Bird Meets Worm: November 2021

Welcome to the monthly children’s book review feature here at Bird Meets Worm! My team of reviewers—Joan Charles, Laurie L. Young, Sarah Orgill—and I are thrilled to pieces to be celebrating an exciting variety of gorgeous children’s books across all genres that delight, challenge and intrigue! Here at Bird Meets Worm we believe the world is a better, happier, more empathetic place for you and me and everyone when we connect through the magic of storytelling. Look for a new review on the second Wednesday of every month.

CRANKY RIGHT NOW
Written by Julie Berry • Illustrated by Holly Hatam
Picture Book • 32 pages
Sounds True, Inc. • 2021
ISBN: 987-1-6836-4664-8

Everyone has been there: those days when nothing works and everyone is grumpy. Cranky Right Now takes us into the world of a young girl who is having a rough day. The narrator is unfairly blamed for things that just aren’t her fault, while her baby brother never gets blamed for anything. And don’t even talk about the inequity of grownups saying you can’t have a granola bar because it is too sugary, and then seeing them scarf one down 10 minutes later. Cruel injustice! No wonder our spunky, young protagonist is so cranky.

With funny illustrations and active, bold language, Cranky Right Now draws the reader into a world to which we can all relate. By then end, the narrator finds a good nap to be the perfect antidote to her crankiness, right alongside her drooling little brother. They wake up to a changed world, full of happy times and kindness.

Cranky Right Now is the perfect book for young folks—and perhaps older folks too!— who need a little help navigating those cranky days.

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Reviewed by: Sarah Orgill

Welcome to my monthly interview feature! I’m so excited to be interviewing all the fabulous artists, illustrators and designers I’ve meet over the years (both personally and virtually!) and sharing their artwork and experiences here on Bird Meets Worm. Look for a new interview on the first Tuesday of every month.

This month I'm tickled Autumn leaf pink to be chatting it up with the very talented author, illustrator and designer Renée Kurilla! I'm a total fangirl for Renée's adorable characters and energetic line work. Renée loves drawing nature, animals and working on projects that require a little bit of research! She lives just south of Boston with her family. You can view more of her fabulous artwork here.

Ooo! Love Renée's color style!

Q: You have a super duper exciting new young graphic novel titled The Flower Garden that you both wrote and illustrated releasing in spring 2022! (Congratulations!! That’s SO awesome!) Give us the full scoop on this project: inspiration & initial development through publication.

A: I do! Thank you so much, I’m very excited to share this one with the world. On the surface, this story will read like a very simple adventure tale, but it’s actually based on a lot of complicated emotions I’ve experienced with friendship through the years. I like to describe the book as My Neighbor Totoro meets Alice in Wonderland meets David the Gnome. It’s magical, but it’s also very real. Or is it? I suppose that’s up to your imagination!

The book started as a 40-page, wordless picture book and morphed into an 80-page young graphic novel. I have an amazing editor at Abrams (Courtney Code) who made the suggestion to add dialogue and helped me to better understand my characters. Also, she somehow knew I had a little bit more to say and encouraged me to add length (40 more pages!). Even now after adding pages, I know there is still more to explore. Sequel, maybe?

The Flower Garden publishes in March of 2022, and I have yet to see and hold the book in my hands. I have seen some proofs though, which is very exciting! Last year, I spent so much time combing through the text and story pacing, now I am combing through the images to make sure they translate beautifully to the printed page. It’s a long process, but so much fun…and rewarding to boot.

OMG! Don't you just love gnomes?!

Q: I absolutely adore your bright, whimsical artwork and charming characters! Dish with us a bit about your creative process—routines, rituals, tools of the trade & practical practices. Set the scene for us, too—what does your art-making space look & feel like?

A: Thank you! I always have a hard time choosing colors because I love them all, so I frequently use them all. As far as my creative routine, I think I can split my process into two categories: personal and published. I am happiest and do my best work when I have both running in tandem. It’s a metaphorical creative wave that I ride until I feel the need to catch a new one, if that makes sense.

To backtrack a bit, I need to tell you about my schedule. Most of my days are spent taking care of my daughter. I mostly work at night (give or take a few days when Zoey is with her grandparents!), so I average about 3-4 hours of work each day. It’s not a ton, but I can get so much done when I put my mind to it. In fact, I almost wonder what I used to do before I was a mom. What did I do with all that luxurious time!?

