Kids cause mischief. It’s what they do. Julie Stroebel Barichello took this truism and turned it into a book about five kids who are trying – well, maybe not that hard – to stay out of trouble.

Barichello unveiled “The Mountain of Dempsey Molehill,” Saturday at the Streator Public Library, where a dozen readers and fans gathered for face time and autographed copies.

It’s really just about connecting the right story to the right reader.

—  Julie Stroebel Barichello, author

Barichello’s book follows 12-year-old Dempsey Molehill and his siblings as their father runs for mayor of fictional Pickettstown and pledges to be on their best behavior while dad stumps for votes. The funny and endearing tale got favorable notices from Kirkus Reviews and was named an Editor’s Pick by BookLife Reviews through Publishers Weekly.

Shaw Local caught up with the Streator resident, whose catalog also includes Sarah & Katy and the Imagination Blankets, and Sarah & Katy and the Book of Blank.

Q. How excited are you to be signing and meeting readers? Is this a dream come true?

A. It is. I wrote the book specifically for fifth or eighth graders, so I’m going to be really excited if we get some students in here. I originally started writing children’s books when my nieces were in kindergarten and second grade – now they’re a sophomore in college and a senior in high school – and I started writing for children then because I really wanted to inspire them to read and get them excited to read.

Q. Which authors influenced you?

A. Richard Peck was a huge influence. My Aunt Robin was a librarian, and so when I was a kid, she bought Richard Peck’s book, “A Long Way from Chicago” for me and my family. We passed that around – the whole family. Gary Paulsen is another author that Robin gave to the family. And one fun note about Richard Peck: we actually have a plaque hanging in our house that says Richard Peck slept here. The former owners hosted Richard Peck when he came to visit Streator Public Library.

Q. Were I to go back in time and meet young Julie Stroebel in grade school, how would you have reacted if I said you, as an adult, wrote children’s books?

A. I probably would have been cocky and said, “Well, of course I did.” Because from the time I was in kindergarten, I knew I wanted to write. That’s kind of how I ended up going into journalism. Once I hit high school, it was, “What career makes sense as a writer?” Because, realistically, most people don’t make a career as a novelist. But from kindergarten on, I wanted to write stories. I wanted to tell stories. I wrote my first novella in the summer between fifth and sixth grade. Then, I wrote my first novel between seventh and eighth grade. I still have them. They will need a lot of work to be published.

Q. What’s your advice to an inspiring writer? What did you wish you knew at the beginning?

A. One piece of advice is that it’s OK that you’re going to rewrite it. I know some writers who get really stuck on the first one or two chapters, trying to make it perfect. Don’t get stuck on the early chapters, because when you finish a first draft, there’s a chance you’re going to go back and rewrite it. Just keep plowing through. Get those first two chapters out. Keep going. Write a full first draft, because there’s plenty of time to go back and edit and rewrite and tweak later.

Q. How many hours a week do you spend writing?

A. I am a sporadic writer. I know that Stephen King, when he wrote “On Writing,” advised that everybody should write every single day. I’m not that kind of writer. I’m the type of person who has these bursts on a project with a two- or three-month span where I’m working on it one or two hours every single day and then on weekends. I’ll tell (husband) Derek, “Go watch the football game. Get out of the house.” Then, all of a sudden, I’ll get into these pockets where I’ll write a sentence a week. Even though I go in waves, I would probably touch the project in some way about 20 hours a month. There’s gonna be weeks that I do nothing, and there’s gonna be weeks that I have 10,000 words.

Q. Fill in the blank. Today’s event will be a success if...

A. If there’s one person who is excited about the story or who’s excited to read the book. A lot of today’s program is about introducing people to the book because it is brand new. It’s really about the launch of the book and just making people aware of it. And even if somebody doesn’t pick up and buy a copy today, that’s not that big of a deal. If they hear about the book and they’re excited about this, then they can check it out from the library later or introduce it to a person who’ll connect with the story. It’s really just about connecting the right story to the right reader.