Tossing Glitter for Alex Willan's 'Unicorns,' 'Jasper' Sequel, and 'Revver'

I was lucky enough to meet Chicago author-illustrator Alex Willan a few years back. It was at the 2016 Los Angeles conference of SCBWI, and when I saw his work, I knew he was destined for big things. Fast-forward to 2020, and Alex is celebrating the release of his second and third picture books AND his first middle-grade venture.

With the charming Unicorns Are the Worst! (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, September 2020), Alex has created a humorous and adorable world where magic is taken seriously but unicorns just aren't carrying their weight. It's up to a hard-working goblin to save the glitter-filled day. For the unicorn-loving readers in your life who, like me, cannot get enough of the horned heroes, this book is a must-read!

Alex's Jasper & Ollie Build a Fort (Doubleday Books for Young Readers, May 2020) is the sequel to his odd-couple story about the unlikely friendship between an impatient fox and a thoughtful sloth, Jasper & Ollie (May 2019).

And with Revver the Speedway Squirrel (Bloomsbury, October 2020), Alex teams up with best-selling and beloved Chicago-area author Sherri Duskey Rinker to illustrate the adorable story of Revver, a little squirrel with big dreams to drive a race car.

Click here for a chance to win a book! Alex is giving away 1 copy of this 3 new titles to 3 lucky winners!

QUESTION: You’ve published three books this year! How busy has your life been lately? Can you describe your creative process, especially juggling three projects?

ALEX WILLAN: Things have definitely been busy for me lately, but I couldn't be more grateful for these opportunities. Thankfully I was able to rotate through each project without too much overlap. I could send in artwork for Jasper & Ollie Build a Fort and then, while I was waiting to get feedback on that work, I could start sketching out Unicorns are the Worst! And once I was ready to send in the latest round of artwork on Unicorns, I could switch over to sketching on Revver the Speedway Squirrel. I usually find the beginning stages of a project to be the most creative part. Nothing has been decided yet, so you can just let your imagination run wild. Whereas the later stages are more focused on execution. In that sense, I found that jumping back and forth between projects helped to keep me in that creative mindset throughout.

Q: Illustrating a manuscript must be great fun. Writing and illustrating a manuscript must be a kick! Can you compare pros and cons of each?

AW: That was actually the other wonderful thing about all of these projects was that they were each so different. The challenge in writing and illustrating a new picture book idea (like with Unicorns) is that you have a limited amount of space with which to introduce your audience to a whole new world and an unfamiliar cast of characters. Working on a follow up to a previous book (like Jasper & Ollie Build a Fort) has its own challenges because you want to write something that seems true to the characters you have already established, but still feels like a fresh, new idea that could stand on its own, even if you haven't read the first book. 

Working on Revver was not only my first time illustrating someone else’s text (which was written by the incredible Sherri Duskey Rinker), but it was also my first time illustrating a middle-grade novel. But I think that the biggest pro for each of these projects was the challenges they posed. I don't think that it would be very rewarding to work on a project if it didn't challenge you in some way.

Q: All three books are so charming. What did you enjoy most about the projects. Glitter? Cranky goblins? Studying squirrels?

AW: Thank you so much! I had a lot fun working on each of these projects. The first time I got to see the actual glitter on the cover of Unicorns are the Worst! was definitely a highlight, but I think the most enjoyable part of working on any book is having it out in the world and getting to see how kids react to it. The pandemic has obviously changed all the ways in which you would normally be able to interact with your audience, but whether it’s a virtual school visit, a socially distanced sidewalk signing, or just hearing from a parent online about how much their kid enjoyed one of your books, that is the most rewarding part for me.

Keir Graff Cobbles Together More Hilarity with 'Tiny Mansion'

Chicago author Keir Graff has taken us a lot of places with his middle-grade novels, and I am especially excited about the setting for his latest effort, The Tiny Mansion (Putnam's Books for Young Readers, September 8, 2020). While Keir has other titles on the shelf, both for young readers as well as adult (as part of a writing duo under the pen name Linda Keir), his not-exactly-a-series run of The Matchstick Castle (2017), The Phantom Tower (2018), and now Tiny Mansion offers readers fast-paced action, laugh-out-loud humor, and as Kirkus describes "quirky" treats and "wacky" plots. 

In a word, fun.

Aside from the immediate charm of setting his story in a tiny house, Keir peoples it with a delightful cast of characters. We follow Dagmar, age 12, as her family is forced to live off-the-grid in the redwoods of Northern California where the neighbors aren't exactly typical. An eccentric tech billionaire, his brother the woodsman, his sister the crunchy animal lover. As well as the billionaire's son, who could use a friend.

Keir took a little break from writing to talk about the book and where his ideas come from.

Enter here for a chance to win a copy of The Tiny Mansion!

QUESTION: The world you build for Dagmar is fascinating. What prompted you to choose a tiny home in the redwoods? Can you talk about the creative process and how you came to write The Tiny Mansion?

KEIR GRAFF: When I was a kid, my family visited an artist friend who lived in a trailer in the redwoods of Northern California. I slept on the ground outside, under a towering tree, and woke up covered in spiderwebs! And a couple of years ago, when I was on tour for The Phantom Tower, I visited the enchanting community of Canyon, California, where a teacher gave me a tour that included hand-hewn, un-zoned wooden houses. Those events, decades apart, definitely played their parts—and my writing process has always been a little bit like literary quilting.

But the real truth is that I did it backward! After books called The Matchstick Castle and The Phantom Tower, I was looking for another architecturally themed title that would create a question in the minds of young readers. After I hit on The Tiny Mansion, I knew it would have to be set in a tiny house, which was perfect, because I really want one of my own!

The tiny house also felt like a writing challenge I wanted to accept—after going big, with big structures in the previous two books, could I create an even bigger adventure, this time starting with an even smaller home?

Q: Billionaires, survivalists, New Agers. How much fun did you have creating these characters? Who did you enjoy writing the most?

KG: Obviously, I love eccentric characters, as evidenced by the daffy van Dash family of The Matchstick Castle and the elderly residents of The Phantom Tower. In The Tiny Mansion, Dagmar’s family isn’t exactly ordinary, given that her dad is a renegade handyman and her stepmom is an artist working with found materials. But supporting characters offer more opportunities for exaggeration because they don’t generally need to be quite as three- dimensional.

