the trial , that more doses will come through the health department.

S1:

S2: It doesn't it's not as protective as both doses , but the first dose certainly will decrease the likelihood you'll become infected if you become exposed and will decrease the likelihood you'll have a severe infection if you get infected. People who are kind of halfway through their vaccination series should still be careful about exposures , but they're partially protected. And it's a good thing to to get whichever dosing you can get to get started.

S1:

S2: We'll provide information about which positions have access to the vaccine. People who've been exposed to someone with monkeypox closely , intimately exposed should be vaccinated. As we get more access to two vaccine , men who have sex with men should consider a vaccination that will protect them from being exposed. But right now , it's mainly for people who have been exposed either through intimate contact or through occupational risk.

S1:

S2: So the number of cases nationally is still rising , but the rate of rise is declining. I think we are going to see a tapering off of cases over the next several weeks to months. We'll still see new cases. We won't be in a situation where there are no new cases. But the rate of rise that we're seeing , I think is beginning to temper , which is really very , very positive to see.

S1: The name monkeypox comes because it originated in monkeys.

S2: Now it's really kind of a misnomer. Its natural host is mainly rodents and it had been primarily restricted to regions of Africa , West Africa and the Congo. The first case of case that was described happened to be on a monkey that had been transported from Africa to Germany. And so it was deemed monkeypox. But in fact , this virus is much less restrictive than many others and can grow in monkeys and humans and dogs and cats and rodents , but lives mostly in rodents. You know , monkeypox is clearly not the best descriptor for it.

S1:

S2: Sexually right now , vaccines are coming in. After the vaccines are out , it'll be a lot safer. I think restricting the numbers of partners is really one of the things that has made a big , big difference. And it's something that we should all be extremely happy about. And we should also commend the community for getting on top of it and taking charge of getting this under control.

S1: I have been speaking with Dr. Robert Schooley , infectious disease expert with UC San Diego Health and professor of UC San Diego School of Medicine. Doctor , thank you.

S2: Thank you.

S4: Today , the California Air Resources Board is voting on a plan to ease the state away from sales of new gas powered vehicles. It's all part of state and local efforts to combat climate change. Recently , the City of San Diego unveiled an updated climate action plan. And among the initiatives is a program that lets nature help get us to zero carbon emissions. The plan involves restoring 700 acres of wetlands along the coast. Environmentalists say the wetlands will help San Diego cope with sea level rise and actually help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Joining me is San Diego Union-Tribune reporter David Garrick. David , welcome.

S3: Thanks for having me.

S4: Now , marshland restoration wasn't a big part of the first climate action plan.

S3: They call it carbon sequestration and also its impact on sea level rise , which has become steadily more concerning during the course of the , you know , global warming , climate change studies that keep showing things are even worse than we had thought.

S4:

S3: They actually soak it up and store it and keep it out of the atmosphere , which slows down the global warming and the climate change that everyone's trying to prevent.

S4: And now scientists have been able to determine about how much carbon the wetlands actually store.

S3: I don't have those numbers , but they have been able to. And it's a it's a new kind of science where they're making new discoveries every day. And as you pointed out earlier , the city's first climate action plan seven years ago didn't even mention this as a strategy. So in just seven short years , you know , our understanding as a society and a scientific community has dramatically increased about this this impact.

S4:

S3: So the sea level rise is mitigated somewhat because instead of going into a housing development in a marshland , can can soak it up. Another benefit financially is that you have marshland along the coast. If it gets destroyed , it's easier to replace than actually a housing development. So it's a double win.

S4: When we say restoring marshland , do we mean that there used to be a lot more marshland along San Diego's coast ? Yeah.

S3: If you were in San Diego in the 1930s and forties , Mission Bay was basically one giant marsh. There's a little chunk of it less. It's called the Kendall Frost Marsh over by Crown Point. It's about 40 acres. But the entire rest , a bay was turned into , you know , the recreational hotbed and , you know , giant aquatic park that we all enjoy. But the way they did that , it was basically every part of Mission Bay was sort of half water , half land , and and humans decided that we knew better. And we made it either all sturdy land or all water. And so we had half and half , and we got rid of the marshland. And we learned now scientifically that that was probably a mistake in numerous ways.

S4: Now , wasn't the city already committed to restoring some marshland in Mission Bay ? Yes.

