An Interview with The Stars Beckoned Author Candy Wellins
AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR CANDY WELLINS
ABOUT HER PICTURE BOOK
THE STARS BECKONED:
EDWARD WHITE’S AMAZING WALK IN SPACE
(Philomel; $17.99, Ages 4-8)
★ ★ ★
SHORT SUMMARY:
The Stars Beckoned: Edward White’s Amazing Walk In Space, written by Candy Wellins and illustrated by Courtney Dawson, is a lyrical picture book biography of Edward White, the first American to walk in space, and an ode to the beauty and wonder of the stars that brought him there.
INTERVIEW:
Colleen Paeff: Hi Candy! Congratulations on the release of your second picture book, The Stars Beckoned: Edward White’s Amazing Walk In Space (illustrated by Courtney Dawson)! You’ve said that when you started writing this book you weren’t really a space buff. Do you think that helped or hindered you during the research process?
Candy Wellins: I hope it helped! Most of what I knew about the history of NASA came from THE RIGHT STUFF, which does a good job of covering Project Mercury and I think everyone has a basic understanding of Apollo, but the Gemini missions are kind of like the forgotten middle children of the NASA missions. Not the first ones and not the flashy ones, but certainly important ones. I read the transcript of the entire Gemini IV mission–pages and pages of technical jargon—but once you get to the heart of the mission and “hearing” the astronauts speak, it’s pretty riveting.
CP: Would you consider yourself a space buff now?
CW: No, not a space buff by any means. Maybe an above-average space enthusiast at best!
CP: I’m always impressed by authors who can tell a story in rhyme, but I’m especially impressed by authors who can tell a nonfiction story in rhyme! Was rhyming something that was a part of The Stars Beckoned from the beginning or did it come later in the revision process?
CW: I knew I wanted to tell Edward’s story for a while and I didn’t have a plan whatsoever. I only wrote in prose at that point and I tried a few things, but didn’t like them at all. A writer in my critique group shared a biography written in verse that I thought was just lovely. It made me want to do something biographical in verse just to try it. Edward came to mind immediately. I had done a lot of the preliminary research and, honestly, if you’re going to get your feet wet in rhyme, might as well do it with someone who has a very rhymable last name like White. The opening lines came to me pretty quickly and I just let the story take me where it needed to go.
CP: Edward White’s children gave you feedback as you worked on the story, right? How did you get in touch with them and were they immediately open to you writing about their dad?
CW: During one of my many Google searches of Edward’s name, I found a post his granddaughter made celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his spacewalk. She is a realtor so I was able to find contact information easily and reached out to her. She put me in touch with her dad and aunt and I shared the manuscript with them. It was important to me that the book be as historically accurate as possible. They were especially helpful as we moved into the illustration phase–getting hair colors, clothing choices and airplane models exactly as they were was important to all of us. Most Americans know the names of other “first” astronauts like Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride, but I feel—and I think his children would agree—Edward has been somewhat forgotten by history. I hope my book can change that just a bit because he really was amazing and did important work.
Interior spread from The Stars Beckoned written by Candy Wellins and illustrated by Courtney Dawson, Philomel Books ©2021.
CP: You’ve said you always wanted to be a writer but you didn’t get serious about it until about 2016. What happened in 2016 that sparked the desire to get serious about writing? And why did you choose to write for kids?
CW: Writing children’s books always felt like my fantasy job—like some people dream about being an NFL quarterback or rock star—it never felt like something I could actually do. In 2016, I met a neighbor who revealed she wrote children’s books for a living. I was inspired by her journey and decided to pursue it for real. I was lucky because I live near Austin, Texas, home to the Writing Barn, which is a fabulous haven for aspiring (and continuing) writers. I took some introductory classes on picture books and the rest is history.
CP: Your background in journalism and in teaching elementary school, seems like the ideal combination for a children’s book writer—especially nonfiction. What extra skills have you developed that didn’t necessarily come from journalism or teaching?
CW: I don’t know if it’s a skill necessarily, but I’d say I’ve developed some thick skin being a writer. This is truly a business of perseverance. It’s a highly competitive field—there are only so many opportunities for publication and tons of great manuscripts. Therefore, there are certainly more rejections than acceptances. Resilience is important. You have to write because you love it and success will find you if you are patient.
Interior art from The Stars Beckoned written by Candy Wellins and illustrated by Courtney Dawson, Philomel Books ©2021.
CP: Yes! I totally agree. I know you have a trusted critique group of your peers, but I hear you read your work to your three kids for their feedback, too. Are they tough critics or do they love everything you write?
CW: Yes, my kids are 10, 8 and 2 and I do read things to them to get a child’s take on my stories. My oldest gives pretty good, constructive feedback and has a good ear for meter, too. My middle loves humor and will push me to really find the kid appeal. My youngest is just figuring out what I do. We read The Stars Beckoned together and she was pleasantly surprised to find her “mommy’s picture” on the back jacket.
CP: Your debut picture book Saturdays are for Stella came out smack in the middle of the pandemic and now your second book is coming out at what is (hopefully!) the tail end of it. I imagine that’s been tough. Did you learn any lessons from your first pandemic launch that you expect you’ll continue to use for this next book and maybe even beyond?
CW: I don’t know what a non-COVID launch looks like so I have nothing to compare it to. I will say it’s been nice because I’ve been able to visit bookstores and libraries which I probably would have not been able to visit in person. I did World Read Aloud Day this year and presented at schools in something like eight different states in less than six hours. I could never travel that much in a day! Recently I saw that STELLA was read as story time at the Met Museum in New York City. I was able to watch the YouTube video of it and would have totally missed it had we not been living in such a virtual-friendly world.
CP: Saturdays with Stella was such a beautiful tribute to grandmothers. I know you lost both of your grandmothers when you were pregnant with your first child. Given that so many of us have lost loved ones this past year, can you talk a bit about some of the things you do to connect your kids with the memories of your grandmothers, even though they never had the chance to meet them?
CW: The timing on that book was so serendipitous. I’ve had so many people reach out and tell me how much they appreciated the book, especially given the times we are living in.
Everyone is experiencing loss right now, even if it isn’t death and I’m glad the book can help with that.
I’m also a big memory keeper. We have photos of family, alive and gone, throughout the house and in accessible photo albums. And we talk a lot about family. We share memories and connections—play the same games and bake the same recipes—I have from my grandmas.
CP: What’s next for you?
CW: You’ve probably been wondering when someone is FINALLY going to write a picture book about the world’s largest species of burrowing clams. I can tell you the long wait is nearly over. My next book is a young graphic novel about a geoduck—look up a photo, you won’t be disappointed. It’ll be out in 2023 or 24.