I loved writing all of them, and Vladimir, Blake’s hulking Exurbistanian bodyguard, most of all. He looks scary but turns out to have a pretty good heart. (The audiobook narrator did him with a Russian accent, something she said was on her bucket list!)

Q: How do you want young readers to experience the book?

KG: Repeatedly! All joking aside, while I do tackle issues in my books—and this one touches on plenty of them—I try hard to avoid didacticism, because I really want kids to read for the same reason I did: for fun! In these times especially, kids need opportunities to escape and live for a while in the worlds of their imaginations.

Amy Timberlake's 'Skunk and Badger' an Immediate Classic

Newbery Honor-winner Amy Timberlake's new read aloud is part Frog and Toad, part Odd Couple, and all kinds of wonderful. Skunk and Badger, publishing tomorrow with Algonquin Young Readers and illustrated by Caldecott-winner Jon Klassen, has already chalked up multiple starred reviews and was called "exceptionally sweet" by Kirkus. 

Amy's story is perhaps the book for our tumultuous time, as Badger and Skunk, in the classic opposites-attract dynamic, demonstrate how we must look for the things we share rather than focus on all the ways we're different. Badger keeps busy with his Important Rock Work while the more spirited, free-form Skunk tends to disrupt treasured routines. (An improvisational chef, I'd love to eat one of this guy's meals. )

Enter here for a chance to win a copy of Skunk and Badger!

Throw in some curious chickens, and Skunk and Badger is utterly irresistible. Filled with delightful sound effects, hilarious dialogue, and satisfying "mouth words," this read aloud will bring down the house—be it a classroom, library gathering, or bedtime. Thank goodness this is a series, and there will be more adventures to come. 

Amy, another treasured member of the Chicago children's book community, was nice enough to talk a little shop. Here's what she had to say:

QUESTION: So are you Skunk or are you Badger?

AMY TIMBERLAKE: I’m both. Like Badger, I struggle for focus, focus, focus for my Important Rock Work. AND I have many of Skunk’s qualities too — enthusiasm, earnestness, a wide-eyed sense of wonder (at times). My inner-Badger and inner-Skunk are at odds on a regular basis.

Q: There are so many delightfully funny scenes and lines throughout the book. What made you laugh the hardest as you wrote this?

AT: Thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed it. That is very good news! 

Right now, the line that most amuses me about Skunk and Badger is a sentence about the "chicken biome of the Tropical Chicken Forest sort." But that’s only because that was the last thing I wrote for Skunk and Badger. The truth is that almost everything amused me at some point. I chuckle as I write. I do! It’s been one of the great gifts of this project.  

Q: Where did the spark for Skunk and Badger come from? Did you grow up watching The Odd Couple? Were you and your siblings opposites? Do you live it already with your husband?

AT: I don’t know! Isn’t that awful? The roots of this one go WAY back! I wrote a story with a skunk in it a long, long time ago. This was in a period when I was trying to write a Nate the Great type story. (That story did NOT work.) Also, I like the word "skunk" because it sounds like someone whose nose is stuffed up. "Skunk" — those two K’s are funny!   

Doing research for another book project, I was reading all these bear stories — bear fairy tales, bear mythology, stories about toy bears — and so, I re-read A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories. I liked the voice Milne chose for those stories. I admired the crafting. How did he manage to maintain lightness with all this emotional life? I also liked that these were stories that were read aloud to kids. I thought, "I want to write a read aloud." I think wanting to write a read aloud was the seed that started Skunk and Badger. 

Okay, now I’ve got a question for you, Kate! Ha! Since you’ve written several series, are celebrating the publication of Cape right now (Book 2 of The League of Secret Heroes), and finishing up Book 3 in the same series, I’m wondering what advice you’d give someone like me who is new to writing a series. Anything? I’m all ears! 

Thanks for having me on your blog, Kate! This was fun!

Kate answers: I'm hardly one to give YOU advice! But here's what I found helpful: Don't ever stop talking to the characters, even when you're in between writing! This way when you sit down again to work on the next book, you've got everyone still chatting and fresh in your mind!

Emily Ecton's 'Great Pet Heist' a Laugh-Out-Loud Caper

I've long been a fan of the hilarious Emily Ecton, a former Chicagoan and wonderful member of the local children's writing community who now calls Virginia home. Pick up any of her eight middle-grade novels (The Ambrose Deception, Project Jackalope) and you'll see her humor showcased throughout, as well as her sheer sense of fun. Emily's latest, The Great Pet Heist (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, June 2020), had me at hello. From the moment we meet the ragtag collection of animals as well as their perfectly named human, Mrs. Food, we're in for a delightful, utterly engaging ride.

A former producer and writer for NPR's comedy quiz show Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me, Emily clearly understands comedic timing and delivery. And as a devoted dog owner, she gets the nuances of living with pets and the very real possibility (probability?) that they have lives outside of what we see when we're home with them.

In The Great Pet Heist, described as Ocean's Eleven meets The Secret Life of Pets, an apartment dog named Butterbean sees its owner slip and fall, and head off to the hospital. What's ahead, Butterbean asks. Enlisting a few neighboring animals in a scheme to support themselves in case Mrs. Food can't care for them anymore, the clever pets plan a heist. 

I laughed from start to finish, and I'm so happy to learn there's a sequel in the works! It's called The Great Ghost Hoax, and in it Butterbean and the others investigate a haunted apartment in their building. It should be out next year. Emily was nice enough to talk about how this book came to be.

Enter here for a chance to win a copy of Emily's "The Great Pet Heist"!

QUESTION: Where did the idea for The Great Pet Heist come from? Was it a fully formed story or did you have just one or two characters in mind? Can you talk about the evolution of the project?

EMILY ECTON: I read a newspaper article about a woman who'd left all of her money to her dog, and I started thinking about what would happen to a pet who thought he'd inherit a fortune and then found out that he wouldn't. What would he do? That's how I came up with the idea for the heist, and then it was just a matter of putting together the heisting team.

Oscar the mynah bird was the first character who I knew would be in the book (since he's the brains behind the operation), and Walt the cat and Butterbean the dog weren't far behind. Before I started writing, I had to figure out how the animals would pull off the heist, which special skills they'd need to make it work, and which pets would make the best team.

Q: Are you a plotter or a pantser? What drives the storytelling for you—working from the character or from the plot?

EE: I'm definitely a plotter! I like to have all of the major details worked out before I start writing—it makes it easier for me to keep track of where I'm going, so I don't have to revise as much afterward. (I don't love revising.)  