S3: There's a mobile home park called at the ends of mobile home park that's in the northeast corner of Mission Bay. And after lots of legal problems for 20 years , that finally became available to the city. And they're going to use that and some nearby area to create marshland there. Initially , they were proposing maybe 100 acres. The most recent proposal Mayor Todd Gloria came out with this past winter was 220 acres. But again , this new climate action plan proposes 700 acres , which is more than triple that 220. So a lot of people were kind of surprised , even hundreds of big number. And there's sort of some question about where the other 480 acres are going to come from.

S4: Well , that's what I was just going to ask you.

S3: The city's plan doesn't specify that cities. Supposedly by next winter , there will be an implementation plan for the Climate Action Plan. So maybe we'll know better in coming months. But right now , there are some obvious choices are the most. When you see this area in Torrey Pines , a state reserve that is ripe to be wetlands restoration. And there are other parts of Mission Bay parks near the island , Cudahy Creek , which is near take a load a canyon. So some some places that that were wetlands and could be restored to wetlands.

S4:

S3: And I'm not an expert about the specifics , but you basically you just like creating a golf course. You create a landscape terrain that is wetlands. Apparently , it's extremely expensive , expensive. But luckily there's lots of state and federal grants available. And of course , you know , we have new federal climate legislation that just got approved. So I don't think the city will be totally on the hook for for the bills to make this happen.

S4:

S3: Millions of dollars. That's what the 220 acres in the northeast corner of Mission Bay. So I guess if you're looking at 700 acres , I guess it would be tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars.

S4: Now , there seems to be some concern among environmentalists that the city will need to be pressured to actually carry out this commitment to restore marshland.

S3: And this one seems particularly , I guess , difficult because it's 700 acres. We don't even know where they would be. So if you're looking at all of the things that the city is proposing in the latest version of the Climate Action Plan , this seems like maybe the one that would be the easiest for them to sort of mess up on and slow down on because it's it's such a hard one and it's where are these going to be ? So I think environmentalists feel like this is when they really need to hold the city's feet to the fire on.

S4: I've been speaking with San Diego Union-Tribune reporter David Garrick. And David , thank you. Thanks.

S3: Thanks.

S4: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with Margie Perez in for Jade Hyneman. Last week , we brought you an investigation into the U.S. Forest Service that found a stalled project could have helped protect the town of Grizzly Flats in Northern California from the Caldera Fire. Most of the town was reduced to ash. Today we head to Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains , where officials are hoping to avoid that same fate. Casey Our Kaylee Wells reports.

S5: It was supposed to be a prescribed burn day in the San Bernardino National Forest for service. Burn boss Christina Barba was supposed to be setting a planned fire to help clear out flammable brush. But she had to call it off. The weather made it too risky for her limited time.

S6: And therein lies the paradox of being a burn boss. It's like you want to burn enough that it is meaningful and you're improving large parts of the landscape.

S5: Last year , she burned only 300. And this year she's burned just 20 acres. She says there's a saying in her line of work.

S6: You could always find a reason not to burn. Sorry. There's my cynicism again. I don't know.

S5: The Forest Service isn't even close to completing its list of goals. They've approved work on just under 9000 acres near town. That's on top of two major projects that have been proposed in the past decade , then delayed , then canceled. The list of obstacles to getting the work done might be even longer. Let's start with the biggest one. Climate change.

S6: Yeah , it's going to get hotter , but it also gets drier.

S5: And the window of opportunity shrinks smaller and smaller. Barba had only 13 safe burn days last year , but most of those days she still couldn't set a fire. Which brings us to problem number two air quality.

S6: We share an air base with Los Angeles and the entire Inland Empire. So because the Inland Empire has ozone or some of these , they have more particulates and measured it shuts down burning in the entire basin.

S5: The air might be clear up in Big Bear , but Barbara says she lost five of her 13 burn days because of air pollution. That's like 40% of your birthdays. Yeah.

S6: It's , you know , we're doing the best we can.

S5: Which brings us to Obstacle three resources. Some days she doesn't have the people or equipment to burn safely.

S6: There's been times where I've woken up in the morning , had my organization , and then I get a call from the fire management official like , Oh , you know , three of your engines got sent on the strike team to the Cleveland for a fire. And then that is the end of that.

S5: And even on a perfect day , when the weather is right and the air is clear and the firefighters have nothing better to do. Prescribed fires still burn up money. The San Bernardino National Forest did not disclose their budget after months and multiple requests. Barbara wouldn't give us a number either.

S6: I think my house is worth more than the House voted this year.

S5: U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore recognizes the status quo in southern California's forests just isn't working.