Candy Wellins author photo credit: Shannon OroscoBRIEF BIO:
Candy Wellins is a lifelong writer and book lover. A former elementary school teacher, Candy has a BA in journalism and an M.Ed. in literacy education. She’s now a full-time mom to three wonderful children who keep her up-to-date and immersed in kid’s literature. When she’s not reading, writing or mothering, Candy loves running, traveling and naps! Her debut picture book Saturdays Are For Stella (Illustrated by Charlie Eve Ryan, PAGE STREET KIDS) was named a Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2020. Her debut picture book biography The Stars Beckoned: Edward White’s Amazing Walk in Space (Illustrated by Courtney Dawson, PHILOMEL) comes out April 20, 2021. Candy and her family make their home in Central Texas.
Order your copy today!
The Stars Beckoned – Please click here for signed copies
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Author Website: www.candywellins.com
Twitter: @candy_wellins
Instagram: @candywellins
READ MORE ABOUT CANDY:
The Stars Beckoned Cover Reveal with Mr. Schu
Saturday with Stella Book Birthday & Interview
Critter Lit interview with Candy
Research & Nesting: Bringing Books and Babies into the World by Candy Wellins
Writing Barn: Success Story Spotlight
ABOUT INTERVIEWER COLLEEN PAEFF:
Colleen Paeff is the author of The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (available August 31, 2021 from Margaret K. McElderry Books) and Rainbow Truck, co-authored with Hina Abidi and illustrated by Saffa Khan (available in the spring of 2023 from Chronicle Books). Click here for more info.
Read another interview by Colleen here.
Chapter Book Review – Starla Jean Which Came First: The Chicken or the Friendship?
STARLA JEAN (Book 1)
Which Came First: The Chicken or the Friendship?
Written by Elana K. Arnold
Illustrated by A. N. Kang
(Roaring Brook Press; $14.99, Ages 4-7)
★Starred review – Kirkus
Starla Jean – Which Came First: The Chicken or the Friendship? is the first in a new early chapter book series by author Elana K. Arnold. Divided into four chapters and written in first-person, the book begins with Starla Jean and her father going to the park where Starla Jean happens upon a chicken. Her father tells her, “If you can catch it, you can keep it” not believing that she actually will. But Starla Jean can do anything she sets her mind to! So, of course, she does catch the chicken and they take it home. She names her Opal Egg, so the chicken will feel more comfortable and know they don’t want to eat her “because you don’t give a name to your dinner.” Back home Mom is not too pleased although baby sister Willa eventually benefits from Opal Egg.
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Interior art from Starla Jean Which Came First: The Chicken or the Friendship? written by Elana K. Arnold and illustrated by A. N. Kang, Roaring Brook Press ©2021.
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However, the big question remains: if Starla Jean found a chicken, does that mean someone lost a chicken? The family puts up ‘Found’ signs to locate her owner but when the chicken’s owner does show up, does that mean Starla Jean will have to say goodbye to her new friend?
A. N. Kang’s illustrations are crisp and plentiful on every page, encouraging early readers who are attempting to read this book on their own. Humor is also abundant in each picture, whether it’s showing a chicken taking a dust bath or Opal Egg wearing one of Willa’s diapers, an idea Starla Jean has to satisfy her mother’s complaint against her.
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Interior art from Starla Jean Which Came First: The Chicken or the Friendship? written by Elana K. Arnold and illustrated by A. N. Kang, Roaring Brook Press ©2021.e
At the conclusion of the book, Fun Facts about Chickens provides seven educational and entertaining facts with accompanying illustrations that both adults and children will find interesting and humorous. For instance: Chickens use the sun to tell what time it is shows a chicken wearing sunglasses and a sun with clock hands. And another one: Chickens can do math! They can add and subtract small numbers, shows a chicken wearing glasses and standing at a chalkboard after writing 1 + 2 = 3.
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Interior art from Starla Jean Which Came First: The Chicken or the Friendship? written by Elana K. Arnold and illustrated by A. N. Kang, Roaring Brook Press ©2021.e
With its unique premise of a young girl and her friendship with a chicken who takes center stage, this book’s refreshing storyline will easily become a favorite in a new series for readers of early chapter books. And that they will learn from this first title some interesting facts about chickens and be entertained along the way only adds to its value.
Click here for an activity guide.
- Reviewed by Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili
Click here for another chapter book review by Freidele.
Our Favorite Children’s Books for Earth Day 2021
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EARTH DAY 2021
∼ A ROUNDUP ∼
ZONIA’S RAIN FOREST
Written and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
(Candlewick Press; $17.99, Ages 4-8)
★Starred Reviews – Booklist, School Library Journal
Meet Zonia who is Asháninka, the largest Indigenous group that calls the Peruvian Amazon home. While her mom nurses her new baby brother, Zonia frolics among the lush flora and fauna of her beautiful neighborhood, the Amazon Rain Forest, the world’s largest.
This slice of life story introduces young readers to a part of the world whose existence is in danger of extinction as its natural resources are abused. As Zonia plays on her own, she is joined by a butterfly, a sloth, a bird, a jaguar, a dolphin, an anteater, and other local animals whose lives are also in peril if the over-development of the Amazon continues at its current rate. This point is emphasized when at the end of Zonia’s outdoor adventure, she is shocked and angered to see a forest decimated by illegal logging. With their homeland threatened, the human inhabitants will have no choice but to fight back. The red face paint on Zonia’s face, shown “on the last page of the story,” signals strength and determination, symbolic of the struggle ahead.
In promotional material from Candlewick, I learned that Peruvian-born author-illustrator Martinez-Neal created her art on “paper fashioned from banana bark by the hands of the people of the Amazon.” The rich colors have a pastel quality and bleed a bit onto the page, with soft edges and a warmth much like the Amazon itself.
Zonia’s Rain Forest is a call to action to people everywhere. We need to pay attention to what is happening in not only Peru, but the other eight countries the Amazon occupies which includes Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana before their ecosystems are beyond repair. The extensive back matter goes into more detail about what is happening in Amazon and why. Children are given selected resources if they want to learn what they can do. There is also a translation of the story to Asháninka, one of the approximate “three hundred and thirty different languages spoken among the four to five hundred different indigenous groups living there.” The story ends with Zonia telling her mama that the forest needs help. “It is speaking to you,” says Zonia’s mama.
“Then I will answer,” says Zonia, “as I always do.” And finally, “We all must answer.”
– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel
LUCY’S BLOOMS
Written by Dawn Babb Prochovnic
Illustrated by Alice Brereton
(West Margin Press; $16.99, Ages 6-9)
Dawn Babb Prochovnic’s picture book, Lucy’s Blooms, is an upbeat multigenerational tale. Lucy wants to win the town’s annual flower-growing competition and receives advice from Gram, but things don’t go as expected. I appreciated Lucy’s family’s love of nature and belief that’s it’s perfectly fine to do things your own way.
Alice Brereton’s vibrant illustrations enhance Lucy’s vivacious personality with facial expressions ranging from delight to frustration (pretty accurate, as any gardener knows).
This book’s joyful celebration of gardening and life resonates with me, as do its moments of humor. My favorite part is the ending—but you’ll have to read the book yourself, I’m not telling!