Emily's brilliant dog Howdy

But I think character and plot are both equally important in developing a story. Even though I have a pretty clear outline when I start, the plot choices have to come from the characters or they won't work. Butterbean wouldn't suddenly start doing research on the computer, for instance, no matter how much I wanted her to. She'd need to be a different dog to make that plot point work.

Q: Mrs. Food, animal quirks, laugh-out-loud hijinks. I found The Great Pet Heist to be hilarious. Do you find humor hard to write? Do you look to other authors or shows for inspiration?

EE: That's great to hear! I have a background writing in comedy, so at this point, I think it's easier for me to write humor than to write more serious stories. I get inspiration more from news stories or random things that I see that spark ideas, but books that have humor in them are some of my favorites—I love authors like Terry Pratchett, Jaclyn Moriarty, and Polly Horvath.

Remy Lai's 'Pie in the Sky' a Sweet but Sad Graphic-Novel Hybrid

One of my favorite recent reads is Pie in the Sky by debut author-illustrator Remy Lai. Winner of the SCBWI Sid Fleischman Humor Award and an NPR "Best Books of 2019" selection, Pie has received all kinds of love since its publication last year from Henry Holt. A hybrid graphic novel blended with traditional novel, it's like a perfect cake: the emotional content is challenging, but the humor keeps it light.

Middle-grade readers will go through a range of feelings as they get to know 11-year-old Jingwen. Not only has his mother uprooted the family to Australia, forcing Jingwen to adapt to a new home and new language, but he's got to be the responsible big brother to his utterly annoying younger sibling, Yanghao.

As the story unfolds, we learn about Jingwen and the almost paralyzing sadness he experiences over the loss of his father. Baking fancy cakes together on Sundays brought them closer — toward a "pie in the sky" dream of someday opening up a cake shop and leading a better life. But Jingwen carries too much sadness and guilt to adapt, and Lai shows us all the hurt: feeling like a literal alien at school, watching his little brother soar, realizing his old friend has forgotten him, disobeying his mother's orders.

Pie in the Sky satisfies on so many levels, accomplishing that most enviable feat of making readers laugh through their tears. This is a must-read.

'Breakfast Club' for Middle School in Dana Alison Levy's 'It Wasn't Me'

Picking up one of Dana Alison Levy's deftly written middle-grade novels, you know you'll find a satisfying balance of humor and earnest emotions. Author of the irresistible The Misadventures of the Fletcher Family, its sequel The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island, and the rollicking This Would Make a Good Story Someday (all published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers), Dana is back with It Wasn't Me and what Kirkus Reviews calls (in a STARRED review, no less!) “A timely, introspective whodunit with a lot of heart.”

Jax Fletcher from previous books is among the five suspects of a hate crime perpetrated against a middle-school classmate — photos defaced with gay slurs and threats, another incident in the school’s darkroom. In an ode to the 1985 John Hughes movie The Breakfast Club, the six are rounded up to resolve the crisis, forced together to hash through complex feelings and complicated issues.

Publishing today, It Wasn’t Me has already been named a Junior Library Guild Selection, an Amazon Editor’s Best Book of November, and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018. Dana was kind enough to take the time for a few questions:

Question: With your previous titles, you’ve shown you have a great sense for comedy as well as a talent for exploring relationships. What do you enjoy more — writing the funny stuff or digging into more serious topics?

Dana Alison Levy: Writing funny stuff is…well…fun! I really enjoy it and find it comes pretty easily. (Though it is always interesting when editorial notes include things like “What kind of noise would butter make hitting someone’s face?” or “Would she have time to think all of that while falling into the shower stall?”).

All of my books touch on some more serious topics, even while I try to make people laugh, but It Wasn't Me is definitely the most serious. And I found I wanted to dig in, to push my characters a bit more, to make things harder for them, so that they could struggle through and hopefully find a way forward. We are living in challenging times, when a lot of kids feel alone, certain that no one else can understand them. I hoped that by putting Theo and the others through some hard conversations and uncomfortable moments, readers could find their own truths.

Q: This feels like a nod to The Breakfast Club. Where did the inspiration come from for this story? What made you write It Wasn’t Me?

DAL: This was one of those books that sprung fully formed, Athena-out-of-the-head-of-Zeus-style. From the first moment I thought of it, I had the main characters, the story arc, the setting…it really hasn’t changed that much from that first spark. These characters and the premise are definitely based on the iconic Breakfast Club teen hit from the 1980s, but reimagined for middle school. And instead of spending a day in detention, they were spending a week digging into a restorative justice effort. It offered so many possibilities: a discussion of stereotypes, a deep dive into school communities and how they function (or don’t), and a lot of comedy. It was so clear in my mind, actually, that I spent a few days madly Googling middle-grade titles in case anyone had already written it, and I just didn’t know it.

The piece that I really wanted to explore, beyond the characters, was the idea of restorative justice. I am fascinated by this challenging and complex but ultimately really effective way of looking at crime, punishment, justice, and redemption. Restorative justice is used in schools, tribal courts, juvenile centers, and more. The process the students engage with in It Wasn't Me is a version of something far more complicated and sophisticated. But it dovetailed so neatly with my initial question of “Who are these kids, really? And what lies behind the stories they share?”

Q: Why do you write for middle-grade readers? What made you choose this audience?

DAL: I have always thought that books for elementary, middle-school, and high-school readers are some of the best books ever written. From picture books to YA novels, there are true literary gems in all these categories. I thought this as a kid, as a college student and young adult, and as a parent. And I believe it with all my heart as an author. Middle-grade readers (kids roughly ages 8-14) are going through such a challenging and interesting time. The world is opening up in both good and bad ways, and there are so many questions: huge questions about inequality and injustice, more personal questions about bodies and friendships. Books offer a vital way to get some answers. Or at least not to feel so alone.

Q: You’ve been publishing a book a year, give or take. What’s the deal there? Don’t you sleep? Can you talk about your creative process? What does your writing life look like?

DAL: Hah! Well, first of all, it’s more a book SOME years…I didn’t have a 2015 book, and won’t have a 2019 book. So the rhythm is a bit erratic. But the irony is that I write really fast, and I have plenty of ideas, but it still takes a looooooooong time to go from idea to actually writing. I can’t really explain it, often I feel like I’m wasting time, but I’m coming to realize it is part of the process. I liken it to a computer program updating in the background…it’s moving along, slowing everything down, and you can’t see anything happening, but it’s necessary. I think my stories deepen and develop in the back of my brain while I’m doing other things. Usually, once I start writing, it goes pretty quickly. I do typically outline my books, and then follow the outline, writing in a linear way. I am always gobsmacked by writer friends who write the climax, then go back and write some cool scene that takes place early in the book, then write another chapter that just begs to be written…and finally stitch it all together. I pretty much start at the beginning and write straight through to the end.