S3: Budgets and boots on the ground has been a big issue. We don't have a lot of prescribed burning there , particularly down in Southern California. We never have. And that's been the problem.

S5: Big Bear Lakes Mayor Rick Herrick says for the most part , residents are on board with prescribed burns.

S2: But for it seems like it just takes an awful long time. And I couldn't tell you how long it takes , but. But we're going back years and years and saying we have to we have to thin the forest.

S5: With only a month left in the summer. It looks like northern California may be spared another devastating wildfire season. But in southern California , the worst fires typically spark in the fall , meaning Big Bear's riskiest days are still ahead.

S2: We're going to have to be very vigilant when not if we have a fire during those period of time. Fingers crossed. You've been very lucky. Let's keep our fingers crossed and make sure that we stay lucky.

S5: I'm Kelly Wells in Big Bear.

S1: More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's right now , according to the Alzheimer's Association. That number is expected to more than double by 2050 if a cure or effective treatment is not discovered. The COVID pandemic only increased the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia. They are concerning statistics for sure , and they raise lots of questions tonight. Some of those questions will be addressed at a special research town hall meeting in Mission Valley , hosted by the Alzheimer's Association of San Diego Imperial County Chapter. Dr. Claire Sexton is the guest speaker and senior director of scientific programs and outreach for the Alzheimer's Association. She joins us now to get a head start on the questions so many of us have. Dr. Sexton , welcome to Midday Edition.

S4: Thank you for having me.

S1: So there have been several studies over the last couple of years looking at the links between long COVID and dementia.

S4: What are the direct effects of the virus on the brain , but also what have been the indirect effects of COVID policies , which in many cases have resulted in social isolation and significant changes to people's lives. So there's a lot of research going on investigating both of those angles and links with cognitive decline and dementia.

S1:

S4: And researchers are looking at , you know , what are the predictors of that. So there was a study in Argentina that looked to see that the loss of the sense of smell might be a predictor of cognitive and functional impairment one year off post-COVID. So these studies are emerging now and there'll be more data coming out as well.

S1: Is it possible to know at this point if the connection between COVID and Alzheimer's is permanent or temporary ? No.

S4: So we still need to have more data coming out. You know , it's still relatively recent. You know , COVID in the past couple of years. So we still need more long term studies. And the association is supporting that work in a lead in a consortium of studies in many countries worldwide to be looking at these both short and long term length.

S1: COVID is still with us.

S4: So a COVID infection then is associated with inflammation , and this can have knock on effects in the brain. So that's one of the pathways which is under investigation.

S1: We understand that eating highly processed foods raises your chances of getting dementia.

S4: So overall links between diet and cognitive decline and dementia and , you know , the opportunities that are to be looking at our lifestyles and seeing what we can be doing to help reduce our risk.

S1: There also seems to be a connection between certain types of pregnancies and dementia. Tell us more about that. Yes.

S4: Yes. So no one risk factor for dementia is hypertension. And then there's been mobile apps which just come out this year at our annual conference , the Alzheimer's Association International Conference , which was held right here in San Diego and between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. And these are , you know , relatively common. They affect up to one in seven pregnancies. And there is research then linking gestational hypertension. So the development of hypertension during pregnancy to increased risk of vascular dementia in particular. So again , this is then identifying risk factors which then can be managed and offer opportunities for risk reduction.

S1: So tonight's event is a research town hall. What can attendees take away from the event ? Yes.

S4: So then I'll be summarizing some of the key takeaways from the Alzheimer's Association International Conference that we just hosted.

S1: It revealed something interesting. Tell us. Yes.

S4: Yes. So then this study was a study conducted out of Boston University , and it was a post-mortem study of over 600 former American football. Okay. So the average age of death there was just under 60 years old. So , you know , really quite young. And when they died , nearly 70% of these players had , you know , a marked type of brain degeneration called chronic traumatic encephalopathy. And the researchers knew quite a lot about these players. So they knew , you know , the number of years they played football , the level they played , whether it was youth or high school or professional , they knew their position. And , you know , if those details , then they estimated , you know , the number of hits that they would have received across the course of their career and also the intensity and the force of those hits. And they found that then it was really in particular the intensity of head impacts in football that was a better predictor of this type of brain degeneration. So , again , you know , these results need to be replicated and validated , but again , offering up what increases the risk. And then first to understand who is at most risk and then how can we intervene to minimize risk.

S1: As we mentioned , the number of diagnosed cases is only going to continue to multiply.

