Writer Spotlight: Robbyn Smith

 Garden reading, animal rescue, Gijsbert, Hazel Ridge Farm, and bees: author Robbyn Smith

Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI. In this piece, meet author and animal caregiver Robbyn Smith.

Robbyn has dedicated much of her life to caring for animals. As a youngster she brought orphan animals home to mend and, as an adult, folks delivered them to her doorstep. Do you remember the animal you brought home to mend? Which animal adoption convinced you to make your life about animal rehabilitation? 

A baby robin was the first and right then and there I knew I loved taking care of animals. A supportive family helps a lot. It’s amazing how many “hurt” critters a kid can find.

Growing up as the middle child in a household with six sisters, she became the “entertainer.” Her elaborate and theatrical storytelling was her way of standing out in a crowd and finding her own voice. How “elaborate and theatrical” did the middle sister get? 

Pranks, plays and shouting to be heard. I remember when electricity went out my mom couldn’t watch her shows. What was going on with “Kim & Bob” in "As the World Turns”? So we acted out their drama. 

I heard an interview of Jennifer Lawrence with Seth Meyers and he asked if she had any acting classes etc. She said no, she just lied a lot as a kid. Same with me, they were not “lies” they were colorful stories.

Her parents encouraged her to make her hobby her career, so with that in mind she attended Michigan State University and became an animal technician where she continued to care for animals. What was the transition like from small animal pests and pets, to livestock and horses? What did the large animals demand from you? Did you ever consider becoming a veterinarian? 

I wanted to be a vet ..was in pre-vet but my math was pitiful and I applied twice to vet school with not spectacular grades. When I came back early for my junior year at MSU I decided that I would apply for a job at all area vet clinics and if I got a job , I would drop out and work at what I loved to do. 

I got a job at the Haslett Animal Hospital and the rest is history. I have since been grandfathered in as a vet technician, due to my many years  working for a vet through my high school & summer college years.

 

Robbyn and Nick

She met her illustrator husband Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen at the clinic where she worked. Together they share a mutual love of nature. Did you and Gijsbert have a “cute-meet,” or was it more of a “slow burn”? 

It took a year of him courting me before I said yes to a date. Long story short...I thought he was married so I didn’t give him much notice. He was not and after we cleared up that issue, we have been together ever since. Bought our farm in Bath in 1980, married on the farm in fall of 1981.

 

Nature journaling is a part of their daily lives and an enjoyable way to document all the special animals that have been a part of their lives. Ruth journals too, and she estimates she has 4-500 journals. How many journals in the van Frankenhuyzen household? Where do you store them? 

Never put a number on it, but several bookshelves full. I mainly journal my bee work. As a beekeeper w/30 + hives, I have to keep track of each hives health & wellness. Love those bees.

Today, Robbyn visits schools, zoos and nature centers sharing with children and adults the value of journaling, the joy of storytelling and the importance of protecting our natural world. Are most of your school visits solo, or is Nick a constant companion? 

Mixed, but mostly solo. Schools like it when we present together, but we both have so much to share we tend to do separately.

How many school visits happen at your farm? What have you done to make Hazel Ridge Farm comfortable for groups of students? 

We don’t do it anymore, but when we did,  the feedback has always been, “the best field trip ever!” It is hiker-, children- and nature-friendly. What’s not to love.?

 Saving Samantha: A True Story

 Adopted By An Owl: The True Story of Jackson the Owl

Both titles are true stories that happened to you. Do you always have happy endings for your true stories? 

In Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny there was an accident with the deer, but it turned out OK in the end. We have had several sad endings but have not shared them with readers.

 

As wildlife rehabilitators, Gijsbert and Robbyn, with the help of daughters Heather and Kelly, cared for orphaned and injured wildlife for over 20 years. They cared for everything from foxes, fawns, opossums and skunks to raccoons, rabbits, hawks and owls.

He is most proud of his Hazel Ridge Farm children’s book series on which he collaborated with his wife, Robbyn. These true stories, taken from their years of caring for wild animals, are filled with his beautiful illustrations.

What do you care to share about your daughters? Are they still involved in animal rescue? Are they artists like their parents? 

Both girls are creative, Kelly in her writing and Heather in her art. They both love and appreciate nature and value what being out in the woods does for their soul and their mental health.

Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen and her husband Gijsbert. That’s a lot of tricky spelling. Most of that is because of Gijsbert (aka Nick). But Robbyn is an unusual spelling of that name. Your choice, or your parents? 

Mine. I was a pretty straight and narrow kid. The only rebellious thing I did was unofficially change the spelling of my name. I like to be different.

How much of a part did you play in Nick’s Sleeping Bear debut? 

A cheerleader!

Nowadays you’re still with Sleeping Bear. How do you handle the quantity of titles you and Nick, together and separately, have managed to publish? Do you handle physical books, or leave it to the bookstores? 

Both. We do school, library and etc programs so selling our own books at these event is always appreciated...plus profitable.

Would you say you lucked out and/or worked hard to achieve this lifestyle of animal rescue and art? And farm? And family? 

Success at anything is a combination of luck, being in the right place at the right time and hard work. As our parents said, “when you grow up you have to pay the bills. You might as well find something you love to do and make a living at it.” Nick & I are doing just that.

What’s next for Robbyn? 

I love my honeybees. Being a beekeeper (33 hives right now) is my passion and my joy and my meditation. There is always new stuff to learn keeping bees. It’s a joyful challenge.