Q: What are you working on next?

DAL: I have my first young adult novel coming out in 2020, which I’m really excited about! It’s a contemporary YA called Above All Else, about two teens who have been planning for years to climb Mount Everest the spring of their senior year. But now that they are in Nepal and starting the climb, they have to face the realities of who they are now, what dreams they really carry, and how they feel about each other and the mountain they're climbing. It’s definitely an adventure story and a friendship story and a love story all wrapped up together. I’m also working on a few different middle-grade ideas…some further along than others. The ideas are always the easy part. It’s getting them out of my brain and onto paper that’s the challenge!

Christmas Chaos in Jennifer Ziegler's 'Revenge of the Angels'

With the countdown to Christmas on, it's a great time to explore another holiday title. This time we get to know middle-grade author Jennifer Ziegler, whose hilarious Revenge of the Angels (Scholastic Press, August 2015) will put tween readers in just the right spirit. 

Angels tells the story of the Brewster triplets, Dawn, Darby, and Delaney, who want very much to play the Three Wise Men in the annual Christmas pageant but instead are handed wings and told they have to play angels instead. It's the second book in this wonderful series, after Revenge of the Flower Girls (Scholastic Press, 2014) featured the triplets wreaking havoc on their big sister's wedding.

Jennifer has written YA too, with How Not to Be Popular (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2008), Sass & Serendipity (Delacorte, 2011), and Alpha Dog (Delacorte, 2006), as well as contributed to a variety of anthologies. And there's still more: Jennifer also works for The Writers’ League of Texas, a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with children's author Chris Barton (see last week's interview) and their four kids. Phew!

Question: The Brewster triplets from Revenge of the Flower Girls are back! What made you decide to set these latest adventures against the peace-love-and-joy season of Christmas?

Jennifer Ziegler: I had several follow-up stories in mind, but this was the one my publisher and I like best. There is something inherently dramatic about setting a tale during the end-of-year holidays. Already the stakes are higher, emotions are heightened, and expectations are raised.

Plus, with the first book the triplets were focused on a family problem. In this one, it’s a community issue. And what better backdrop than during the time of peace and goodwill to all?

Q: Your books are hilariously funny. Can you talk about your creative process? Do you hole up alone and laugh maniacally? Or do you test out your humor on family members or friends?

JZ: Thank you! I suppose I do both. Early on in the process I might test out a section on whichever poor, unsuspecting family member might be passing by. Later, when I’m steeped in the world of my book, my characters tend to take over. There are scenes where I feel more like a court reporter than a writer – just setting down what I see and hear. In that mode, my characters will often crack me up.

Q: There are a lot of hijinks in your stories. Were you as spirited as Dawn, Darby, and Delaney? Is there a bit of you spread out over the triplets? Or in your other titles?

JZ: No, I wasn’t nearly as outspoken or bold as the triplets. I was rather withdrawn and cautious, but I had a vivid inner life. On the other hand, I could get up to shenanigans if I was in a group. Sometimes with my siblings or with a pack of good friends I’d be the one saying, “Hey, you know what would be funny?” And the next thing you know we’re all answering our teacher in a funny accent or doing chalk outlines of ourselves on the pavement.

Q: What is the dinner table conversation like at your house with your husband, Chris, being a fellow children's author? Do you talk a lot of shop?

JZ: We do. Dinner conversation runs the gamut – especially when the kids are there. We had a lively conversation recently on what would be appropriate music for an Elfin garden party and another on what kind of voice our dog would have if he suddenly became human. Every evening Chris and I take Ernie, the dog, for a long walk. It’s our chance to check in with each other and talk out concerns about the kids or the finances or our works-in-progress. He’s especially great at helping me with the logistics of my story. I’m usually confident in characters, emotions, themes, and other big-picture items, but I struggle with intricacies of plot. He is brilliant with that.

Q: Both you and Chris have Christmas books out this season. Are the holidays especially fun at your house this year?

JZ: Well, they are especially busy! But I do think they will be extra fun. The kids were early readers of my triplet stories, and we all helped Chris with his Nutcracker book research by going to see the ballet and then discussing it at length. So I think there’s a shared sense of ownership and pride in our projects. But also, we’re looking forward to celebrating family -- the Brewsters, the Christensens, and the Barton-Ziegler clan. For us, the best thing about the holidays is gathering with all the special people in our lives. And this year there will be a few extra characters in the mix.

Stinky Socks Behind Louise Galveston's 'By the Grace of Todd'

What can happen when kids leave their socks under the bed for too long? In her clever middle-grade debut By the Grace of Todd (Razorbill, 2014), Louise Galveston tackles that (somewhat disgusting) question. Twelve-year-old Todd is really, really messy. He's so messy that his dirty sweat socks have spawned a civilization of ant-sized people called "Toddlians." When a malicious neighbor learns of Todd's secret, conflict ensues.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books says, "The gratifying conclusion sees the Toddlians to safety, and an epilogue that reveals that the whole story has been recounted by an elder of Toddlandia suggests that the Toddlians might return for future adventures, sure to be welcome news to the fans of both the smart and the gross that will take to this one."

Question: What inspired you to write your book?

Louise Galveston: I have five sons ages 17-5. They generate a lot of stinky sweat socks! When my editor pitched the premise of a boy who inadvertently grows a civilization from his lucky baseball sock, I felt like I definitely had the expertise to run with the idea! I was especially glad the book dealt with bullying and being true to yourself despite being mocked. I definitely dealt with that in middle school.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

LG: My first mission is to give kids (and boys in particular) a reason to read. Once they're hooked by the fun (and sometimes gross) stuff, I want them to relate to and care about the characters so that the lessons they learn along the way go down easily. But most of all I want kids to fall in love with reading!

Q: What are you working on next?

LG: The sequel to By the Grace of Todd–In Todd We Trust–comes out in March! In this book, the Toddlians (the tiny people that grow from Todd's sock and worship him as their god) decide they need to find a more responsible leader. It's full of first crushes and hair-raising adventures as the little people build an "ark" and attempt to sail to a new destiny.