S4: And then also into new treatments. And it's not that there's only one line of investigation for new treatment that's new treatments , but there's many different avenues which are under investigation. It's really , you know , such an active time for Alzheimer's and dementia research. And we'll be seeing results of studies published in the next 18 months. So I'd recommend listeners to be downloading our Science Hub app , which is a free app , and can keep people updated with some of the latest findings.

S1: I've been speaking with Dr. Claire Sexton , senior Director of Scientific Programs and Outreach for the Alzheimer's Association. Thank you for joining us.

S4: Thank you.

S1: Tonight's research town hall forum on Alzheimer's will be held at the Henley Hotel in Mission Valley starting at 5:30 p.m..

S4: Dogs who've lived in cages , who've never had a home , who've never stepped on grass. Dozens of dogs like that are headed to San Diego , part of a total of 4000 beagles taken in the largest animal rescue operation ever. In the U.S. , an animal research breeding facility in Virginia agreed to release the dogs as part of a deal to settle a lawsuit which alleged multiple welfare violations. The mass rescue of these beagles has opened up discussion once again about the ethics of animal research and whether computer models or other technology might take the place of experimentation on animals. Joining me is San Diego Humane Society president and CEO , Dr. Gary Weitzman. And Gary , welcome to the program.

S2: Thank you , Maureen. It's always so great to talk with you.

S4:

S2: And so that was the first group that came in to San Diego. And we're going to be bringing in about 110 of them next next week. So that's we're really looking forward to that. We've been waiting to get room here at the shelter to bring animals in. We've been so , so full of the hogs this summer. We haven't had a space anywhere.

S4:

S2: You know , the the first part of it is getting them here. And that's where the difficulty mostly arises for us , because we can't truck these dogs out from Virginia to San Diego. It's just too long a drive for them. So the real problem was getting a flight , getting a plane that actually could deliver these dogs. And we partner with a group called Greater Good Charities , and they are so generous and they are flying so many of these beagles out from Virginia. And they're going to land right at Gillespie Field on August 31st. And we're going to bring them all over to our Elkhorn shelter. And that's where the processing that you're asking about starts. And it really it it's basically the beginning of it is just checking them all in. Getting them all set up for veterinarians to examine them. Getting our behavior. People to take a look after that. Making sure they have all their required vaccines and any preventatives that they need medically , and then really getting them all lined up to transfer them to rescue groups if they want to bring any of them back with them. In some of our San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition partners here , we'll also be taking a few. So it's going to be a very , very busy day on the 31st , but I can't wait.

S4: Now , some of the people fostering these dogs say they the dogs don't know what grass is.

S2: They don't know anything about a yard. They don't know anything about a dog park. And the really saddest part of all of this is that the reason it's all beagles is because beagles are the most generous dogs in the canine world. They love people. They're docile , they're easy to work with , they're friendly and they're forgiving. And we're going to show them we're going to show them what a dog park is , what a dog beach is , what the love of a family can be , and carpeting and stairs and all the things that they're going to need to know to get into homes.

S4: Now , besides the inhumane conditions these dogs were subjected to , another criticism about this kind of research is often that perfectly healthy dogs are euthanized after the research is conducted.

S2: Sometimes that is the only thing that that one of these companies can do. There's a related company , actually , that actually owns in Vigo , which is the company in Virginia. They have just finished a research study that was commissioned from our group right here in Sorrento Valley. The research was being done in Ohio and it was about 80 beagles. And we tried with the Humane Society of the United States to get them to not euthanize these dogs. But the reason they did go ahead and do it for a large number of them , the reason that they do is that they've already had chemicals in them. They're not set up to actually transfer the animals. And they you know , for the most part , it's just simple , simply not knowing how to do it. And we want to change that. In California , we're looking at legislation to make sure that animals must be transferred to a home after research is done with them.

S4: Now , animal research , you know , has helped the development of medical treatments and devices that have saved thousands and thousands of lives. But there are people who say that technology makes it no longer needed in the 21st century.

S2: Cause that the animal research is necessary. The problem is it's going to take us a while for those committees to really consider adequately the number of alternatives there are to using live animals for research. But there's so much that we can do now without doing this to animals , and not just beagles , rats and mice and anything else. It's not about valuing an animal's life over humans. It's just about the simple , pragmatic solution , a humane solution to actually use an alternative source every single time it's possible instead of sacrificing an animal's life. And that's all that we ask.