OLD ENOUGH TO SAVE THE PLANET:
Be Inspired by Real-Life Children Taking Action Against Climate Change
Written by Loll Kirby
Illustrated by Adelina Lirius
Foreword by Kallan Benson (teen, cofounder of FridaysForFuture, youth/climate activist)
(Magic Cat Publishing / Abrams; $16.99, Ages 8-12)
In Loll Kirby’s nonfiction picture book, Old Enough to Save the Planet, we meet twelve kids (age 7+) from around the world who are taking action against climate change and becoming environmental advocates.
Because bees are in trouble, nine-year-old Eunita in Kenya created a garden to attract pollinators. She posted signs in town, explaining what she was doing for community education and to encourage involvement.
Twelve-year-old Adeline in Indonesia also works with her community. When humans destroyed the natural habitat, flooding problems ensued. Adeline’s group replants native mangrove trees “to create protected areas in the sea to allow new coral reefs to form.”
Each child’s earth-saving contribution is illustrated in great detail by Adelina Lirius using colors found in nature. I appreciate how this book highlights global climate-change problems, while showing how we can pitch in to make a difference. Actions listed in the back matter include eating less meat, thinking carefully before traveling by airplane, setting up a group of people working toward a similar goal, and speaking out at every opportunity. While listed for ages 8-12, please note that it would still be appropriate for ages 6-9.
THE EXTRAORDINARY BOOK THAT EATS ITSELF:
Every Page Turns Into an Eco Project That Helps You Save the Planet
Written by Susan Hayes and Penny Arlon
Illustrated by Pintachan
(Earth Aware Editions Kids; $16.99, Ages 7 and up)
The Extraordinary Book That Eats Itself by Susan Hayes and Penny Arlon is a 64-page reusable, recyclable picture book. In each of the thirty activities, kids take action to safeguard the environment and have tearing the book apart!
Learn how to build a worm bin or bug hotel. Conserve electricity in a clever section called “Chase Away Vampires” which includes cut-out reminders: “Don’t forget to unplug!”
“Have an Eco-Picnic” and meet up with friends or family. (During the pandemic, maintain a safe distance.) Pack mindfully; opt for reusable bottles and cutlery. Skip the plastic and see if you can find a spot you within walking or biking distance—how about your backyard?
Each page has lively art by Pintachan. You’ll want to cut out and use the bookmarks because of their cute illustrations. The creative projects in this book will keep kids busy for hours while teaching them earth-friendly ideas.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE ANIMALS LIVE?:
Discovering the Incredible Creatures All Around Us
Written by Peter Wohlleben
Translated by Shelley Tanaka
Photo selection for the English edition by Antonia Banyard
(Greystone Books; $24.95, Ages 8-12, available early May)
Peter Wohlleben follows up his successful middle-grade nonfiction book, Can You Hear the Trees Talking?, with Do You Know Where the Animals Live? It’s clear that animals are important to him and he wants to share his love of them. When asked how young children can help make the world a better place for animals, Wohlleben replied, “The best thing is to be curious. The more we know about animals, the more we learn to treat them with respect. Every animal is a great wonder that deserves to be allowed to live their life.”
This book explores much more than just where animals live—that’s only the first section! You’ll also learn what animals eat, all about animal babies, how animals grow up, animal survival techniques, animal language, [note it’s not plural in the book for some reason] and animal emotions. My favorite section is Animal Language because it explores sounds, body language, sense of humor, and showing off. Remarkably, fish grind teeth and fart to communicate. I was also amazed that “scientists have to use special microphones to hear the laughter of rats.”
Something that’s not a laughing matter is the chapter about how harmful human garbage is to animals. Plastics are a huge problem, from the Texas-size floating mass in the Pacific Ocean to the microplastics ingested by many creatures. Pesticide use kills animals throughout the food chain because, when insects die, then birds starve. However, “farmers who grow food without using pesticides leave part of the fruit behind for animals like caterpillars. Because the animals don’t pay money for this fruit, people have to be willing to make up for the difference.”
With color photos on every page, this book is beautiful as well as informational. Who doesn’t like to look at cute animal pictures?! Throughout, short quizzes test your knowledge. Whether reading or admiring images, this book will entertain and engage kids for hours.
YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD:
The Kids’ Guide to a Better Planet
Written by Lucy Bell
Art by Astred Hicks
(Andrews McMeel Publishing; $19.99, Ages 8-12)
Lucy Bell’s middle-grade nonfiction book, You Can Change the World, belongs in every home and classroom. Problems we’ve created in the world are offset with simple steps we can take to make our planet a healthier place for everyone.
The 224 pages are easy to follow, filled with lively, full-color art and cleverly arranged content to keep kids engaged. Topics include plastic, ethical and environmentally friendly clothing, waste, food, gardening and the outdoors, energy, electricity, and water, animal activism, and an act of kindness. The Group Activities section offers suggestions on how to work alongside friends and family. For example, choose from the environmental documentaries listed and host a movie party offering plastic-free snacks, or just start a conversation about how you have made changes.
Young environmentalists from around the world are featured throughout. At age nine Felix Finkbeiner from Germany discovered that Wangari Maathai in Kenya planted thirty million saplings in thirty years to cover some of Africa’s bare land. Inspired, Felix founded Plant-for-the-Planet with the goal of one million trees per country to offset harmful carbon dioxide emissions. “More than seventy thousand of the children who help Felix are ambassadors for climate justice, and they are between nine and twelve years old.”
This is a book my family will turn to again and again because it offers many useful suggestions: sprout cilantro from those coriander seeds in the spice rack, pay attention to where our food comes from, and put a bucket in the shower to save a little water each time. We’ve given up plastic straws, but I’d hoped that paper to-go drink cups were recyclable—they’re not because most cups are plastic-coated paper! This book puts facts at my fingertips so our family knows the truth before ordering that next hot chocolate. “Worldwide, people use over sixteen billion to-go cups every year.” Think about what a difference we could make if we just used our own drink containers. I’ll enjoy my latte more, knowing I’m not part of this billion-cup problem.
PLANET OCEAN:
Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean
Written by Patricia Newman
Photographs by Annie Crawley
(Millbrook Press; $31.99, Ages 8-12)
Patricia Newman’s middle-grade nonfiction book, Planet Ocean, delves into our relationship to the sea explaining “how to stop thinking of ourselves as existing separate from the ocean and how to start taking better care of this precious resource.” Chapters explore the Coral Triangle, Salish Sea, and the Arctic. People worldwide are highlighted for their beneficial contributions. Eben Hopson started his own film company in high school to show how the melting ice affected his people’s (the Iñupiat) ability to hunt; at eighteen he became an Arctic Youth Ambassador to further explain the problems of climate change.
This 64-page middle-grade book is as informative as it is gorgeous. Photographer Annie Crawley captures the many aspects of the ocean, from its sheer beauty and wonderful creatures to people interacting respectfully with our environment. Crawley states, “We live in an absolutely incredible world which exists because of our ocean. But it is misunderstood, misrepresented, and undervalued by our society.”