Pat Zietlow Miller, 'Sophie,' and a Squash for All Seasons

I love vegetables, much to my youngest son's dismay. Love me some spinach, asparagus, all kinds of mushrooms. And especially now in Chicago's deep, dark winter, I really love squash – as a creamy soup, or perhaps baked with a bit of brown sugar. That's why Pat Zietlow Miller's picture book Sophie's Squash (Schwartz & Wade, 2013) caught my eye. It tells the story of a girl who loves squash too. Only instead of letting her parents cook it up in a dish, Sophie makes a best friend of it. Bernice, as the squash is named, tags along with Sophie everywhere she goes. But as the weeks and months pass, Bernice begins looking a bit mushy. What will Sophie do?

Sophie's Squash tells a charming story of friendship, with energetic illustrations by Anne Wilsdorf. It earned starred reviews from journals like Booklist, Kirkus, and Publisher's Weekly, as well as School Library Journal, which wrote in a delightful review, "With lessons on life, love, and vegetable gardening, this tale will be cherished by children, and their parents will be happy to read it to them often."

Question: Picture books cover a wide range of topics, from naptime to pirating the high seas to cows that type. So why a girl and her squash? Who and what were the inspirations for this story?

Pat Zietlow Miller: This book was inspired by my daughter, Sonia. She fell in love with a butternut squash when she was 3 or 4, and carried it around like a baby. As a beginning writer, you always hear that you should never base a story on something cute your child did. I generally think that’s a good rule, but it obviously did not apply here.

In my defense, I did add several plot points that did not really happen, so the story truly is fiction. But Sonia, who is 11 now, is very proud to have inspired the story.

Q: It's one thing to have an inspired story, but it's another thing entirely to win over an agent and editor. Was Sophie's Squash a hard sell? What was it like to take the manuscript out into the world?

PZM: It was hard to sell the manuscript – I think for two reasons. First, it was one of my initial manuscripts, and I was still learning a lot as a writer. So the story went through many revisions as I worked with my critique group, studied more and incorporated feedback from editors. Some of the versions I sent out early on just weren’t ready for publication.

Even once the story was more polished, it took a while to find a home. I did not have an agent at the time and was sending the story out through the slush pile. So it often took many months to hear back. And when I did, it was often a form rejection.

But I did get glimmers of hope along the way – a few nice notes written in the margins of a rejection and a few revision requests. Those things kept me going and trying.

I think this story got between 15 and 20 rejections before Anne Schwartz at Schwartz & Wade said “yes.” And I’m so glad that the book ended up with her. She and Lee Wade have loved it and supported it and been extremely encouraging. It was worth the wait.

Q: Sophie's Squash is your first book, and it has earned at least four starred reviews in top journals. That's no small feat! What has the experience been like for you? How long had you been writing for kids before Sophie hit?

PZM: I still can’t believe the starred reviews. I’m thrilled, but I consider myself very fortunate. It certainly was not something I expected. I had been seriously working toward my goal of publishing a picture book for four years before this book sold. I had sold a few stories to Highlights magazine before selling Sophie, but I was very much a newbie.

I did have experience writing, however. I’ve worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor and corporate communications employee. And I’ve read picture books all my life, so the rhythm and flow of them was definitely embedded in my head.

Q: Can you talk about the books that we'll see next from you? Will we encounter Sophie again?

PZM: Here’s what’s currently in the works:

• Wherever You Go. This picture book is coming from Little, Brown in Spring 2015. It’s a rhyming look at the various roads in life with a reminder that everyone controls their own destiny. Eliza Wheeler is illustrating. Yay!

• Sharing the Bread. This is a rhyming picture book for younger readers about a family that prepares Thanksgiving dinner together with everybody pitching in. It’s coming from Schwartz & Wade, and the wonderful Jill McElmurry is illustrating.

• Sophie’s Seeds. There IS more Sophie coming from Schwartz & Wade. In this book, Sophie starts school and explores the ups and downs of having human friends. But don’t worry, Bonnie and Baxter are never far away. Anne Wilsdorf is illustrating again, of course.

• The Quickest Kid in Clarksville. This picture book, set in 1960, tells the story of two girls who idolize Olympic sprinter Wilma Rudolph. They both want to be just like her, and they compete to see who’s the fastest before discovering that not all races have just one winner. This is coming from Chronicle in 2016.

And, I’m always writing new stuff. I think one way to keep yourself sane as a writer is never to pin all your hopes on one story. Have lots of stories going on so you always have something to work on and improve.

Q: What do you hope young readers take away from your stories? What do you hope to accomplish as a writer?

PZM: I want to write books that reflect universal childhood truths. Those little moments that make readers nod (or wince) with recognition. And if I can make people laugh, that’s cool too.

My two favorite responses to Sophie’s Squash came from very different readers. One was an email about a little boy with autism who had fallen in love with a miniature pumpkin after Halloween. He was loving it and asking his mom if he was being a good daddy to it. She was worried about how sad he’d feel once it rotted. So she read him my book and they planted the pumpkin just like Sophie planted her squash.

The second came from a fellow writer who told me her mother-in-law, who has advanced Alzheimer’s, really enjoys the book too. My friend said, “Not many books bring a smile to her face, but this one does. She's always loved babies, and I think her imagination is equal to Sophie's!”

When I hear stories like that, it isn’t hard to sit down at the computer and get back to work.

Kristen Kittscher's Thrilling Mystery 'Wig in the Window'

 Kristen Kittscher's The Wig in the Window (HarperCollins, 2013) is one of those books that hooks you in from the first page. And it shows the power of a fantastic title: I recall stumbling across this book for the first time in spring, and the title stayed with me. Later when I read a review, I thought the premise sounded fantastic. And finally, when I popped into the bookstore over the summer, the title was easy for my addled mind to recall as I wandered the stacks.

The Wig in the Window tells the story of seventh-grade BFFs Sophie Young and Grace Yang, budding spies who have made a game of snooping on their neighbors. When they witness what they think is a murder, things begin to spin out of control. The suspect: their middle-school counselor, who was wielding a red-stained cleaver. There are enough red herrings to throw off even the most discerning young readers and keep the pages turning. Kirkus describes Wig as "Reminiscent of the ever-compelling film Rear Window, this appealing and often spine-tingling tale will leave its audience wishing for more."

Question: This book is fast-paced and full of thrills from the word go. Where did you get the idea for The Wig in the Window? And did you know the title from the moment you sat down to write the story? 

