So happy to have you, here on my blog, Jen!

Thanks for inviting me, Dionna!

First question for you. How did you find your way to becoming a picture-book writer?

As a selectively mute child, I preferred reading and writing to speaking, so it was natural for me to become a writer. My interest in books led me to get a doctorate in English and to become a tenured English professor at Norfolk State University. When I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in my late thirties, my writing became a mission to advocate for the autistic community. I began to write essays for publications like the New York Times and the Washington Post.

In 2017, one of my online writer friends, Rina Mae Acosta, introduced me to an illustrator, Joanne Lew-Vriethoff, who told editors at Albert Whitman about my work. They asked me if I would be interested in writing a picture book about sensory issues with autism. After a few revisions, they made an offer on the book, and Joanne ended up illustrating it! 

That's awesome! What's your debut picture book about?

TOO STICKY! SENSORY ISSUES WITH AUTISM is the story of an autistic girl named Holly who has a fear of sticky hands. She’s anxious about slime-day at school. But with the help of her family, teacher, and classmates, Holly gives slime a try. TOO STICKY! is based on my own and my daughter’s experiences living with autism and sensory issues. The fear of sticky hands is actually more of a sensory issue for me than my daughter. My daughter is much more willing to play with slime or playdough than I ever was.

What inspired you to write it?

I wrote TOO STICKY! because I wanted my kids to see themselves in a picture book. Most picture books that address autism aren’t written from the point of view of an autistic character. I named three characters in TOO STICKY! after my kids, so they could really picture themselves in the story. Watching them giggle when we read the F&G together for the first time is a moment I will never forget.

As you did your research for your book, did you learn something new?

For accuracy, I researched the science of slime. The back matter in TOO STICKY! includes a slime recipe. I had also interviewed autism researchers from around the world, and developed a special interest in the gender differences with autism. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every four boys diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, only one girl is diagnosed.

An editor at Albert Whitman read my first essay for the New York Times, “What a Muppet with Autism Means to My Family,” which focuses on Sesame Street’s autistic Muppet, Julia.  She then asked me to write TOO STICKY! with an autistic girl as the main character.

In my most recent essay for the New York Times, “My Daughter and I Were Diagnosed with Autism on the Same Day,” I wrote about autistic females who are often overlooked for an autism diagnosis, including me and my daughter. When we were diagnosed, she was two and I was thirty-nine. All of the other children’s books I’ve drafted so far have autistic girls as the main characters to raise awareness and acceptance, especially for autistic females.

Why do you hope children will read your book?

I hope autistic kids will read TOO STICKY! so they see a character that reflects their own life experiences. My book is not a book about autism; it’s a book about a girl who happens to be autistic. She goes about her everyday life. She has pancakes with her family for breakfast. She interacts with her classmates at school. She loves science. But she experiences the world through an autistic lens. Her autism is part of her identity.

I also hope that other kids who read TOO STICKY! will have a better understanding of autism and will be more accepting of differences. Just as preschool kids watching Sesame Street find Julia to be a likable character, I want kids reading TOO STICKY! to root for Holly.

Your book, I know, will be a winner not only with parents and educators of autistic children the world over, but with those kids like Holly who might have a challenge when stickiness gets on their hands. Thanks so much for sharing your journey, Jen! It is truly inspiring.

You are more than welcome. 

Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism
written by Jen Malia and illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff is about Holly, who loves doing experiments and learning new things in science class! But when she finds out the next experiment is making slime, she’s worried. Slime is made with glue, and glue is sticky. Holly has sensory issues because of her autism and doesn’t like anything sticky! With help from family and her teacher, Holly receives the accommodations and encouragement she needs to give slime a try.
Released by Albert Whitman & Company, April 2020

                         “Charming, inclusive, and grounded in real-life experiences.” –Kirkus
                                                           Purchase your copy, HERE.

Be honest, did you like my book ORCAS and would you change anything about it? 