The section “Go Blue with Annie” discusses committing to zero waste, taking climate action, thinking before you eat, and being the voice of our ocean. Examples of these items involve reducing or eliminating the plastics we use, choosing vegetarian meals, and joining with others to bring attention to the need to stop polluting the planet.
I’ll remember Crawley’s words, “What we do on land impacts our source of life. Every drop of water we drink and much of the food we eat starts with the sea. Breathe in and you breathe the ocean.” This book will help young readers better understand and appreciate our ocean’s importance, learning how our daily decisions have far-reaching consequences.
- Reviewed by Christine Van Zandt (www.ChristineVanZandt.com), Write for Success (www.Write-for-Success.com), @ChristineVZ and @WFSediting, Christine@Write-for-Success.com
Additional Recommended Reads for Earth Day
EVERYTHING GROWS
Written by Raffi
Illustrated by Nina Mata
(Knopf; $7.99, Ages 0-3)
A GARDEN TO SAVE THE BIRDS
Written by Wendy McClure
Illustrated by Beatriz Mayumi
(Albert Whitman & Co.; $16.99, Ages 5-8)
PLASTICUS MARITIMUS:
An Invasive Species
Written by Ana Pêgo and Isabel Minhós Martins
Illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho
Translated by Jane Springer
(Greystone Books; $24.95, Ages 10-14)
Picture Book Blog Tour for Perdu
PERDU
Written and illustrated by Richard Jones
(Peachtree Publishing; $17.99, Ages 4-8)
INTRO:
Good Reads With Ronna is delighted to appear on day three (see schedule below) of the Perdu Blog Tour! I hope you’ll take the time to not only read the book review, but to also watch all the fantastic videos that Peachtree Publishing has shared with us.
REVIEW:
Richard Jones makes his welcome debut as both author and illustrator with this tale of a lost (perdu in French) dog seeking a forever family. And may I just add here that Perdu is precious! Both the main character and the story itself. With his sweet face gracing the book’s cover, it’s easy to be captivated by his faraway, lonely look.
While we never learn where Perdu has come from because he certainly didn’t tie the neck scarf himself, it’s easy to let that mystery go in favor of the bigger mystery at the heart of this moving story—will he ever find a loving home?
Interior spread from Perdu written and illustrated by Richard Jones, Peachtree Publishing ©2021.
Readers first glimpse Perdu on the title page, head down, red scarf around his neck, and walking through a field. As he carries on his journey, he notes that, unlike a nearby fallen leaf, he has no place to be. Poor Perdu!
He wanders over a bridge on the outskirts of town where he’s noticed by a little girl sporting a distinct red knit pom-pomed hat. Determined to find his “somewhere,” like everyone else, the sweet lost little dog continues his search and wanders into the big, anonymous city.
Interior spread from Perdu written and illustrated by Richard Jones, Peachtree Publishing ©2021.
At the same time as Perdu, intimidated by the city size and its throngs of people, the little girl continues her day out with her mother. I love how, at this point in the book, Jones has zoomed in on the girl whose path keeps crossing that of Perdu’s. She is perhaps outside a library or other notable building with a massive lion statue (a nod to The Snow Lion) while Perdu stands at the top of the statue. I wonder if parents or kids will spy him first.
My favorite illustration is the one when the child spots Perdu sitting outside an expansive cafe window where she and her mom are dining. He’s hungry now and tired and cannot resist the temptation of an open door. Inside he wreaks havoc and is reprimanded by patrons. It’s a demoralizing experience for Perdu yet at the same time things probably cannot get much worse.
Interior spread from Perdu written and illustrated by Richard Jones, Peachtree Publishing ©2021.
In a lovely park scene, where both the girl and Perdu have ended up following the restaurant ruckus, the child approaches the dog. She’s holding Perdu’s signature red neck scarf which he lost when he dashed away during the cafe commotion.
Not a lot of words are needed when the simple act of giving back the scarf to the lost dog speaks volumes about the girl’s empathy and Perdu’s trust. It’s a gentle, loving moment that bonds the pair and fills readers’ hearts with hope.
Interior spread from Perdu written and illustrated by Richard Jones, Peachtree Publishing ©2021.
Jones has given young readers a feel-good story about friendship, trust, kindness, and belonging highlighted by the beautiful, inviting art that solidifies the tale. Jones achieves this warm look with paintings he then edits in Adobe Photoshop. I came away from the story feeling happy for both Perdu and the red-hatted girl knowing that they had both truly found each other for all the right reasons.
ABOUT RICHARD JONES + HIS SOCIAL MEDIA:
Click here to read an Author Q + A.
Website: www.paintedmouse.com/
Twitter: @apaintedmouse
Instagram: @apaintedmouse
LEARNING:
Draw Perdu with Richard by watching this video.
Click here for excellent activity sheets.
Find out about Richard’s inspiration for the story and the progression of the book’s illustrations here.
Get hooked! Read an excerpt from Perdu here.
BLOG TOUR PARTICIPANTS:
Monday (4/12): Unpacking the Power of Picture Books
Tuesday (4/13): Mom Read It
Wednesday (4/14): You’re here now at Good Reads With Ronna ! Thank you!
Thursday (4/15): Literacious
An Interview with Your Mama Author NoNieqa Ramos
AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR NONIEQA RAMOS
ABOUT HER DEBUT PICTURE BOOK
YOUR MAMA
(Versify; $17.99, Ages 4 to 7)
SHORT SUMMARY:
Yo’ mama so sweet, she could be a bakery. She dresses so fine, she could have a clothing line. And, even when you mess up, she’s so forgiving, she lets you keep on living. Heartwarming and richly imagined, Your Mama, written by NoNieqa Ramos and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, twists an old joke into a point of pride that honors the love, hard work, and dedication of mamas everywhere.
INTERVIEW WITH NONIEQA RAMOS:
Colleen Paeff: Congratulations on the release of Your Mama (illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara)! This is your first picture book and it received two starred reviews––one from School Library Journal, which called it “an essential purchase” and one from Kirkus, which labeled the book “Perfectly dazzling.” That must have felt good! Or do you try not to pay attention to reviews?
NoNieqa Ramos: Thank you, Colleen! And congrats to you on your debut The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem, and Rainbow Truck releasing in 2023!
CP: Thank you!
NR: If I said I didn’t pay attention to reviews, my friends would laugh so hard they’d fall off their chairs. Tail bones would crack. My writing is generally considered “experimental” or “unique” and reviews can vary wildly. So it is affirming and medicinal to get critical acclaim for a concept as “unique” as a Your Mama picture book, albeit one flipped into an ode of loving affirmation, for sure.
The reviews that light me up the most are from readers who find me on Instagram to tell me my writing has made them feel seen or from fellow writers I admire who show me book love. Their esteem is salve for my heart, food for my writer’s soul.