Kristen Kittscher: When I was in sixth grade, my best friend and I had lots of far-fetched theories about our neighbors and pretended we were spies. We even had a “spy headquarters” in a loft above her garage where we made fake “Most Wanted” posters and spy badges. The Wig in the Window was inspired by those memories of childhood spy games. I wondered: what if there had been a fugitive in our neighborhood? Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is one of my favorite movies – I thought a Rear Window for kids had some fun possibilities.

As for the title, the book actually sold to HarperCollins as “Untitled Middle Grade Mystery.” As I was drafting, I always referred to it as “Young and Yang” because Sophie Young and Grace Yang’s friendship is at its heart. The process of coming up with a new title was pretty funny. I talk about it and share some of the editorial correspondence here.

Q: I loved how these characters were not just "strong girls," one of them was quoting Sun Tzu, philosopher and author of The Art of War, throughout the book. Are you schooled in the art of war yourself? What made you incorporate strategies for defeating enemies into your mystery novel? What made you write such strong, capable girls?

KK: I wasn’t schooled in The Art of War before writing Wig, but I can certainly hold my own now. I joke that the book is a psychological thriller for tweens, so Sun Tzu’s battle advice was perfect for Young & Yang’s cat-and-mouse game with their school counselor.

 I also incorporated Sophie’s interests because I wanted to explore a common theme I’d seen while teaching middle school: kids often take on other cultures and identities while trying to figure out their own place in the world. They look for things outside themselves to give them a little boldness. It can be very problematic and lead to tensions in friendship, as Sophie Young discovers. What is the line between appreciation of a culture and appropriation? I’d wondered it myself as I watched my students get really into manga, for example.

I'm glad my characters' strengths comes across! I taught at an all-girls’ school for many years; I don’t know any girls who aren’t strong and capable, so they just came out that way as I wrote! I’m so pleased that kids are finding them empowering. Confident Trista Bottoms is definitely a favorite of mine – and I find myself channeling her when I’m feeling unsure about myself, too.

Q: Mysteries have lots of loose ends that need tying up, and they have to maintain a certain tension throughout. How hard is it to write a mystery? And why did you choose this genre?

KK: The Wig in the Window is the first thing I’ve written, so I have difficulty comparing the difficulty of writing a mystery over any other kind of writing. It’s all hard! I do know that it seems to take me longer than others to write. Whether that’s because of the intricacies of plot construction, the number of revisions it takes to get the humor timing right, or because it’s tricky to keep things moving while still exploring the friendship, I’m not sure.

I love page-turners and being surprised, so the idea of creating that experience for kids delights me to no end! I also think it complements thematic obsessions of mine. Doubt (and self-doubt) are the twin engines that propel a mystery plot, so mysteries are perfect for traveling with a character on a journey from insecurity to greater confidence. (Which, in turn, is perfect for tweens trying to shed their own self-consciousness and figure out where they fit in.)

Q: Will we see Agents Young & Yang again for another adventure? What is your next project?

KK: You will! I am working on the sequel, The Tiara on the Terrace. Young & Yang (and their new friend Trista Bottoms) go undercover in their town parade’s beauty pageant to stop a murderer. I think of it as a sort of Miss Congeniality set in middle school.

Q: What do you hope young readers take away from your stories? What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

I hope to make kids laugh out loud and entertain them while inspiring them to be confident and take themselves seriously. I hope, too, my stories help them through a few tough moments in their friendships!

Top 10 Essential Picture Books for Kids and Grownups

As part of August's Picture Book 10 for 10 event launched by the folks at Enjoy and Embrace Learning, I'm offering up my Top 10 list. I thought about doing a rundown of the best books featuring smart dogs or adorable penguins or clever kids wearing tiaras. But what I think might be the most helpful is thus:

Top 10 Essential Picture Books

Based on hours of reading with a certain trio in my house, the selection process is highly scientific: it is measured on the hilarity factor, the visual umph, and how many times little voices chirped, "Again!"

What follows are the Top 10 picture books that are simply a joy to share. Whether reading in a classroom to a group or in a rocking chair to a special someone, these are titles that adults – and of course the wee ones – will enjoy again and again. There were many nights when Hubby and I raced to the kids' rooms to call dibs on the stories we wanted to hear, these stories. My only regret is that my kids are getting a little older, so we don't get to read them as often.

Keep these titles in mind when searching for the perfect gift – for the young or young at heart.

We all need to celebrate our creative sides:
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow



Play it smart, especially when something wants to eat you up:
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler


When things don't go as planned, roll with the punches:
An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler, illustrated by Whitney Martin

You can be cool and not even know it:
Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great by Bob Shea

It's nice to have folks around:

Memoirs Of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Tim Bowers

Sometimes we're cranky:
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

Princesses can be very sly:
Falling For Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox, illustrated by Lydia Monks



Even pirates need to be tucked in at night:
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long, illustrated by David Shannon



Wait for it. . .
The Monster at the End of this Book by Sesame Street



There are surprises even in our routines:
10 Minutes till Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann

Author-Illustrator Matthew Cordell Draws on Inspiration

The hugely talented illustrator Matthew Cordell has over 18 books to his name, and more on the way, including tomorrow's release of Gone Fishing (Houghton Mifflin) by Tamera Will Wissinger. And as if that weren't enough to make you green with envy, he is one of the rare birds who can both tell a story as well as draw one, as he has done with Trouble Gum (Feiwel & Friends, 2009) and Another Brother (Feiwel & Friends, 2012). His latest example is Hello! Hello! (Hyperion, 2012), a disarmingly sweet story that just might make you put down your iPad and take notice.

Young Lydia grows frustrated with her digital gadgets, and as the rest of her family keeps tapping away, she follows a leaf out the door and into the wonderful, wide-open world. Her encounters move from a bug to a field of flowers to a menagerie of animals that gets increasingly more ridiculous and exciting. Called back home by her parents, Lydia is able to get them to put their electronica away and share in her adventure. Hello! Hello! received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly, which called it "required reading for any kid with a phone."

Question: My second-grader has been screen savvy since he could extend his pointy finger. And it has been a constant battle ever since to find the right balance between virtual play and the real-world kind. You are a parent, too. What inspired you to write Hello! Hello!?

