Welcome back to the First Stories blog, where I talk with children’s book authors about the stories that inspired them to dive into the world of publishing. Before I introduce today’s special guest, I’m excited to announce that pre-orders for my second picture book, Backyard Stew, are available on any website (my publisher – Gnome Road, B&N, Bookshop.org, and Amazon, to name a few!)
BUT…if you’d like to pre-order a SIGNED copy, scan the QR code below to place your order through my local independent bookstore, Snail on the Wall. They ship anywhere within the continental US!
Today, I’m delighted to welcome Mary Helen Berg, who’s debut picture book Enough to Share releases on May 26, 2026 from Tielmour Press.
Mary Helen Berg writes fiction and nonfiction picture books that honor big feelings and inspire young readers to explore and protect our big beautiful world. A former journalist, she lives in Southern California, where she loves to hike, bike, kayak, and road trip. She has a degree in literature from the University of Michigan, and a masters in journalism from Columbia University.
Me: Welcome, Mary Helen!
Mary Helen: Thank you for having me on First Stories, Heather!
Me: Let’s jump into discussing your first story. I always start with the same question: Tell me about your “first story.” The one that really pushed you to consider publishing. What inspired you to write it? What was it about?
Mary Helen: Believe it or not, the first story I thought had real potential for publication was a moody, sensory story about fog. I wrote it for a writing class and got a very positive reaction from other writers and from the instructor, so of course I thought it had potential. It’s a story about a child who wakes up and looks out their window and the fog makes it impossible for them to see anything and they think that their yard and the world have been erased. So, it’s a mysterious story following the child through the house as they try to figure out what’s going on. It was inspired by a very foggy walk I had with my dog one day where I couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front of me and he would disappear into the fog. It was also an ode to Carl Sandburg’s poem: Fog.
Me: What an intriguing idea, Mary Helen! It has such neat elements of child-like mystery – waking up to find that the world is gone. But then coming to an understanding that it is only hidden. So cool! And it has such interesting STEM tie-ins also! Where is this first story now?
Mary Helen: It’s in a drawer–waiting its turn!
Me: So glad to hear that it is waiting it’s turn! Because I hope that this story finds it’s way into the world someday! 🙂 Are there any themes in that story that you can see in your writing today?
Mary Helen: That story definitely shares themes and style that I still use today. It was very spare and it was ultimately about a natural phenomenon, and many of my stories tend to be inspired by nature!
Me: Nature inspires me and gives me TONS of ideas! It’s fun to find another nature-enthusiast. 🙂 Like this month, the world is waking up where I live. The sheer amount of LIFE…with all its activity and vibrancy…I find it thrilling to watch and ponder. Looking back, what elements of that first story made it unmarketable? Did you receive feedback on that story? What did that feedback teach you?
Mary Helen: As I mentioned, I got very positive feedback from my writing class but when I submitted it, agents found it to be quiet, and there was an extended metaphor that was confusing to people. That feedback was, of course, disappointing but taught me that there’s a difference between what your critique partners might like and what professionals will see in terms of marketing a book!
Me: This is so true! There is a gap in what appeals to certain people and what is broadly marketable. Sometimes that is hard to hear, but it doesn’t make each and every story any less important or vital. Everything we write achieves something, even if it is only to teach the writer something. Why is that “first story” special to you? How was it important for your writing journey?
Mary Helen: This story is special to me because it gave me so much pleasure to write it, and it also gave me the first hope of publication. Which is why I plan to revive it someday! The part of this story’s journey that I haven’t told yet is that I submitted it to an agent’s slush pile and they actually called me! They left a message saying they might be interested in representing me! You can imagine the jumping up and down I did! This was 15 years ago. I don’t know if this would ever happen today. I thought it was a done deal and I was going to have a published book in no time! Haha! I didn’t realize at the time that it was typical for agents to want to see several polished works before signing a writer. And I didn’t have anything else that was as polished as the first one. I sent stories anyway and the agent was not interested in them, but was still interested in the initial fog story, and offered to look at it again, if I wanted to rewrite it and submit additional stories at a later time. I think I had too much else going on in life at the moment and I let that opportunity go. BUT that experience was super important in my journey because it made me feel like publication was possible, and that my work had potential.
Me: WOW!! What an incredible experience that must have been! And what a testimony to your love of writing that you recognized that the timing didn’t quite match the opportunity. But you didn’t give up!! That was 15 years ago…and you’re still writing! And now we get to celebrate your DEBUT picture book!
Tell us ALL about ENOUGH TO SHARE! Congratulations! How did you come up with the idea for this book? Does it relate at all to your “first story”?
Mary Helen: I guess we all learn as writers that you can find ideas anywhere! I found my First Story idea about fog while walking with my dog. And I found the idea for ENOUGH TO SHARE in a National Geographic article! It was a fascinating article about sea wolves in British Columbia. I had never heard of these animals. Wolves that swim? What? I started doing some research and learned about spirit bears, another animal I’d never heard of, and about the Great Bear Rainforest, a stunning place I’d never heard of. I wanted other people to be aware of the challenges these animals and the rainforest were facing. And since sharing is such an important concept to children, I thought they would engage with the idea that we all need to share the earth’s finite resources. It’s funny, I think ENOUGH TO SHARE also relates to my “first story” because they both use spare language and nature is the main character.
Me: Take a look at this “sneak peek” of an interior spread from this gorgeous book!! What a lovely, important story that you’ve been able to share with children.
Me: Congratulations again, Mary Helen! Thank you for stopping by First Stories
Mary Helen: Thank you so much for having me!
A portion of all the proceeds from ENOUGH TO SHARE will be donated to reforestation efforts in British Colombia! Coming up in June is Great Outdoors Month, and summer is a wonderful time to build the book collection of a child you know. Consider pre-ordering a copy of this beautiful book at one of the following links:
Follow Mary Helen here:
Instagram @MaryHelenBerg
or Bluesky @maryhelenberg.bsky.social
More information can be found on her website at maryhelenberg.com
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