Picture Book Cover Reveal and Interviews – Goodnight Sounds
COVER REVEAL + INTERVIEWS
WITH MICHELLE JING CHAN + DEBBIE S. MILLER
GOODNIGHT SOUNDS
Written by Debbie S. Miller
Illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan
(Bloomsbury Children’s Books; $18.99, Ages 2-5)
Available for preorder now!
Goodreadswithronna.com is delighted to host an author and illustrator interview and also share the cover reveal for Goodnight Sounds. Read more below.
INTERVIEW WITH DEBBIE S. MILLER:
Michelle Jing Chan: Debbie, what was your inspiration to write this book?
Debbie S. Miller: Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, the harmonic sound of foghorns often soothed me to sleep. This comforting foghorn lullaby assured me that all was safe and well. The foghorns still sound beneath the Golden Gate Bridge as the fog rolls in. In thinking about this, I wondered about other sounds that might help children fall asleep and give them comfort. Every child grows up in a surrounding with its own soundscape. While I couldn’t identify all the comforting sounds in the world, I set out to create a story that would represent many of them, with different places and children hearing them.
MJC: What was your process for writing Goodnight Sounds?
DSM: In writing this book, I initially made a list of many environments and tried to think of the diversity of sounds associated with each place that I had experienced. Crashing waves on a beach, chirping crickets, wind whistling through the trees, the steady clicking of an old clock, or the sound of a train rolling down the tracks. I included both urban and rural sounds to be as inclusive as possible. Then I tried to write lyrical words to complement each sound. The goal was to create descriptive sentences and sound words that would flow from page to page, with the hope that every young reader would identify with the sounds of comfort to help them fall asleep.
MJC: Can you please share your thoughts about when you first saw the cover? And what your favorite part of it is?
DSM: When I first saw the cover, it took my breath away! Then I turned the pages and there were constant ohs and ahs and WOWS! Michelle’s art is captivating and beautiful. She also came up with a brilliant idea of showing two scenes for each place in the story — outdoors and indoors, and the sounds associated with these two listening perspectives. What a fabulous idea! The art designers did a great job on the cover, with the text, layout, and choice of font, and I’m incredibly excited about the whole book and how it came together through a wonderful, creative collaboration, with editor Megan Abbate at the helm.
INTERVIEW WITH MICHELLE JING CHAN:
DSM: Michelle, what made you say yes to the manuscript?
MJC: Reading bedtime stories is a tradition in my family! I grew up falling asleep to my parents reading my favorite books, and now as an adult, I love reading bedtime stories to my baby cousins when I visit them. When I first saw Debbie’s manuscript, her beautiful writing and soothing, lullaby-like descriptions made this feel like an instant bedtime classic that I would read to my cousins. I also loved that the manuscript showcases all sorts of different locations because landscapes are my favorite thing to illustrate. Debbie has a deep connection to nature as anyone can see from her amazing body of work, and this shone through in the manuscript.
DSM: Can you share your cover illustrating process?
MJC: I started with some sketch ideas that incorporated a few different elements from various nighttime scenes in the book. Initially, I provided sketches for covers featuring an A-frame cabin in the Catskills, a lighthouse in Maine, the mountains of Alaska and Colorado, and the rocky shores of the Pacific Northwest. My amazing editor Megan Abbate and art director Jeanette Levy provided feedback on which scene was their favorite.
The two of them and the rest of the team at Bloomsbury liked the last option best, but wanted to rearrange the van to make more room for the title text. They also wanted to include some elements from the other options like the owl, river, and full moon.
Once the sketch was done, I colored the image!
DSM: What is your favorite part of the cover?
MJC: My favorite parts of the cover are the aspen trees and mountains in the background. I grew up in Colorado and loved including a little homage to my state and the majestic Rocky Mountains. Debbie also has a connection to these elements as her home in Alaska also has aspen trees and mountains!
PREORDER GOODNIGHT SOUNDS HERE
AUTHOR BIO:
ILLUSTRATOR BIO:
Michelle Jing Chan is a queer Chinese American author-illustrator who works on picture books and comics for kids and teens. Ever since she could hold a pencil, Michelle has loved using art to bring the daydreams in her head to life. Her work has been featured in the Wing Luke Museum, Buzzfeed, and Upworthy. When not drawing, Michelle is petting the neighborhood cats, obsessing over a book, or getting jump-scared by spooky TV shows. Visit Michelle at www.michellejingchan.com or on social media @michellieart.