CP: Kwame Alexander’s imprint Versify published your book and Kwame himself book-talked Your Mama on YouTube. (!!!!) Was it extra special to have your book published by this particular publisher?
Interior illustration from Your Mama written by NoNieqa Ramos and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, Versify ©2021.
NR: Working with poet, educator, New York Times Bestselling and Newbery Award winner, Kwame Alexander, on his new imprint Versify has been a montage of dreams-come-true! Watching him book-talk Your Mama on Youtube–and my fellow Versify sib Darshana Khiani (How To Wear A Sari, June 2022)– was a pinch-me moment.
I remember when I saw the Tweet that Kwame Alexander was starting a new imprint and that it was open for submissions. I thought– this is Your Mama’s home. Talk about shooting your shot. I emailed my agent in milliseconds. Two weeks after the submission, I got the call.
It’s an immense honor to be part of Kwame’s artistic mission to “change the world one word at a time.” I mean, my work is in the same house as writers like Kip Wilson (White Rose), Raúl the Third (Lowriders In Space) and Lamar Giles (Fake ID), founding member of We Need Diverse Books.
Every book journey is unique, and the field of publishing is like riding a bronco, no joke. I savor every second of success, but I measure my success differently with each new project. I’m feeling pretty hyped about this one.
CP: Your first two books, The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary and The Truth Is, are both YA, what inspired you to try your hand at picture book writing?
NR: Picture book writing is my first love. When I was in elementary school, I started “N&N Company” with my cousin Nikki and attempted to sell picture books (paperdolls, bookmarks, and cards) to my classmates until a dispute over payment drew the nuns’ attention and had me shut down!
I started off my teaching career working with preschoolers. Picture books are portable theaters, concerts, and museums. There’s nothing I loved more than seeing an emerging reader take a picture walk and narrate the story to their friends.
Brianne Farley, who illustrated Carrie Finison’s Dozens Of Doughnuts, said each picture book is like solving a puzzle, and I couldn’t agree more. I love the challenge of crafting rhyme with a narrative arc.
I write in rhythmic verse, a type of free verse, the jazz of poetry. What I adore about picture books is the spoken and unspoken collaboration between author and illustrator. I marvel at the music Jackie and I made with keyboard and pen.
Interior spread from Your Mama written by NoNieqa Ramos and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, Versify ©2021.
CP: What’s something you enjoyed about the experience of writing a picture book that wasn’t a part of writing for the YA audience?
NR: All my works are a platform to fight for social justice. Picture books are a unique way to rise up against inequity and systemic oppression of the marginalized with the power of pure joy. Picture books are unbridled hope. With these magical tools, we raise not just the individual reader, but the human family. When I gift a child a picture book by Kirsten Larson (A True Wonder: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything), I am giving the gift of ingenuity and persistence. When I gift a child a picture book by Yamile Saied Méndez (De Donde Eres), I gift a child cultural and family pride.
My YA The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary is partially about burning the system down. The Truth Is is partially about dismantling the internalized racism and homophobia embedded in us from our inherently racist and homophobic society. In some ways, these protagonists inherited a world in ashes. My picture book protagonists inherit seeds.
With my debut Your Mama, I resisted the monolithic representation of Latinx women with nuanced exultation. I hope with Your Mama, all my readers celebrate how much they are loved by their caregivers, and all caregivers feel seen and revered.
CP: You’ve said you write to “amplify marginalized voices and to reclaim the lost history, mythology, and poetry of the Latinx community.” Did you grow up hearing those stories or did you discover them later in life?
NR: I discovered my first Latinx novel in graduate school, and I was transformed. Reading Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years Of Solitude spoke to me as a writer in a way absolutely no book ever had. He helped me find my voice.
My first discoveries of Latinx picture books for my first child and my students came from Lupe Flores’s Bilingual picture book The Battle Of The Snow Cones/La Guerra De Las Raspas and Lupita’s Papalote. Before that I was reading my child the staples like the disturbing Love You Forever and Runaway Bunny (Please read Leah Hong’s Happy Dreams, Little Bunny instead!). With our movements to diversify literature with #ownvoices perspectives, this narrative of invisibility and loss will one day be a thing of the past. Imagine the day when every child can find multiple books that make them feel seen, respected, nurtured, and celebrated. That day is coming!
CP: You’ve described yourself as a literary activist. What is that and how can I become one?
NR: I love your questions, Colleen! A literary activist creates works to disrupt texts, dismantle systems of oppression, and rebuild an equitable society. Every book gives you an opportunity to amplify your work’s message through article writing, conferences, and school visits. The Truth Is and The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary gives me a platform to talk about the lack of historical representation of BIPOC persons in school curriculums, the dire need for mental health services for the marginalized, and the still pervasive LGBTQIA+ homeless population.
Whenever I am in despair about the condition of the world, I turn to story to rewrite the narrative and I amplify the work of fellow authors who are changing the world with their work. Readers, check out Las Musas to learn about the works of my fellow Latinx writers whose work children’s literature “celebrates the diversity of voice, experience, and power” in Latinx communities. Check out https://www.soaring20spb.com/ for a beautiful diverse community of writers in children’s lit, where I met Colleen Paeff!
CP: I’m so glad it brought us together! I feel lucky to be a part of such an inspiring group of creators. What’s next for you, NoNieqa?
NR: I am working on a genderqueer picture book fairy tale retelling and my first dystopian novel. We’ll see where they land!
CP: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
NR: Thank you for this lovely chat, Colleen. Readers, don’t forget to add my future picture books Hair Story (September 7th, 2021) and Beauty Woke (February 15, 2022) on Goodreads. Thank you so much for your support! Hope you love Your Mama as much as I do.
NoNieqa Ramos ©Gentry PhotographyBRIEF BIO:
NoNieqa Ramos wrote The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary, which received stars from Booklist, Voya, and Foreword. It was a 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection and a 2019 In the Margins Top Ten pick.
Versify will publish her debut picture book Your Mama, which received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus, on April 6th, 2021. Her second picture book, Hair Story, releases from Lerner September 6th, 2022. NoNieqa is a proud member of Las Musas, The Soaring 20s, and PB Debut Troupe 21 collectives.
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SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website: www.nonieqaramos.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoNieqaRamos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonieqa.ramos/
Las Musas Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/your-mama/9781328631886
READ MORE ABOUT NONIEQA:
Your Mama cover reveal & interview
NoNieqa and illustrator Paola Escobar chat with Mr. Schu about Beauty Woke
On Writing Diverse Characters and Resisting the Status Quo by NoNieqa
Voice Lessons by NoNieqa
ABOUT INTERVIEWER COLLEEN PAEFF:
Colleen Paeff is the author of The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (available August 31, 2021 from Margaret K. McElderry Books) and Rainbow Truck, co-authored with Hina Abidi and illustrated by Saffa Khan (available in the spring of 2023 from Chronicle Books). Click here for more info.