T.A.: I liked how the book was divided into different chapters about different subjects. I would change the cover picture to an orca spyhopping or swimming with its pod underwater.

K.A.: I liked the picture of the dead killer whale on the beach because it looks cool.

L.A.: I liked that it has parts about killing stuff.

​Why do you think your mom has a cool job?
​
T.A.: Because she gets to go on big ships that have bunk beds.

K.A.: She gets to see killer whales jump.

L.A.: She gets to do stuff that other people don't get to do.

What do you love about orcas?

​T.A.: I like that they do really cool jumps and tricks.

K.A.: They do jumps out of the water.

L.A.: I like that they are really fast and they can eat baby blue whales.

​Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me! It means a lot.

Welcome, Dawn! Thanks for taking the time to share a little about your  important work.

No problem, Dionna. Happy to be here.

So, at what point in your life did you decide to become a cetologist (a scientist who studies whales)?

​I have been interested in dolphins since I was about 8 or 9 years old. I initially wanted to study behavior but realized during my senior year of undergrad that I should probably study physiology. An interesting fact is that studying the physiology of wild, free-ranging whales and dolphins is very difficult to do since they are in the water their entire lives. I studied thermoregulation and diving physiology of trained bottlenose dolphins in the Bahamas for my master's degree, but switched to studying wild northern elephant seal fasting physiology in California for my PhD degree because of how much easier they are to study since they haul out on the beach for long periods of time. I also studied Steller sea lions in Alaska for my post-doctoral work and then returned to studying cetaceans when I landed my current job conducting research on killer whales. 

Any particular childhood experience cement your love for orcas?

I really liked bottlenose dolphins when I was younger. This was based on marine life shows and documentaries I saw on TV and learning about the plight of dolphins and their interaction with the tuna fishery. I was impressed by the size of killer whales when I first saw one at SeaWorld San Diego during a trip I took while in college.

During my later years in college, I interned at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, first on the fish side and then with the dolphins and seals. Before that time, I had considered becoming a marine mammal trainer. That second internship with the marine mammals made me realize that I preferred studying them, rather than training them. I was intrigued by the challenge of trying to figure out how they, as warm-blooded, air-breathing mammals, adapted so well to their aqueous environment. I also wanted to conduct research that would be important for conservation.​

As an orca scientist, what type of research do you do, and why do you love it?

I classify myself as a physiological ecologist. That is someone who studies how an organism's physiology allows it to function in its environment and how the organism's environment affects the organism's physiology.  Because of this, I work on many different kinds of research projects, but most focus on quantifying and understanding the factors that impact the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population. I have conducted studies investigating killer whale behavioral responses to vessels; the energetic cost of dolphin and killer whale responses to vessels (increased swimming speed, performing surface active behaviors, and producing/increasing loudness of whistles and clicks); how body morphometric measurements (think BMI in humans) reflect killer whale condition and health; how much food killer whales need to eat; and how female killer whales pass contaminants to their calves during pregnancy and through their milk during the nursing period. Many physiological studies are impossible to conduct on wild killer whales, due to accessibility issues, so I have relied on studying trained bottlenose dolphins and killer whales for several of the research projects listed.

What type of subjects would you say kids interested in becoming orca scientists should study even before they enter college? In your opinion, what else might they do while they're young to see if it's a suitable job for them?

​Even though I am a person that studies cetaceans, I have a very broad background in science. Science and math classes, including calculus, are important! That was also evident in college. I had to take physics, biology, physiology, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, genetics, statistics, and other science classes in college. Things have changed a lot since I was in school, but besides realizing if you like/can handle math and science classes in middle school and high school, there isn't much more a younger person can do, unless there is an internship opportunity. Those may be limited to older students, though.

​What lesson(s) on living a good life has orca behavior taught you?

Their social structure is amazing. Family is very important, and they help their kin. They share food with each other, babysit each other's calves, and help other individuals in need. It is a beautiful, good way to live.

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Dawn. I so appreciate it! Stay well, you and yours.