S4: Now , you mentioned , of course , that beagles are very docile. They love people.

S2: I know you know the answer to that before you. Yes. Yes. Beagles are notorious for being the howlers of the canine world. You know , among with other hounds , of course , they use their mouths a lot. So beagles are barkers , and they can howl , they can hear a siren , and they can want to replicate that noise in your home. But , you know , in my experience with beagles , this they're not any more noisy than any other dog , really. They can howl , but shoot. I've got a German Shepherd pup and she's. Well , she's two years old now , but she's always a pup for me. She's the biggest barking , crazy girl I've ever had. And she can park a beagle up , you know , ten times , you know , in two one. But beagles do. They do bark. They can be they can be very vocal. And they do require a lot of attention because they're so attached to people. But honestly , I don't think they require anything more than any other dog. And all the things we ask in this partnership we have with the animals to take care of them is to give them attention and let them exhibit their normal behaviours. And beagles , I think are one of the easiest dogs that we could possibly ask that of.

S4:

S2: Well , first of all , they should go online and look up a few things about beagles , just so that we ask that of anybody with any breed. Just take a look to know what to expect. You know how much exercise they'll need to do , what the maintenance , what the husbandry will be like. You don't have to do a lot of grooming. You probably have to watch those ears , you know , and make sure you know how to clean ears and talk to your bed about that. Take care of the nails. But they're pretty easy overall. But I say start online and take a look at what beagles require and then come and look at them. When we have them up for adoption , it's going to take us probably about a week or so to get them all set to go for up for adoption , because when we get them , we're going to get them vaccinated. We can get them cleaned up , we're going to look at them behaviorally and then we're going to spay and neuter them. So it'll take us until probably the week after to get them into homes. But yeah , take a look online , talk to your friends. But , you know , beagles are awesome dogs. That's why our very own Charles Schulz here in California made it , made the Beagle America's dog with Snoopy. They're a great dog.

S4: I have been speaking with San Diego Humane Society president and CEO , Dr. Gary Weitzman. Thank you so much.

S2: Oh , it's a pleasure , Maureen. Thank you.

S1: You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm MJ Perez with Maureen CAVANAUGH. What kind of person do I want to be ? It's a question that every child will find themselves asking at some point. It's a delicate balance for most parents to steer their child in the right direction while also giving them the freedom to be who they are. Add in a child's own curiosity and self-discovery as they grow more aware of the world around them. A new children's book by San Diego author Matt de la Pena explores all of this with a core message. Their future is being written every day. And he joins us now with more on his latest book , Patchwork. Matt , welcome to Midday Edition.

S2: Oh , it's a pleasure to be with you.

S1: And let's start with you telling us about the title of this book.

S2: Each individual child , but also adult , I think is a collection of things in your past , you know , memories , significant family members or friends , the community that you're raised in. So all of these experiences over time kind of make up who we are. As you say , a 10th grader or an adult down the line. But the title also refers to kind of the bigger picture , which is that all of these individuals kind of fit into the patchwork of humanity. So all of us are telling stories with our lives , but our stories don't exist on their own. They're a collective.

S1:

S2: If something hurts you , you just kind of shove it away. And so I was thinking a lot about that. And now that I've become a writer and one of the things I'm most interested in as a writer is what makes you feel things on the inside ? What makes you feel emotion ? So I thought , how did I go from that athletic kid who sort of played by the code of machismo to being somebody who's interested in writing about emotion ? So I think most writers , we don't set out to like deliver a message. It's more that we're exploring something that we don't quite understand or we're asking an interesting question.

S1: Your co illustrator has received a lot of praise for the way her art style complements your writing.

S2: She lives up in Washington State now , but she's actually from San Diego , too. She did a book called The Book of Mistakes , a picture book that I greatly admired and I really wanted to work with her. So we got connected. We have the same agent who also lives in San Diego , so a lot of San Diego connections there. But what she brought to the book is this incredible sort of metaphor with color. So each child , originally , they see themselves in one color , kind of like a basic color. In the first vignette , it's blue. But then over time , as the child evolves , she complicates that color and she adds in pink and then ultimately brown. So each vignette , she underscores what's happening in the text with this complication of color , which is just really exciting.

S1: Let's talk about your writing. What is your style ? It's very lyrical and evocative.