Young Adult Fiction – Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour
WATCH OVER ME
By Nina LaCour
(Dutton BYR; $17.99, Ages 12 and up)
★Starred Reviews – Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal
Sometimes I just want to read something different. I was in that kind of mood when coming across Nina LaCour’s YA, Watch Over Me. The striking cover caught my attention: a photo of a girl with downcast eyes and floating hair. When I opened the book, the image had altered slightly, showing her eyes and evoking an unsettling feeling. I couldn’t wait to get reading!
The story begins with Mila leaving her kind (but, having-their-own-baby-now) foster home. She’s found a job on an unconventional farm in Northern California. The couple running it has, over the years, adopted dozens of kids and taken in teens, like Mila, who aged-out of the system, assigning them as teachers for the little ones. Mila’s first student, Lee, is also a troubled outcast. Mila wants to reach him, but struggles to understand her new environment which is both welcoming and excluding.
Along with this self-chosen family comes a land filled with ghosts who dance and play in the distance when Mila returns to her cabin at night. The foggy, rocky coast’s strong atmospheric presence wraps around Mila’s pain. Flashback chapters give glimpses of her life before foster care as the loneliness, trauma, and guilt of Mila’s past escalate into inevitable confrontation.
LaCour’s spare, beautifully written, first-person chapters infuse flashbacks, allowing the reader’s immersion to slowly build in this moving, cerebral story. The dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship, revealed in fragments, is emotionally jarring. Yet, Mila’s resilience provides promise for redemption. Conventional lines of reality bend, perfectly suiting the blurred mindset of the plot.
- Reviewed by Christine Van Zandt (www.ChristineVanZandt.com), Write for Success (www.Write-for-Success.com), @ChristineVZ and @WFSediting, Christine@Write-for-Success.com
Click here to read another YA review by Christine.
Five Kids Books about Words and Language
A ROUNDUP OF FIVE KIDS BOOKS
ABOUT WORDS AND LANGUAGE
I love wordplay, puns, and books about the English language in general. If you do too, did you know that means you’re a linguaphile, a word nerd so to speak? I just learned that. This roundup of five kids books reviewed by Ronda Einbinder has something for everyone, word nerd or not.
NO READING ALLOWED:
The Worst Read-Aloud Book Ever
Written by Raj Halder & Chris Carpenter
Illustrated by Bryce Gladfelter
(Sourcebooks Kids; $17.99; Ages 4 and up)
Raj Haldar, aka American rapper Lushlife and co-author Chris Carpenter (creators of the #1 New York Times bestseller P Is For Pterodactyl) have teamed up for another LOL look at the English language in No Reading Allowed: The Worst Read-Aloud Book Ever with hilarious illustrations by Bryce Gladfelter.
When I first read the title, I was surprised and interested to read The Worst Read-Aloud in the sub-title. However, I immediately understood the meaning when I opened the first page and read “The hair came forth,” with a drawing of a fancy waiter picking a hair out of a girl’s spaghetti and meatballs. The hilarity hit me again when the next page presented “The hare came fourth,” with a drawing of a hare finishing number four in a race with other animals. The imaginative use of homophones, homonyms, and tricky punctuation is a great way to bring parent and child together in learning and loving the meaning of various English words.
THE INVISIBLE ALPHABET
Written By Joshua David Stein
Illustrated by Ron Barrett
(Rise x Penguin Workshop; $17.99; Ages 2-5)
“An ABC of things unseen: from Air to Zero, and Nothing in between” is how this book is described by the publisher. The Invisible Alphabet is a cleverly illustrated picture book by Ron Barrett of the classic Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It teaches the alphabet with an invisible message using illustrative clues to find what is missing on the page. Written by Joshua David Stein, host of The Fatherly Podcast, the book goes beyond the words allowing readers the opportunity to explore the meaning themselves.
Barrett repeats a bus stop scene with the letters D, J, T, and Z using different word choices, but a similar scene. D is for Delayed shows people waiting on a corner next to a sign that reads bus stop. Hmm, but what are they waiting for you may ask? T is for Too late illustrates rain and two people standing under an umbrella with that same Bus Stop sign on the corner. And the last page in the book reads Z is for Zero again with a Bus Stop sign alone covered in snow. The pen and ink style Barrett uses to illustrate this book is a beautifully crafted take on teaching the alphabet.
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THE MIGHTY SILENT E!
Written by Kimberlee Gard
Illustrated by Sandie Sonke
(Familius.com; $16.99; Ages 5-8)
The Mighty Silent e! is a delightfully clever way to teach words that end in a letter that is actually silent, but without it, there would be no word! Writer Kimberlee Gard brings humor and poise in her words, while Sandie Sonke’s humorous illustrations of bright reds, yellows, and greens open up a whole new possibility of teaching sounds to young readers.
Gard’s learning disorder was a great inspiration in the telling of this story. This book put a smile on my face as brave Little e, who goes unnoticed at school, realizes he actually is a much-wanted friend. The importance of Little e is in more than just him knowing that he came from a long line of E’s, with upper case E’s framed in his family home, but in the lower case classmates Little c, Little a, and Little k unable to make a word for a type of dessert. Besides being a great tool to teach silent vowels, this book also provides an added layer of deeper meaning for kids to understand the importance of noticing and respecting quiet children at school.
FLIBBERTIGIBBETY WORDS:
Young Shakespeare Chases Inspiration
Written by Donna Guthrie
Illustrated by Åsa Gilland
(Page Street Kids; $18.99; Ages 4-8)
★Starred Review – Kirkus
“Some are born great” wrote William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night, and his legacy and body of work continue to broaden the minds of young readers to this day. The beauty of the written word is poetically and engagingly captured in Flibbertigibbety Words by by Donna Guthrie, with colorful detailed illustrations by Åsa Gilland.
After chasing words that flew out of his bedroom, and into the streets, young Shakespeare learns that writing words down with paper and pen is the best way to get them to stay with him. Guthrie repeats the wild goose chase in this irresistible repetitive read-aloud. “They vaulted over a wall, took a turn on the old king’s carriage, floated through the sailor’s net, scrambled up a greenwood tree …”
And Gilland’s art tells a charming story all on its own. This picture book was not only a fun read but educational to me as well. I learned that the word flibbertigibbety, not one of his most commonly used words, was created by Shakespeare. So were bedroom, embrace, eventful and lonely. This is an especially terrific picture book for teachers to share with students and a wonderful first look into the language of Shakespeare. Click here for an activity guide.
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SOUNDS ALL AROUND:
A Guide to Onomatopoeias Around the World
Written and illustrated by Dr. James Chapman
(Andrews McMeel Publishing; $14.99; Ages 8-12)
This unique and hard-to-put-down book will not only be a mainstay on writers’ shelves but a book that will be frequently revisited by parents and teachers. Sounds All Around: A Guide to Onomatopoeias Around the World written and illustrated in graphic novel format by Dr. James Chapman, is an entertaining nonfiction book listing a plethora of words used for various sounds we know in English. But do you know their equivalents in Korean or Hebrew? Well, they’re here too!