My pleasure, and you too!

Written by award-winning children's book author and poet, Jacqueline Jules,  and illustrated by award-winning illustrator, Iris Deppe, each free-verse poem in Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence  paints a picture of young people persevering while doing what children do best--playing.

​One poem shows a girl and boy wanting to play tennis, but alas, they must wait beneath the lights of night for their turn on the courts. In another poem, a girl is called a name that makes fun of her size. Yet, she swims majestically proud despite it. In another poem, a girl joins her Nana and Pops on a slow pace hike along a trail lined with "sycamore trees wrapped in mottled bark."

No matter the mode of play, no matter the season, no matter the child's gender, every poem in Tag Your Dreams shows a young person learning persistence and patience while perspiring.

One boy, while confidently riding his bike, swerves to keep hitting a squirrel: "Boom! Blood on my lip. Bent wheel. Broken finger. But no cast. No sling." Soon, he's pedaling again. A girl up to bat recalls how her past indecisiveness about whether or not to swing ended up poorly for her. This time, she decides to keep her eye on the ball and "send fear sailing over the fence."​
​
Parents, physical education instructors, and teachers alike will enjoy having this collection of poems on hand, for each poem highlights the internal voice of a child learning persistence while engaging in play. Young readers will also enjoy Iris Deppe's simple illustrative style. Each image shows all kinds of children playing together--whether one participant is sitting in a wheelchair or leaning on crutches, or another is blond-haired or brown-skinned, or whether the player is female or male. That in itself is tagging a dream.  

​Released by Albert Whitman & Company April 1, 2020. Order your copy HERE.

So excited to have you here, Iris, and to be celebrating the release of Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence--written by Jacqueline Jules and illustrated by you!

​The pleasure is all mine, Dionna.

Do tell. What was your process for inspiration once you read Jacqueline Jules's poems in Tag Your Dreams?

First, I tried to remember the feeling I used to get when I did something active as a kid--the fun I had and the friends I made while doing sports. Being active wasn’t just the thrill of learning a new skill, it was also a way of learning to be a team player, plus realizing what your own body is capable of! Besides reminiscing, I also re-watched (parts of) some sports-related movies from the 90s, which I loved as a kid. "The Mighty Ducks", "Sidekicks" and "The Sandlot’"are just a few that came to mind. I would say these movies inspired me visually during the process of this book. 

​Why did you choose such an airy, light color pallet when illustrating this book, and what medium did you use?

Jacqueline’s words seemed very light and sometimes dreamy to me, so I wanted the drawings to translate that atmosphere, almost like a breath of fresh air for the readers. So light, airy colours seemed appropriate, especially since many of the illustrations take place outside. I work with mixed media. I draw all the figures and elements by hand, scan them in and afterwards colour them in and place them in compositions with my computer.

​Why did you decided to portray the children in Tag Your Dreams as coming from all walks of life? 

I think it’s important that every kid can relate to the characters in these poems. Playing and being active is a trait all kids in the world possess. It’s a universal thing, so I wanted all these kids to be represented in this book. 

Why did you enjoy illustrating this book?

I really enjoyed diving into my childhood for this project and getting acquainted with sports I’d never heard of before, like flag football, kickball or foursquare. Now I feel very up to date when it comes to sports and less of an old fart--haha. 
​
Why do you hope children read and enjoy the illustrations in this book?

I hope they will feel inspired to pick up sports and just get active and ambitious and most of all, have a lot of fun doing it!

​​Images used with permission from Albert Whitman & Company

I am honored and delighted to be hosting today's blog party to celebrate the release of Jacqueline Jules's latest book for children, Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence. Welcome, Jacqueline!

​It's great to be here, Dionna!

Do tell. ​Why did you decide to write a collection of poems featuring outdoor play for young readers? 