As soon as I am able to sit down at my desk, I throw my noise canceling headphones on and focus. I already had the entire day to think about what I’m working on. (Did you know that thinking is part of the equation too?) Depending on the task at hand, I work in either Photoshop on my iMac or Procreate on my iPad. Typically, I use Photoshop for final art and Procreate for sketches, but I am starting to transition a little bit because something about the iPad gives my work more of a hand-made feel that I like.

This is why it’s important to keep my personal projects going, always. I use my personal work to experiment with colors and brushes. Sometimes personal work turns into published work, but not always. I am at peace with the fact that some of my illustrations will just live on Instagram.

Bottom line is, I like to keep BUSY—I am almost useless if I’m not. I know it seems counterintuitive to the creative mindset to have a constant to-do list…but I need the accountability, I need to make sure my brain is occupied. Currently, my “published” to-do list consists of 2 picture books and 1 chapter book. My “personal” to-do list is to maintain my Etsy shop and create some new seasonal art with a limited color palette. Sometimes I use drawing prompt lists to get started with this, but usually I just draw what I feel.

My studio space is filled, floor to ceiling, with picture books, art supplies, my favorite toys, and twinkle lights; It’s fun. My husband and I share a space, he is also an illustrator! It makes for an interesting household, we have more toys and knick knacks than most people do. Our walls are blue, red, green, yellow, and purple. There’s barely an inch to hang a new picture anywhere and it’s small, but it’s cozy. We live in a wooded area, so when you look out any of our windows, you’re essentially in a tree. It’s great.

My desk is also about 5 steps from my bed, so when I’m done working for the night I don’t have far to go to flop down.

Cutest. Studio. Ever.

Q: The process of getting an original book proposal accepted and published can be long & challenging and often involves a lot of positive teamwork with one’s agent. Tell us a bit about how you and your agent work together to get projects ready for both submission and publication.

A: My super agent is Jennifer Rofé at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency (I call her that because she is an actual superhero). Jen has seen every single book I’ve attempted to create for the past 10 years. She is a tough critic and keeps me on my toes. Shortly after I signed with her, I shifted my focus from “getting a book published,” to “getting Jen to like my book.” She might not realize how much I work to impress her first, but there it is!

I think many people work differently alongside their agents, for instance, some do verbal elevator pitches before they even put a word down. I know my strength is in my art, so I always plan out my stories visually before I share anything with Jen. This strategy sometimes leads to heavy disappointment, because I do a ton of work to then learn that I may have entirely missed the mark. However, I consider it all good storytelling practice and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for those missed marks.

Jen encourages me to practice writing the same way I practice drawing. Sketching, but with words if that makes sense. Before her first maternity leave, she gave me a homework assignment to write a board book based on some drawings I did of my daughter. The day she returned to work, I emailed her a book dummy like the good student I am! This homework assignment eventually turned into my debut picture book, One Springy, Singy Day. I wouldn’t have had that push to make it without her guidance. (*This is an example of personal work turned into published work!)

Bright. Fun. Adorable!

(Keeping that 10 year mark in mind… we didn’t sell my first authored-illustrated book until 2019. It took 7+ years of missed marks.)

Jen talks me off cliffs, she makes sure I get compensated for the hard work I do, she is my cheerleader, my teacher, my firewall, and my friend. This sort of relationship doesn’t happen overnight, it comes with time, patience, persistence, and diligence. I work hard to give her good material to consider, and in turn she works hard to help make sure my material is in the right hands. It’s a long, steady, road and we make certain that everything we put out there is special, genuine, and meaningful.

Q: Promoting one’s children’s books can involve an entirely different skill set than those used to write and illustrate them! What advice would you give fellow creatives about: 1) doing events, 2) promotional giveaways and 3) getting the most out of social media?

A: Ugh, promotion is so hard! I prefer to spend my time alone in the studio, headphones on, creating art in my jammies. This is not a healthy lifestyle, however, so I do have to talk to people sometimes. :)

I don’t have a ton of experience with events due to my debut publishing during the pandemic, but what I do know is that having time management skills is important. Any bookstore event, or virtual event that I have done in the past has been entirely organized by me. I have emailed local booksellers and I communicate with some of the authors of my books. For instance, this past spring, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and I offered a week's worth of virtual school visits to celebrate the publication of Chicks Rock!

