Happy Birthday, America! An Interview with Roxanne Troup and Jennifer Doehring
AN INTERVIEW WITH ROXANNE TROUP
AND JENNIFER DOEHRING
ABOUT THEIR NEW PICTURE BOOK,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!
(Albert Whitman & Co.; $9.99, Ages 4-8)
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION:
Happy Birthday, America! | Albert Whitman & Company
On a hot summer day, a family heads to the local park, where everyone in town has gathered for a party unlike any other. There are games, music, food, and—best of all—a huge fireworks display! There’s a reason behind all of the fun and festivities, though: the freedom of the celebration reminds everyone why the United States was founded two hundred and fifty years ago.
INTRO:
Welcome to the blog today, Roxanne and Jennifer Doehring, and CONGRATULATIONS on Happy Birthday, America! I’m thrilled you could be here to give readers a preview and the opportunity to preorder the picture book before its release this May. Scroll down for details.
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ROXANNE TROUP:
GoodReadsWithRonna: Can you share what inspired you to write Happy Birthday, America! for our country’s semiquincentennial? And yes, readers, that’s a long one, and it means the 250th anniversary of our nation.
Roxanne Troup: I was actually working on an educational piece about the history of fireworks when the idea for this story came to me. I’d been contracted to write a middle-grade testing passage and needed a first-person narrative opener. I remembered my first fireworks display—the sharp scent, the noise (and then silence) of the crowd, the deep-in-your-chest report as the first firework explodes, the magic of moments-there colored lights—and drafted that experience. It was spare and emotive, and I couldn’t bring myself to give it up. So I set it aside and wrote something different for my contracted piece. Eventually, I came back to that drafted experience and built a picture book around it.
GRWR: It would be so helpful for teachers reading this to know how the book can be used outside of the holiday, extended to the classroom, etc. (especially this year). Is there an educator’s guide to accompany the picture book?
RT: There will be! I’m actually in the process of creating the educators’ guide right now (as well as fun craft activities).
GRWR: What was your reaction when you saw the art for the book, and do you have a particular favorite spread?
RT: Seeing the art is always my favorite part of the book-making process! But I was charmed by Jen’s art the moment my AW editor told me her name. Her kid-centric vignettes are so relatable; I love the way she incorporates light into every scene.
I think my favorite spread is the firework finale. You have to turn the book to see it, and it takes me back to that moment of “inspiration” when I wrote about my childhood experience with fireworks.
GRWR: What are some of your upcoming promotional plans for Happy Birthday, America!? Will that include a blog tour or a local book launch?
RT: We just learned that Albert Whitman is partnering with America250 to promote HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!. I’m not yet sure what all that will mean, but we are looking forward to it!
I do have a blog tour scheduled and am currently reaching out to local venues about summer programming. It’s going to be fun!
GRWR: What do you and your family love to do when celebrating the holiday?
RT: In the semi-arid mountains where I live, personal firework use is often restricted, but our municipality always has a lovely show with live music. So we usually spend the evening with friends, then sit on the front lawn and watch the show.
INTERVIEW WITH ILLUSTRATOR JENNIFER DOEHRING:
GoodReadsWithRonna: Jen, can you please tell us about how you created the artwork? Do you work digitally, or do you have a unique approach to illustration?
Jen Doehring: With every project I take on, the first step in the process is research. Hours of research! I compile a file of images that relate to the subject of the book. In the case of Happy Birthday, America! I looked at a ton of summer scenes, park scenes, picnics, fireworks, crowds, families, flags, etc. Then I gather inspiration for colors and camera angles. Because I need to not only understand the subject, but design the art around the text. How to accurately portray the text on each spread is important.
Will this scene be a full spread or a spot? Will the camera angle be low or high? Will the main character be small or up close? All of these things are carefully thought out and applied in the thumbnails. I illustrate digitally in Procreate and work in layers starting with a pencil sketch as a first layer and then adding background and color on separate layers.
GRWR: Did you encounter any hiccups along the way? Was there an illustration that you found most challenging to complete?
JD: I think the biggest challenge on this project was the limited time frame. I have another picture book coming out this year and that time frame was much longer. There I had six months to complete sketches and another six months for final art. With Happy Birthday, America! I only had three for everything—from character sketches to final art! Luckily, the process of creating thumbnails flowed easily, and I very much enjoyed the sketching process. The real challenge so far has been adding color. Because of the full spreads and crowds of people, a ton of detail had to be added at this stage. The illustration that took the longest was the second spread when everyone is at the park—so many details!
GRWR: You definitely have a flair for creating scenes with light. How did you balance the light/dark of the fireworks scenes?
JD: Thank you! Roxanne’s simple and beautiful language, along with the firework scenes, immediately hooked me. I was thrilled to be able to play with light/dark and could envision just how the firework pages would look. My favorite thing to illustrate is the unique use of light, and I found this story really let me show off in that area which was super exciting! Imagining how firework light plays off of the skin and clothing was a fun challenge, and if you look closely you can see oranges, pinks, reds, and even purples on the characters and backgrounds during these scenes.
GRWR: Please tell us how you chose to focus on the elements you convey in the picture book’s memory scene at the end that highlights some of America’s symbols … where did the idea come from, as it isn’t depicted in the main text.
JD: Before starting to work on the thumbnails, Rick [the art director] and I talked about a few possibilities for this spread. We brainstormed and decided it might be nice to have a memory scene depicting some elements that show what it means to celebrate America’s freedom. Once we settled on that idea, I ran with it, and the layout for this scene made sense considering the main character is already in bed and getting sleepy. I thought it would be nice to have it all swirl together in a dream-like state to give the spread a magical, whimsical feeling.
GRWR: What is your favorite way to celebrate Independence Day?
JD: I love going out on a boat with family and friends to enjoy this hot day on the water. It’s just the best!
THANK YOU!
My huge thanks go out to Roxanne and Jen for sharing their insights about the creation of Happy Birthday, America! I hope you’ll preorder a copy today to share with kids this May to get in the holiday mood as July 4th approaches.
PURCHASE OPTIONS:
(local) The Bookies – Denver https://thebookies.com/item/kMbJHuHIpylkyECUZgW_Qg
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/happy-birthday-america/d25854462c833c5d?ean=9780807531778&next=t&
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Birthday-America-Roxanne-Troup/dp/0807531774
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/happy-birthday-america-roxanne-troup/1149434594
Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Happy-Birthday-America/Roxanne-Troup/9780807531778
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Happy-Birthday-America-Paperback-9780807531778/19596670059
In bulk: Bulk Bookstore https://bulkbookstore.com/happy-birthday-america-9780807531778
ROXANNE’S BIO:
Award-winning children’s author Roxanne Troup writes kids’ books that celebrate wonder and can be used in the classroom. Roxanne lives in the mountains of Colorado and enjoys hiking with her family and exploring our amazing world through stories. Her favorite way to celebrate special occasions is with fireworks and a new picture book.
X: @RoxanneTroup
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/roxannetroup.bsky.social
Facebook: @RoxanneTroup
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxanne-troup/
JENNIFER’S BIO:
Jennifer Doehring is the author and illustrator of The Wanderer’s Journal series, a group of illustrated guided hiking journals, and an illustrator of children’s picture books. She received a fine art degree from the University of California, Irvine, and owns an art studio called Palette Passions, where she teaches painting and drawing. In her spare time, Jennifer loves to backcountry camp and gathers most of her creative inspiration from nature. She lives in Southern California with her husband and their English bulldog, Snickers.
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- Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferdoehringbooks *main
X: @JenDoehring // Jennifer Doehring Books
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jenniferdoehring.bsky.social