Matthew Cordell: I got the idea for this book one day way back when my daughter was 2 years old (she’s 4 now). She and I were playing with some of her toys for a while when I was tempted to go to a nearby laptop to check email or Facebook or whatever. I didn’t think she’d even notice (she was only 2 after all). But she did. She actually said, “Daddy, stop checking email and come play.”

First of all, I didn’t even know she knew the word “email” so that was weird enough, but I was totally busted and felt totally guilty. Later, it occurred to me that this scenario must be playing out with families all the time and everywhere. Once I was made aware of it, I started to look for it, and sure enough I saw plenty of parents and kids in places like parks, restaurants, museums, ball games who were attending to devices as much as, if not more than, each other. I knew a picture book (a book that is enjoyed by both parents and children) would be a perfect place to share this story. Or… stage this intervention, if you will.

Q: A variety of recent picture books have taken a whack at our overly techie age. Hello! Hello! succeeds on its sweetness rather than any heavy-handed message or heaping helping of guilt. Was it hard to rein in your message? Or did you know right away how far you wanted to go with the idea?

MC: I do not consider myself a “finger-pointy” kind of guy. And I hope no one else thinks of me this way. I’d never even considered tackling a book with such a distinct message. But I was sure that this story would resound with others like me, and I really felt compelled to tell it. So it was important for me, from day one, not to hit people over the head with a message. I think it helps that the story is told, mostly, with just one word… “hello.” It helps that that the story is told primarily through its pictures. I think it also helps that we don’t dwell on the negative aspects of the theme. The alienation is at the beginning, and pretty brief. If, in the end, it still feels finger-pointy to some, then that’s unfortunate. But the truth of it is, I’m pointing the finger at myself as well, and that’s how this book came to be.

Q: Picture books generally connect with two audiences – young children and the adults who read to them. Who were you trying to reach with Hello! Hello!?

MC: This is one of the most compelling and most difficult things about making picture books. You must please two completely different audiences. If you lean too far in one direction or the other, you are not doing a good job of it. If one makes a book that is rich in irony or sarcasm, the kids simply will not get it. If one makes a book that is too cutesy-kid-friendly, then the grown-ups are turned off. (Although, maybe the kids are too!) It’s a razor-thin fine line that a picture book maker must walk along. Hello! Hello! is absolutely intended for both adults and children. I think it is a book for children to identify with (of course, the central character is a child) and it is a book that parents can also identify with and, I hope, enjoy reading to and with their children.

Q: You are also the illustrator of many other books – some you've written yourself, some written by other children's authors. Do you prefer wearing your author hat to wearing your illustrator one, or are they both equally satisfying?

MC: They are both equally satisfying in their own ways, but it is a very special day to me when I can both write and illustrate a book on my own. To have complete ownership over that book is like gluttonous hog heaven. There is a certain and distinct love I have when collaborating with an author, but I have only been blessed a few times to write and illustrate my own books, and I enjoy that so much.

Q: What's next from you? And what do you hope readers take away from the books you write and illustrate?

MC: This year, I have four books coming out that I’ve illustrated: Ollie and Claire (Philomel, April 2013) by Tiffany Strelitz Haber; Gone Fishing (Houghton Mifflin, March 2013) by Tamera Will Wissinger; Like Bug Juice on a Burger (Amulet, April 2013) by Julie Sternberg; and What Floats in a Moat? (Simon & Schuster, July 2013) by Lynne Berry. Nothing in 2013 (thus far, at least) that I’ve written, but definitely some stuff in works. Fingers crossed!

I hope readers will get a good sense of family in my books. Joy, angst, love, humor… ups and downs all found and experienced within the family. This feels, I guess, kind of vague, but that is really what picture books and shared reading are about to me. Sharing the intricacies and bliss (and sometimes not bliss!) of our lives together as parent and child.

Carolyn Crimi on Pugs, Bugs, and What Makes Her Laugh

Some writers are born with a knack for plotting. Others with an ear for dialogue. But few come into the world with as finely tuned a funny bone as author Carolyn Crimi. She has written 13 picture books that are sure to elicit laughs and snorts from the youngest readers – as well as their adult companions. Carolyn is back with another of her joyful romps through storyland with Pugs in a Bug, illustrated by Stephanie Buscema (Dial, 2012). Part counting book, part rollicking adventure, Pugs in a Bug also features greyhounds in a bus, sheepdogs in a jeep, and even bulldogs driving cabs. It is a great fit for dog lovers everywhere.

Question: Pugs are adorable and inherently funny. Volkswagen Beetles are adorable and inherently fun. How did you hit on the stroke of genius to put the two together?

Carolyn Crimi: It just so happens that I own a Volkswagen Bug, although unlike the one in the book, mine is rarely a “clean,” green Bug. It is simply “green.” The very first time I put my pug, Emerson, in my VW Bug, I squealed, “A pug in a Bug!” That was about 10 years ago. I still have both my pug and my Bug, and now I also have a book about them.

Q: Lots of people have great ideas all the time. How do you take your creative, clever notions from idea stage to published book?

CC: A lot of my ideas never make it into books. That’s fine. Not all of my manuscripts are good enough to be made into books. Many people are surprised when I tell them that I have about 100 manuscripts of different lengths and degrees of completion in my computer, and yet I only have 13 books published. I’d say that most of my picture-book writing friends have just as many unsold manuscripts. Troubles arise when you feel you must publish a manuscript. Sometimes I’ll spend a long, long time on a manuscript and think that just because I’ve spent so much time and energy on it, I’ll sell it. Unfortunately that’s not the way it works.

If I really believe in a manuscript, I’ll revise it many times before sending it out to a publisher, while some manuscripts are just exercises that never leave my computer. It’s a different journey for each.

Q: Where does your creativity happen? On long walks in the woods, while scrubbing the dishes after dinner, at writer's retreats in the Vermont mountains?

CC: I’d say D, All of the Above. Although I’ve gotten an inordinate number of story ideas on my daily walk through the streets of Evanston.

Q: Because you write for the youngest readers, you must have a strong sense of the joys of being a child. Do you draw on memories from your childhood? Or have you just maintained a great connection to your younger self?

CC: I’d say that I actually have a strong sense of the agonies of childhood. Although I like to think that my books end on a hopeful note, they usually start with a problem that I’m having now or that I had as a child.

No one ever believes me, but I was a shy child. Right now I’m working on a book about a shy bunny who won’t say hello. I remember hating that whole, “Say hello to Mrs. Brown” rigmarole. I have always had stage fright, even though I love being on stage (go figure!), so Rock ‘N Roll Mole (Dial, 2011) stemmed from many memories of being petrified while on stage. I think if I started from a joyful or blissful memory of childhood, I’d write a pretty boring book.