Sports and games are filled with metaphors for courage, mindfulness, and self-discovery. Volleyball is one example. The rules say double hits are against the rules. That means the game needs a team effort, rather than an individual star to win. An outfielder who is running fast to catch a ball must still pay attention to the fence behind the field. Isn’t that a perfect metaphor for why we need to slow down sometimes to reach a goal? I love to walk in my neighborhood. Sometimes I will go outside, even when rain clouds are near, because it is exhilarating to enjoy the moment, regardless of what the future may bring. Writing Tag Your Dreams gave me the opportunity to explore these and many other rich metaphors.

So true, Jacqueline! Some of your poems include themes like getting back up, accepting a loss, and dealing with frustration. Why do you feel themes like those are important to address with young ones? 

Many of these poems are pep talks to myself. I wrote the title poem, “Tag Your Dreams,” when I was feeling discouraged about my writing career. Writing the poem bolstered my determination to keep writing and pursuing my own dreams. I have always been drawn to stories of perseverance. The poem “Pedaling to Piano” is about a boy who learns he can heal and feel stronger after a bad fall on his bike. “Knocking Down Ghosts” is about facing one’s fear of failure in a bowling alley. “Last Pick for Kickball” shares the emotions of a girl who surprises her peers by scoring. Each poem in Tag Your Dreams uses a sport or activity as a vehicle of self-discovery.

Life is filled with setback and loss. The ability to stand up after being knocked flat as the poem “Tae Kwon Do” describes is essential to a successful and meaningful life.   

I noticed that all of your poems in Tag Your Dreams are free verse. As a poet, do you prefer writing free verse poetry as compared to writing in rhyme or following the structure of other forms of poetry? 

While I occasionally write in rhyme, I prefer free verse. Free verse is all about economy of language. It is an exciting challenge to convey meaning compactly, with only a few words. In my writing, I strive to pack each word with power. I also love alliteration. Using the same syllable in close succession creates a lovely musical sound. 

When I teach poetry workshops to young people, I encourage students to think about what they want to say first before they try to rhyme. Sometimes students choose words because they rhyme, not because it is what they want to say. Self-expression should always come first when you write a poem.

​How long did it take for you to complete this collection of poems?

I began Tag Your Dreams over twenty years ago, when my sons were still living at home. Both of my boys loved sports. Our family life revolved around the attendance of youth baseball and basketball games. I also had partial season tickets to the Capitals to watch NHL hockey with my youngest son. As I attended game after game, I gained an appreciation for the courage athletes display in the face of challenges, particularly young athletes. It is not easy to go back to the plate after striking out, but that is what baseball players must do. Watching this inspired me to write the poem, “At Bat,” in the mid 1990’s. 

Sometime later, I was watching the Winter Olympics and was blown away by a male skater who rose after a fall as if the question of getting up never existed at all. That inspiring moment became the poem, “Olympic Skater.” Working out at the gym one evening, I had a sudden memory of learning to ski as an adult, prompting me to write “Graceless Girl Skis Down Slope.” Little by little, my poems about sports and being active accumulated. I published several in different magazines for young people which reverted the rights to me after publication. Years later, I realized I had enough poems for a poetry collection. I submitted twenty-two to my wonderful editor, Andrea Hall at Albert Whitman. She asked me to write nine more poems to fill out the collection. These additional poems gave me the opportunity to consider the metaphors in games I played as a child and to talk about my current favorite sport—hiking.          

What do you appreciate about Iris Deppe's illustrations, which accompany your poems? 

I love the joy in the illustrations. The faces of the young people in Tag Your Dreams are very expressive. And I love how the young people shown on these pages represent the beautiful diversity in our vast world.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Tami, and for sharing a little bit about themed illustrating prompts that kidlit artists might share on their social media accounts. 

Happy to share, though I must confess, I really feel like quite a failure at daily prompt illustrator challenges. 

Your work is no fail in my book! So exactly, what are these illustrator challenges and how many have you tried out?