When scheduling such events without a publicist, I have to think about leaving enough time to also meet deadlines. (With momming I have lots going on, too!) Then, there is the upfront preparation that goes into presentations, I can’t just wing-it. I labor over perfecting notes and slides for weeks. I also practice drawing in weird positions because kids love to watch illustrators draw, but you don’t have the luxury of hunching over a desk. You either have to stand at an easel, or hold your notepad in front of a webcam at juuust the right angle.

It’s all so gruesome, and yet I can’t wait for the roller coaster thrills of having in-person events again soon. I hope by the time The Flower Garden publishes, I’ll be able to do some.

Kitty Cat Cutie Pie!

Promotional giveaways may be the easiest thing for me. I used to do Instagram giveaways, but then I started a quarterly newsletter and subscribers are the folks who get my giveaways now. I’ll ask a silly question in the newsletter like, what’s your favorite ice cream flavor? The first two to email me get a box of books. I love doing that, it’s my way of saying thanks for following along. We are inundated with stuff to pay attention to, so it means a lot when someone takes the time to learn a little bit more about my art and such. (Like you, Jane! Thank you!)

Social media is tricky. I try to make it so that when I am on social media I am focused on creating content and engaging in conversation, rather than scrolling for hours. I do want to know what my peers, friends, and family are up to, but I try to limit it. I can tell when it’s getting out of control because my shoulders are where my butt used to be on the couch.

I had some success finding new folks though participating in drawing challenge hashtags last year. I made a series of Halloween/Fall themed art, only to discover how much people love Autumn! I eventually made a picture book about that… IT’S FALL! is the title and will be published in 2023 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. I am also selling limited edition art prints in my Etsy shop which will soon shift to a Holiday/Winter theme!

(Some people have said that I am a “seasons” artist…everything I make is seasonal. Though, One Springy, Singy Day has absolutely nothing to do with the Spring, believe it or not!)

Q: What was your most treasured picture book as a child? What is your most favorite picture book now? Why?

A: I loved the What-A-Mess series, in particular Super What-A-Mess! They were written by Frank Muir and illustrated by Joseph Wright. I have always had a fondness for underdog characters that are a little silly, oblivious, and accident prone. The main character, a disheveled Afghan Hound is supposed to be a “prince,” but he is always dirty and even has a little duck living in his fur (my favorite detail). Joseph Wright created all these little side plots in the illustrations, too, that I really enjoy. You have the main storyline, but then there are these tiny creatures going about their everyday lives in the background. So. Much. Storytelling.

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and John Klassen is probably my favorite modern picture book. I love that it’s kind of a mystery as to what “actually” happened and where Sam and Dave end up. I read this picture book to students every time I give a college level presentation because, metaphorically, it’s a great message for aspiring artists to never give up...you could be SO CLOSE to your breakthrough.

What seasonal fun! Love me some trick-or-treating and holiday baking!!

Q: Describe your most perfect day.

A: This one is both easy and hard to answer because, if I’m being completely honest, we probably will never get a day just like this. :)

My perfect day would start with getting a good night’s sleep.

My husband already made the coffee.

My daughter listens to everything I say.

My cat has not thrown up on anything in the night.

The kitchen sink is empty.

That’s a good start.

I would get to take a (long) shower and then we would all hop in the car and drive somewhere. Preferably, we would live 10 minutes from Disneyland because that is where I want to go on a whim. (We live in Massachusetts.)

We have a wonderful time meeting characters, collecting inspiration, riding rides, eating delicious food, wearing Mickey ears.

Nobody cries.

There are only smiles and songs.

In my perfect day(dream), I would also link arms with Goofy at some point and skip down Main Street.

The sun goes down, there is a light show and fireworks.

Cotton candy.

As we leave the park, I am balancing a sleeping child and heavy bags filled with new treasures in my arms.

My perfect day would consist of making memories like that. I’m crossing my fingers for a day like this in my future!

Thanks so much, Renée, for catching up with us here at Bird Meets Worm! Yay!

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving from Super Jane

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Super Star Children's Book Review: Cranky Right Now

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

FREE Miss Meow Enamel Pins

Super Star Interviews: Renée Kurilla