Megan Maynor is a former advertising copywriter and author of picture books ELLA AND PENGUIN STICK TOGETHER and ELLA AND PENGUIN: A PERFECT MATCH (coming 2017), both from HarperCollins Children’s Books. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children.
ELLA AND PENGUIN is a new picture book written by Megan Maynor, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet, published by HarperCollins Children's Books in January 2016. You can see reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.
You can find out more about Megan and her work at MeganMaynor.com and on Twitter at @megan_maynor.
Synopsis of ELLA AND PENGUIN:
Ella and Penguin want to see their new glow-in-the-dark stickers glow—but they don't want to go into the dark. (It’s so dark!) Can they see the stickers glow another way? Can they face the dark closet if they stick together?
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
I got these buttons at the gift shop in the New York Public Library:
The library itself is breathtaking with its marble staircases and wood-paneled reading rooms—all this grandeur for people to read books—for free!
The lions out front are named Patience and Fortitude.
I thought Patience and Fortitude seemed like good guiding stars while navigating the journey to publication.
I looked at these buttons A LOT while writing.
For me, Patience and Fortitude are reminders of the long game. Each day’s progress may be slight, but the only way to get there is incrementally. Likewise, there will be turbulence of all kinds, but the only way to finish is to keep working.
Megan with a copy of an advance reader's copy of ELLA AND PENGUIN STICK TOGETHER
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
If you don’t know what to write about, write about your socks. Keep going. You’ll find out what you wanted to write about.
This is advice I got from MY third grade teacher.
And it helped make me unafraid of writing, I think. Will the first thing I write be great? Probably not. And that’s fine. It’s not a big deal where you start. You just start.
When I would get an assignment as an advertising copywriter, and now, when I make up the assignment myself, I can always write something. From there, I just try to make it better and better. How could it be more interesting? More surprising? Funnier or more true? Start with socks. Go from there.
Jee reading Ella and Penguin Stick Together with his dad, Erik.
Q. What are you excited about right now?
I’m excited about seeing my book on book store shelves—and in the hands of real live kids!—for the first time. It takes a long time to make a picture book, so this story has lived in my head for years. Now it’s finally OUT THERE, in the world, with real readers.
And it has been an absolute JOY to hear from parents and teachers that their kids are connecting with the story. It’s a bit surreal, to be honest. But so thrilling.
Mackena loves that there is a narwhal in this book. I do too!
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
Barney Saltzberg is the author and illustrator of close to 50 books for children, including Beautiful Oops!, Arlo Needs Glasses, Andrew Drew and Drew, and the bestselling Touch and Feel Kisses series with over one million copies in print. Not only that, but he's also recorded four albums of music for young people (!). See the children's concert clip later in this post.
I was lucky enough to meet Barney at ALA earlier this year and more recently discovered his BEAUTIFUL OOPS!...I can't believe I missed this wonderful book before! Those of you who've seen my found object art demos can guess why I fell in love with this book. Do check out Barney's Celebrate Oops! campaign, an initiative designed to build confidence and turn accidents into teaching moments.
You can find out more about Barney and his work at his website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
Synopsis of INSIDE THIS BOOK (ARE THREE BOOKS) from Abrams:
"Inside This Book is a tribute to self-publishing in its most pure and endearing form. Three siblings create three books of their own using blank paper that they bind together (in descending sizes to match birth order). One sibling’s work inspires the next, and so on, with each book’s text and art mirroring the distinct interests and abilities of its creator. Upon completion of their works, the siblings put one book inside the other, creating a new book to be read and shared by all!"
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
I photographed an electric pencil sharpener that my picture book writing teacher extraordinaire, Barbara Bottner gave me when I was working on my very first book which she mentored me through. It mean so much that she believe in me enough to work with me above and beyond, and for her to think enough of my work to give me a pencil sharpener to encourage my drawing. I couldn’t help but add the giant pencil to the photo. It is only fitting. This was a present from my wife and children many years ago. Talk about support and encouragement to dream big! Both of these are important mementos in my studio.
When I was in elementary school, my teachers often sent me home with notes; “Your son has potential, but we don’t know what to do with him.” I am sure that if I were in school now, I would be diagnosed with a number of learning issues. Luckily, I had a teacher, Mr. Maurer, in the fifth grade. He realized I couldn’t spell, (or multiply, or conjugate, etc;) but he recognized that I was a story teller. I wrote a book that was inspired by this years ago called, (Phoebe and the Spelling Bee) Every week, the day before our spelling test, Mr. Maurer would give me the spelling list and have me make up a story on the spot, in front of the class. I never practiced. I winged it every week. I loved the challenge. Looking back at my childhood, I realize that Mr. Mauer found a way to let me shine, in an otherwise, dismal time in an academic setting. He was a truly amazing teacher.
That’s a long winded introduction to my life as an author/illustrator. I find myself standing in front of thousands of students every year as I travel around the world. It never ceases to amaze me that I am being given an opportunity to address children. When I was in school, drilling a hole in the clock with my eyes as I willed it to be 3:00 so I could go home, I never imagined that I would return to so many schools as a published author. (And, love being there!) I always make a point of saying, “For those of you wondering, if you don’t give up, it gets better! I am the poster child for tenacity.” (Then I explain what tenacity means!)
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
My advice for any writer is to be open. So many of us are certain we have the next ‘big thing’. My story has seventeen sequels. I see it as a movie. If things go right, there could even be a theme park modeled after this book. Dolls, toys, etc. SLOW DOWN. Editors are really smart. Listen to them. I have learned to ‘sleep on it’ for a night (at least) when an editor makes suggestions. This would also go for a critique group as well. Try on the suggestions and see how it feels. I also recommend reading your work out loud while you are proofing things. Also, have someone else read it out loud to you. You will have an opportunity to ‘hear’ your story in a way that is only possible when someone else reads it to you. Also, you know how to read your own stories and it is really helpful to see if the reader gets tripped up or lost or better yet, if they fall in love with your story. That will usually only happen after a million and six re-writes.
Q. What are you excited about right now?
My current book is one I published with Abrams, Appleseed Press called, Inside This Book (Are Three Books). I am a huge Emily Gravett fan and she opened my mind when it comes to the physicality of books. I had done many interactive books like Beautiful Oops and A Little Bit Of Oomph before, but I started adding flaps to some of my picture books as well. Chengdu Could Not, Would Not Fall Asleep, and Andrew Drew and Drew are all picture books with additional flaps. As a musician, I am really aware of the rhythm of a page turn so having the additional flaps in a picture book adds to the way a story unfolds. (Literally and figuratively) Inside This Book (Are Three Books) is a story about three siblings who are given three different sized blank books and how each child creates their own, individual book and what they do with them. Physically, it’s like Russian dolls, with books. I was delighted that Abrams was open to the concept of binding three sequentially smaller books inside of one book. My hope is that this book will help to inspire a whole crop of budding writers and illustrators.
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