S2: So I lived in Brooklyn for 15 years and I wrote all my books there until the last two moved back to San Diego , where I live now. It was right before the pandemic , so now I kind of had to write from home. I didn't have an office anymore , so I was writing at home. And to describe my style , I would say this , you know , when I write a picture book , I try to get two things right. First of all , the story. But then second of all , the music. And to me , the music is just as important as the story. This is the kind of text that's going to be read , hopefully again and again. You know , this could be a child reading to themselves , but often it's a parent reading to a child or a teacher reading to a classroom. So I want the musicality to live up to the story. And and also one more thing I would add about that is all my writing , whether I'm writing a novel or a picture book , sometimes I don't even know if I'm making things up or just plagiarizing the world because these are just voices that I've been surrounded by my whole life , you know , growing up in National City and then Cardiff by the Sea , moving to New York City , Brooklyn. You know , I just hear the voices of the subway or the streets , and I try to integrate that as much as I can into my texts.

S1: You write a lot about how children can grow and develop in ways that they might not expect.

S2: But now I'm a parent and I'm watching this firsthand. And you know , not too long ago , I was in a conversation with a few parents and they were all talking about their children and how these are second graders , but they hadn't found their , quote unquote thing yet. And that made me really kind of wonder , why is it that we as parents are in such a hurry to define our children ? And once we do define our children , what does that do to our children ? Does that really change the way they see themselves ? And I really do think , of course , I do this , too , to my kids. My daughter , she's eight years old and she is a really big reader. And I think because I'm an author , I'm very excited about this. So I often mention this early on in a conversation when my kids come up , but I wonder how much my influencing , how she thinks of herself and isn't childhood really a stage of exploration and play ? Shouldn't this be when we can make mistakes , when the stakes are low ? So I'm trying to think about this as both a writer and a parent trying to be a gardener with my children and less of a contractor. In other words , there's no blueprint that I'm just building my child out to be. I'm just sort of tending who they are and how they're growing and trying to work with that.

S1: Let's continue that thought. Emotional and physical growth can be really tough for a child.

S2: As a book creator , I started off writing exclusively novels , but now I'm writing more and more picture books. And I and I often wonder what is the job of the writer for the very young ? Is it to tell the truth or preserve innocence ? And I think , you know , each writer makes their own call. I tend to want to lean toward the truth. But if I'm going to do that , I have to do it in a way where a child who isn't ready for that truth , especially if it's a hard truth , then they can enter the story at some other point. So patchwork. If you really get deep down into it , it's a pretty complex idea. The fact that , you know , we should not be defined by a single thing , we are more complicated than that. But a child who's not ready to think on that level hopefully will just get caught up in each vignette and and the color. So I think as a book creator , I try to have multiple levels that a child can enter in because that makes for a more inclusive book.

S1: What a powerful statement. Tell the truth or preserve innocence. I love that.

S2: One of my more recent books is called Love and it's a picture book. And it you know , this is a book called Love and this is a concept that no one person owns. Right. So I wanted to bring everybody in. So I didn't want just one main character. I wanted multiple main characters. So inclusivity. Now often people will immediately think , well , he's talking about racial inclusivity. And I am , but I'm also talking about ideological inclusivity. You know , here I'm living on the coasts , and you might assume a certain political belief system that I'm that I have. But I've also done events in the middle of the country where maybe the politics are slightly different from mine. But if you love your eight year old daughter the way I love my eight year old daughter , then I can have a conversation with you. So I want to have political inclusivity as much as I can. So I want to bring everyone in. And I hope that that's a good formula for a kid just seeing themself in a book , because that's a powerful thing.

S1: The book deals with themes like affirmation and empathy.

S2: I think , you know , often we think of picture books and we think of six , seven , eight year olds , second graders , third graders. But the truth is , when you write a picture book , you do have two audiences. You have the child , but you also have the parent that might be reading to that child or the teacher who might be sharing that book with the class. So I actually think picture books are not just for kids. I think they're for humans. I speak at colleges. I speak at high schools , middle schools , elementary schools. I always read a picture book everywhere I go. The only difference is if I'm reading with an older audience , we have a different conversation. If I'm reading to a younger audience , maybe it's going to be you know , we're going to hit more of the surface area of the book. At the end of the day , a book is just a tool for conversation. And so I kind of think about that every time I need a new audience.

S1: I've been speaking with Matt de la Pena , author of the new book Patchwork. Along with co illustrator Carina Lukin. Matt , thanks for joining us.

S2: Thanks so much for for letting me be on your show.

S1: Matt de la Pena will host a book signing event at the La Hoya Richford Library this Friday at 10 a.m..