Thump Thump is a well-known word sound to describe a beating heart in English. In Hindi, it’s Dhak Dhak; in Japanese, it’s Doki Doki, and in Chinese Peng Peng. Chapman draws dancing red hearts that look the same, but sound differently around the world. He explains that big noises need big sounds and asks the reader to think how they would draw it in a comic book. My teacher’s mind went all over the place with the fun projects that could be created in a classroom with this book. Onomatopoeia is such a wonderful way to add excitement to a story. Now knowing how to create it in a variety of languages makes me want to keep this book on my desk to read over and over again.
- Reviewed by Ronda Einbinder
An Interview with Annelouise Mahoney, Author-Illustrator of Julius and Macy
AN INTERVIEW WITH
ANNELOUISE MAHONEY
AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR OF
JULIUS AND MACY:
A Very Brave Night
(Two Lions/Amazon Children’s Publishing; $17.99, Ages 3-7)
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SUMMARY OF JULIUS AND MACY: A VERY BRAVE NIGHT
Julius and Macy like to play heroes. Julius pretends he’s the defender of the forest, while Macy has a quieter strength. When their snack disappears one night, they decide to track down the only one who could have taken it―the Night Goblin. They both have to be brave in their own ways, and they ultimately discover that the real thief isn’t anything like they imagined.
With its endearing characters, this gently told tale reminds us that we each have courage within us and that kindness can make all the difference.
INTERVIEW WITH ANNELOUISE MAHONEY
Interior art from Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night written and illustrated by Annelouise Mahoney, Two Lions/Amazon Children’s Publishing ©2021.
Photo courtesy of Annelouise Mahoney
Photo courtesy of Annelouise Mahoney
Photo courtesy of Annelouise MahoneyI then repeated the process of scanning in the tiny thumbnails in Photoshop and making them much bigger to fit into the book template. I was interested to see where I need to focus on adding details and how the images read in the true size of the book. It’s checking and double-checking that the text will fit and I’m getting the color transitions right. Once the loose wash looks right and I can see where I’m going, I took large sheets of Arches 140lb cold press watercolor paper and cut them down a little larger than print size.
Interior spread from Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night written and illustrated by Annelouise Mahoney, Two Lions/Amazon Children’s Publishing ©2021.e
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BRIEF BIO
Annelouise Mahoney photo courtesy of ©Michael ChangAnnelouise Mahoney has worked in animation for DreamWorks, DIC Animation, Sony, and Saban Entertainment. She has also worked as a colorist for Marvel and Image Comics on such series as Uncanny X-Men, Generation X, and others. This is her first picture book, and it was inspired by the depths of her daughters’ friendships and the many ways they are brave, especially with someone on their side. She loves to explore the forest, can’t resist a cave, and has a lot of love for all those named Julius in her life. Annelouise lives in Southern California with her family. Learn more about her at www.woodlandabbey.com.
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Order your copy of Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night: Mahoney today.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: Woodland Abbey
Twitter: @WoodlandAbbey
Instagram: Annelouise Mahoney
CLICK HERE FOR DOWNLOADABLE ACTIVITY PAGES
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TWO GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITIES
TWO1. Enter our Twitter giveaway @goodreadsronna for a chance to win a signed copy of Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night together with a special Giveaway Prize Package from Annelouise that includes an 8×11 print of cover, a sticker sheet, and a round sticker. Eligible for U.S. only. One winner will be selected at random and announced at 6 pm PDT on Friday, April 9.
WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!
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2. Additionally, five lucky winners will each receive three fabulous books celebrating the art of making and keeping friends, including Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night, courtesy of Two Lions. Details and entry form can be found here (US addresses).
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Click here to read another recent author-illustrator interview.
Chapter Book Review – The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane
THE SCRUMPTIOUS LIFE OF AZALEAH LANE
Written by Nikki Shannon Smith
Illustrated by Gloria Felix
(Picture Window Books; $14.95, Ages 5-7)
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The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane, written by Nikki Shannon Smith and illustrated by Gloria Felix, is the third title in this chapter book series set in D.C. featuring a personable and persistent main character who kids will adore.
For those not familiar with the series, the book begins with a one-page introduction to eight-year-old Azaleah and the people in her world: her parents, Mama and Daddy, who own a restaurant, her two sisters, older sister Nia and four-year-old Tiana, and her Auntie Sam, who often looks after the girls.
Interior text from The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane written by Nikki Shannon Smith and illustrated by Gloria Felix, Picture Window Books ©2021.e
Divided into ten fast-paced chapters, the book begins with Azaleah and her sisters going to their Auntie Sam’s for the weekend while their parents are away. Azaleah has the thoughtful idea to bake chocolate chip cookies as a surprise for her parents’ return. But when they turn out less than scrumptious, horrible even, Azaleah has a mystery on her hands, trying to figure out what went wrong since she had followed the recipe perfectly.
She soon thinks she’s figured out the problem, but after baking a second batch that also doesn’t taste just right, she’s left wondering what went wrong. At this point, Azaleah is determined to solve the mystery, and still bake a perfect third batch before her parents’ arrival.
Azaleah’s first guess at solving the mystery is something that young readers might guess at also (I did!) but the real answer to the mystery might be harder for them to figure out (I didn’t!) despite a planted clue which will encourage them to keep reading until the very satisfying end.
Full-color and bright illustrations are depicted in every chapter, adding to the readability for those children who are reading on their own at this stage but still look forward to seeing illustrations along the way.
Interior text and art from The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane written by Nikki Shannon Smith and illustrated by Gloria Felix, Picture Window Books ©2021.
Extensive educational backmatter rounds out the book which includes a glossary of nineteen of the more difficult words that appear in the story; Let’s Talk!, which presents different ideas to discuss from the story; Let’s Write!, which gives budding young writers some ideas to write about based on the book’s plot, and a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Yum!
I love a children’s book that treats its audience as intelligent readers and The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane does just that by creating a mystery whose solution will introduce children to a topic they may not be aware of while, at the same time, entertain them with a likable and realistically portrayed cast of characters.
- Reviewed by Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili
An Interview with Clarinet and Trumpet Author Melanie Ellsworth
AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR MELANIE ELLSWORTH
ABOUT HER PICTURE BOOK
CLARINET & TRUMPET
(HMH Books for Young Readers; $14.99, Ages 4-7)
SUMMARIES OF MELANIE’S TWO PICTURE BOOKS:
Hip, Hip … Beret!
Written by Melanie Ellsworth
Illustrated by Morena Forza
(HMH BYR; $14.99, Ages 4-7)
Bella’s beret blows away on a windy day, taking a ride through the seasons and landing in many places along the way. When the beret lands in a chef’s pan – hip, hip, soufflé! When it lands on the head of a dancer – hip, hip, ballet! As Bella searches for her missing beret, young readers can enjoy their own search for a few touchable felt berets inside the book.