Q: With characters from your books like these pugs, a rock-n-role mole, and a buccaneer bunny, you clearly have a sense of humor. What inspires you to write such fun and funny books? What makes you laugh? 

CC: I like taking stereotypes and turning them inside out. A bear pirate isn’t nearly as funny as a bunny pirate. Likewise, a lion rock star would be expected, but a mole?

These are the kinds of things I think about. Like, all day. Hippo fairies, pig princesses, warthogs in love, professorial monkeys, it’s all funny to me. Animals make me laugh in general. There’s not a day that goes by when I’m not laughing at my pug.

I write humor because I need humor. When I’m sad or frustrated, I’ll watch a funny movie or read a funny book. I cope with the world through humor. And hey, it’s a lot cheaper than therapy.

My Funny Valentine: Brenda Ferber's 'Yuckiest' Picture Book

Valentine's Day is almost here, and love is in the air. Or if that's not love, it's a serious craving for chocolate. We'd like to celebrate the big day by talking to Brenda Ferber, author of the brand-new picture book The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever (Dial, December 2012). Brenda has also published two middle-grade novels with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire and Julia's Kitchen, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award in 2007.

Question: Your other books are middle-grade novels. What inspired you to write The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever and speak to a younger audience? 

Brenda Ferber: With my novels, I write for the adolescent I used to be because those memories are so close to my heart. But I honestly don’t remember much from when I was very young. However, when I wrote Yuckiest Stinkiest, I had two second-graders and a first-grader, so I was knee-deep in story ideas for that age-group.

The impetus for this particular story came when I was charged with bringing a Valentine’s Day book to my daughter’s class party. I looked in the book store and the library, but I didn’t find anything I thought would appeal to this group of sophisticated second-graders. I knew they’d be bored by anything moralistic, and they’d cringe at anything too lovey-dovey. I was looking for an adventurous, humorous book to share with them about Valentine’s Day, and I couldn’t find one. So I decided to try to write one myself.

I remembered the year before, when my then first-grade son had come home from school on Valentine’s Day and begun sorting his class valentines into two piles – good and bad. I wondered how he was determining which valentine went into which pile, especially since he wasn’t even opening them. It turned out he didn’t know or care who the cards were from; the good ones had candy attached. For him, Valentine’s Day was Halloween in February. It was all about the candy.

Contrast that with my younger son, who was a born romantic. He had big crushes since preschool, and he was very giving and demonstrative with his love. For him, Valentine’s Day was the perfect holiday because it was a day to share and celebrate love, his favorite thing. I wanted to write a story showing these two ways of approaching the holiday, because in my opinion, Valentine’s Day is about both candy and love. To make it funny, I exaggerated my sons’ characteristics and turned things upside down by having the valentine – who you’d think would be all for love – be the character who prefers candy to anything mushy or romantic. Then, to make it adventurous and to raise the stakes, I created a big chase.

In the original story that I read to my daughter’s class, the chase actually went around the world and ended with the valentine jumping into a bubbling volcano. Alas, I discovered a valentine suicide is not the best ending to a picture book! Over the next five years, I revised the story extensively, changing just about everything except the main concept. It was great fun and rewarding to see the story develop into what it is today.

Q: Did you find writing a picture book to be freeing in some ways from a middle-grade book? Were there more opportunities to tap your funny bone? 

BF: I don’t know if freeing is the right word. I felt a ton of pressure. I have a good sense of humor, but I’m not actually funny. I surround myself with funny people, and I love to laugh, but I’m not usually the person who makes other people laugh. Yet, here I was, determined to write a funny picture book. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I tried. The thing that helped was that whenever I write, I approach it as a reader, so even though I’m putting the words on the page, I’m imagining reading those words for the first time and reacting internally the way a reader might. When I made myself laugh, I knew I was on the right path.

Q: What were you hoping to convey to young readers with Yuckiest? Not so much hitting them with a message, but in the spirit of the book? 

BF: Ultimately, it’s a book about vulnerability. It takes a ton of courage to tell someone how you really feel, especially when you can’t be sure if those feelings will be reciprocated. But nothing risked is nothing gained. Leon starts the story not even considering vulnerability. He’s never been hurt, so why should he worry? But the valentine and everyone he meets on the chase make him aware of just how complicated and risky love is. 

The image of Leon totally freaked out when he realizes this cracks me up because it's so real. Love is complicated! Love involves risk and vulnerability. But in the end (spoiler alert!), of course Leon’s crush loves him back, and not only that, but the valentine falls in love, too. So I guess what I’m saying is, it’s okay to be afraid of love, but don’t let that stop you. That said, readers might come away from the book with a completely different interpretation, and that's okay with me.

Book Giveaway Alert! Brenda will send a free, autographed copy of her book to one lucky reader who adds a comment to this post!

Q: Having an illustrator, and such a remarkable one as Tedd Arnold, can add an exciting dimension to a story – for both the reader and the author. Can you speak to what it was like seeing Tedd's interpretation of your story? And what his illustrations do for readers? 

BF: I absolutely fell in love with Tedd Arnold’s illustrations for my book! He added a whole other level of depth and humor to the story. There are so many fun details that make multiple readings a joy. For example, you might notice that when Leon is thinking about his crush, his pupils are heart-shaped. And the little girl who loves all this romance has a small tear in her eye that grows bigger as the story progresses. And then there’s the teen who goes on and on about how she can find out if Leon’s crush loves him back. She talks so much that her words literally get squeezed off the page.

Tedd makes the characters truly come alive. I imagine kids and adults will enjoy poring over the illustrations time and time again. I also love the way the book looks like a large, vibrant Sunday comic. I think this format will especially appeal to older picture book readers, and since the story concept is funnier the older you get, this illustration style seems to me to be the perfect fit.

Q: What do you hope young readers take away from your books – from Yuckiest to Jemma to Julia?

BF: I think reading is such a personal experience that I can’t really care what people take away from my books. I just hope they take something. When I first started out on my writing journey, I created a mission statement, and it holds true today. It goes like this: I aim to write books that touch the heart and soul and allow readers to see themselves and the world in a new way. So if I can make you laugh with this picture book, or cry with one of my novels, or if something I’ve written gives you that aha moment where you see things in a fresh and different way, then I’ve done my job.