I’m referring specifically to thematic art challenges that encourage participants to create and post to social media a prompted artwork each day of the month using the hashtag of the challenge. I began a great number of these hashtagged art challenges with high expectations but never seemed to make it past the first ten days. I could blame my failure on being a mom and a freelancer. As much as I’d love to spend endless hours at my drawing table, I still have to pay the bills, cook meals, feed hungry felines. 

Life is busy.

True this. So why bother doing these challenges at all? Why not find something else to put your creative energy into, especially if you feel like you fail at completing them?

Those short bursts of concentrated work I've done over the past five years always marked some big turning points in my artistic growth.  For example, attempting #kidlitart28 in February of 2019 helped me polish my digital techniques. The short timeframe I had to work within to post an illustration every day forced me to be very deliberate with the tools I used. 

My #inktober artwork a few years back sparked a story about some raccoons that eventually morphed into a character-driven picture-book dummy. Last year’s #inktober helped me flesh out the two main characters in a middle-grade historical mystery also under development. In addition, quite a few challenge pieces eventually made it into my portfolio after I further realized the artwork. A couple designs even became promotional postcards.

What advice do you have for kidlit illustrators out there who might be on the fence about doing these art challenges?

On one hand, challenges can be a great way to exercise and grow your skills and creativity. They provide an opportunity to experiment and a chance to connect with a community of like-minded artists. If you’ve never tried a daily art challenge, I recommend you give it a shot. Even if you manage only ten posts, you’ll still see benefits. On the other hand,  if doing a challenge is not enjoyable or is too stressful, then don't do it. You have to do what works for you as an artist.

Any tips for those giving a challenge a whirl?

I have five.

1. Polish your illustration technique.

Whether you use a dip pen or a stylus, you can use a daily challenge to perfect your mark-making. The repetition of drawing daily helps hone skills and build muscle memory.

2. Get familiar with drawing/painting a particular subject. 

One of the best ways to improve at drawing a thing is to actually draw that thing...a lot! For example, if you have trouble drawing dogs, try doing a dog a day for #doggust during the month of August. Or for #inktober, choose your own topic, like houses, vehicles, or marsupials during the month of October. The sky’s the limit and I guarantee you’ll feel more confident drawing the thing once you’ve churned out thirty of them.

3. Make your own rules. 

If daily posting makes you cringe, set an every-other-day goal or post once a week. No one will judge you. I promise. Folks will be just as happy to see what you’re sharing weekly. You can even challenge yourself to do one fully realized portfolio piece in the theme of that challenge by the end of the month. 

4. Use the challenge to develop a story. 

Imagine the possibilities of writing a picture book centered on the challenge theme or your own chosen theme. Some artists will use prompts to develop a running, daily narrative tale, which builds suspense and brings viewers back to their social media page.

5. Do the heavy lifting ahead of time. 

There’s nothing to prevent you from storyboarding and sketching ideas for a challenge before the challenge month begins. 

Good tips! Would you please share some monthly challenges that are out there for anyone to try?

Sure! Here are ten:

For February, post what you love: #kidlitart28 
For March, post robots: #marchofrobots 
For May, post mermaids: #MerMay
For June, post unicorns: #junicorn
For August, post dogs and/or dragons: #doggust and #smaugust
For September, post your sketches: #sketchtember
For October, post inked sketches: #inktober 
For November, post fictional maps: #mapvember
For December, post anything you draw: #drawcember

Thanks for those, Tami, and for stopping by to share your not-fails with us!

My pleasure.

Tami Traylor is an illustrator and graphic designer living in Chesterfield, Virginia, with three cats, two kids, and one husband.  She's been drawing and telling stories since she could hold a pencil. Her love of books and drawing goes back to her earliest memories. Those early books love drove her to pursue the study of design and illustration in college. She's been a member of SCBWI since 2005, and the graphic designer of  the Highlighter,  the quarterly newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic regional of SCBWI, since 2007. She’s the illustrator of THE 12 DANCING PRINCESSES by Carly Graf (ustyme, 2015). Check out  Tami's art-themed posts on Instagram @traylorillo or on her website traylorillo.com. 