Written by Melanie Ellsworth
Illustrated by John Herzog
(HMH BYR; $14.99, Ages 4-7)
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR MELANIE ELLSWORTH:
Colleen Paeff: Congratulations on the release of your second picture book, Clarinet & Trumpet (illustrated by John Herzog). I love all the wordplay in both this book and in your debut, Hip, Hip … Beret! (illustrated by Morena Forza). How did you get so punny?
Melanie Ellsworth: Thanks, Colleen! It’s so nice to chat with you on Good Reads With Ronna. I think punny might be in my DNA. I grew up with a father who slips puns into conversations whenever possible. He also composes limericks for any and every occasion. So I can’t help myself. Wordplay makes the creative process more joyful!
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Interior spread from Clarinet & Trumpet written by Melanie Ellsworth and illustrated by John Herzog, HMH BYR ©2021.ee
CP: The cover of Clarinet & Trumpet says “Shake this Book.” What happens when you shake the book and how did that idea come about?
ME: When I submitted the manuscript, I offered to include back matter on musical instruments. But my editor had a more innovative idea; she wanted a tactile element, so she suggested embedding a shaker/rattle so readers can join in the musical fun. When I received my author copies, I discovered that the sound-maker is cleverly embedded in the book’s spine. When you tip the book, it sounds (and works) a lot like a rainstick. It’s quite soothing!
Another neat musical feature about the book is that the “and” in the title is a G clef! I had never really noticed how similar the ampersand and the G clef were until I saw that switch. The art department was very clever!
CP: Do you play any instruments yourself or did writing a book about musical instruments require research? Or both?!
ME: Both! I did some googling of instrument terminology, sound words, and musical puns. But mostly, this book came from my own experience playing in bands, orchestras, district bands, and pit bands. I started piano lessons around age 7 and clarinet lessons around age 10. In high school, I took a few saxophone lessons just because saxophones are cool. Clarinet was always my favorite, though. I was hooked from the first time I heard its sound in an elementary school instrument “petting zoo.” I love the versatility of the clarinet – for classical, jazz, klezmer, big band, new age, you name it! I played clarinet through college and a bit afterward. Someday, I will whip my embouchure back into shape and join a local community band.
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Interior spread from Clarinet & Trumpet written by Melanie Ellsworth and illustrated by John Herzog, HMH BYR ©2021.e
CP: You said in a previous interview that you’ve always loved picture books. Why do you think they’ve had such a long-standing appeal for you?
ME: The quality cuddling time with my mom as we read picture books together started my love for the genre. My local library also fueled that love. The combination of lyrical text and gorgeous pictures is pretty magical at any age. Now that I write picture books as well as reading them, I still appreciate many of the same things I always have: the quiet cuddle time they inspire, the rich vocabulary and themes, the introduction for our youngest readers to other types of families and communities, the way picture books kindle empathy, the stunning art, and the way the art often tells another story – like getting a two-for-one deal! And I love a good challenge – trying to write a humorous, heartfelt story with themes relatable to both children and adults, with an arc and interesting characters, with text that sings, leaving plenty of room for the illustrator, and in less than 500 words.
CP: You spent time backpacking around Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. What’s one of your favorite memories from that time?
ME: Hmmm, so many! One is staying with a family in Bomet, Kenya and helping with a community water-tank build. Now you’ve got me thinking about the delicious ground nut sauce I ate there. Another favorite memory is making it up to Annapurna Base Camp in the Himalayas and eating the Snickers I had saved for that moment. Best Snickers ever. (Seems like I may have to write a travel/food-themed picture book!)
CP: Did you learn any lessons as a world traveler that you apply to your writing life?
ME: I’ve actually been thinking about this question for years, looking for the intersections between my travels and the life I live now. I’m hoping to find a way to write about it. Travel presents an opportunity to see other people more deeply and to think about the way my choices, and all of our choices, ripple out to affect a global community. I think you have to travel with a sense of humor, keep an eye out for the funny, absurd, and unusual, recognize that what strikes you as absurd may not be universal, and be open to many ways of seeing. These are all things that apply to writing as well.
CP: If I asked you to curate a perfect day, guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing, what would it look like?
ME: It sounds a bit dull, but starting the day with coffee at my desk up in my barn office works best for me. A perfect day might start with me writing a haiku to warm up my creative senses. Ideally, I’d start every day with writing or revising, but I almost always start by checking email. Usually, I set a timer so I don’t get completely off track with that. A perfect day would definitely involve a walk down to the river with my dog. I get to do that most days, and sometimes I pay close attention to nature – like crocuses unfurling or a pair of hooded mergansers on the river. Other days, I look inwards on walks and end up with new story ideas that I text to myself so I won’t forget them.
CP: Is there anything else I should have asked?
ME: Thanks for your super interesting questions! If I asked myself questions like these every day, my creative juices would always be flowing. Here’s another question that might be useful for readers: What are some tips to stay focused on writing when so much else is going on?
A friend once told me to do a “brain dump” each day. It involves setting a timer for 5 minutes and writing down everything on your mind (grocery lists, errands, worries, etc.) so you can free yourself from those distractions before starting creative work. Something similar that helps me is to make a list of all writing and non-writing tasks I hope to do that day in my bullet journal. (I also have a weekly goals list.) And if you’re having one of those days or weeks when you’re feeling frustrated because you are not crossing much off your to-do list, try this tip from one of my critique partners, Anna Crowley Redding. As you work, keep a separate list of everything you actually do that day. There’s always so much that crops up that you weren’t expecting, so this is a good reminder that you actually WERE productive, even when you’re not feeling it. Try it when you need a little boost.
CP: What’s next for you?
ME: Several of my picture books are on submission through my agent, and I’m always writing/revising a few new ones. I hope to try some other genres this year, including an early reader graphic novel and a middle-grade novel (which would involve finishing a book I started writing years ago).
BRIEF BIO:
Melanie Ellsworth Photo Courtesy ©Amy WiltonMelanie Ellsworth is the author of HIP, HIP… BERET! and CLARINET & TRUMPET. Over the years, Melanie has played a variety of instruments, including the piano, the saxophone, and the clarinet. She has yet to try out the trumpet! Melanie has worked as an ESOL teacher and a literacy specialist and now writes in an old house in Maine where she lives with her family.
Website: www.MelanieEllsworth.com
Twitter: @melanieells
Instagram: @melaniebellsworth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelanieEllsworthAuthor
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READ MORE ABOUT MELANIE HERE:
ABOUT INTERVIEWER COLLEEN PAEFF:
Colleen Paeff is the author of The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (available August 31, 2021 from Margaret K. McElderry Books) and Rainbow Truck, co-authored with Hina Abidi and illustrated by Saffa Khan (available in the spring of 2023 from Chronicle Books). Click here for more info.
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Read another interview by Colleen here.