Forts. I can still see the pattern of my mother's green square sofa cushions that made for a perfectly-sized fort with a roof that fit both myself and my little sister. Then there was the one that Trudy and I built in the woods. Little did we know that we were using poison ivy vines to bind together the branches! (We never revisited it, but it was pretty sweet to look at from the distance.) I also remember how many contented hours my daughter and son had in the small patch of woods in front of our house as they used whatever materials were on hand and designed and redesigned their fort, no matter the weather.
What better activity to capsulize the joy of childhood than building a makeshift fort. And Megan Wagner Lloyd celebrates that simple joy in her picture book illustrated by Abigail Halpin, Fort Building Time. 

In the winter, mitten-wearing kids join forces to build a snow fort. In the spring, despite the rain, they build a fort among the trees. In the summer, a driftwood fort makes for a perfect place to dry their beach towels. And in the fall, they go all out with the most-inspiring fort a group of kids could dream up.

(c) Cynthia Cliff, cynthiacliff.com

How did you find your way into kidlit art and what do you love about it?
 
I still vividly remember the books I had when I was a very young child—the smell of them, the sound of the turning pages. I remember the feeling of wonder and excitement I got when books were being read to me, and can still clearly see the illustrations all these years later. Those stories allowed me to escape from my small-town farming community and gave me a bit of a glimpse of the big world out there. Picture book illustrations made a huge positive impression on me, and now as an illustrator I love that I can give that same kind of joy to a child.
 
Tell us a little about your process.
 
I do a ton of research and look at lots of photos (I become a bit obsessed), and absorb it all. Then I put it all away so that my art can be original and stylized, and not a copy of what I’ve seen. For portraits, I’ll look at many photos of the real person and draw a composite so that I get a new and unique image and not a copy of an existing image. For character development, I find it’s helpful for me to identify a real person that I can use as inspiration for the character. Then I start to draw, doodle, sketch, and play until I develop my own characters that feel right. I work in colored pencil, pen and gouache, as well as in Photoshop and recently, in Procreate on the iPad.
 
Why do you love illustrating historical moments and people of historical note?
 
I grew up in an historical small town where very little changed from generation to generation. I could reach out and touch the past every day—the old well pump in the yard, the cannonball in the barn wall, the prerevolutionary war stone shops in my village. I found Civil War buttons and arrow heads in my backyard and I wondered what life had been like for the people that last held them. When I was a child, a fun family outing was going to a historical site, or listening to an elder share some folklore. I developed a huge appreciation for history and it still fascinates me today. I suppose if I wasn’t an artist of some kind, I’d be involved in history in some way—three of my family members are archaeologists. My goal is to bring history to life for children so they can “see” history and appreciate all that can be learned from it.

What type of details do you look for when doing your research, and how does that research inform your illustrations?
 
I love to find out how people lived their days—what they wore, ate, listened too, and read. This research informs my art and helps me connect to the subject matter, be excited about it, and find the right vibe for the time period. For instance, when researching for the illustrations I did for the Honest History magazine issue about Tesla and Edison, I looked at many of their personal items, and read about their habits and their communication with each other. I saw that Tesla was a very dapper fellow and owned many gloves to match his custom-made suits, and I noticed a pair of chartreuse gloves in a museum collection about him. To me this color signified his “outside the box” creative thinking, and symbolized how unique he was. So, I used this color for his suit in the whole issue. The color made him stand out on the page, apart from all of the brown and gray dressed folks that were typical of the time period.
 
What are you working on now and why are you enjoying it?
 
Right now, I’m writing and illustrating a graphic-novel style book, tentatively called The Night People of Owl Island. This is a mystery book for young readers about a family on vacation and it will contain lots of fun details like a map, some facts about owls, some folk lore, and some “mysterious” people. I’m still in the very beginning stages and am working out the story and starting some character development. I really love organizing and planning a large effort like this one. It will involve the perfect mix of history and nature, and I wake up every day excited to work on it.