Children's Book
Date Published: March 28, 2023
Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.
Children learn about the seasons and weather through the diversity of a year, joyfully encountering birds and butterflies, adventuring at beaches, jumping in colorful leaf piles, and dashing through the whitest winter snow.
Interview with RAVEN HOWELL
How many books have you written, and which is your favorite?
Hi Nancy!
I’ve been writing professionally for the children’s community for three decades and have had over twenty picture books in circulation.
Several of my books are children’s picture poetry collections. From those, one of my favorites is The 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes. The artwork is wonderfully unique and whimsical, and the poems are written to shine a little joy for those, both young and old, who feel the world turning topsy-turvy!
But my picture book, titled Seasons, is the go-to story I enjoy sharing with children. It takes the reader from season to season, exploring various outdoor activities for kids, and the naturally occurring changes in landscape and environment.
Are you planning a sequel?
Seasons is written as a stand-alone. I do have two picture poetry books, Shimmer/Songs of Night and Glimmer/Sing of Sun that were written maybe less in a sequel format, but more as companion books. One is a compilation of verse about nighttime and evening encounters. Glimmer is the opposite. The poetry in Glimmer/Sing of Sun is sunny and written about things that are light and bright.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I can’t say I initiate a book or flush out a book idea based on creating a “series” or making a book-to-book connection. When I’ve written a story, I can then ask, is it conducive to a follow up? For instance, I have an early reader being released this summer, The Charms of U.S. Farms, involving a class taking a school trip to farmland to learn about crops and cattle and where we get our food from. It was only after it was finished that both the illustrator and I thought the book would work perfectly as a springboard for other adventures and school trips the classroom could take.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Seasons was actually originally titled Greetings! It sold well, and when my contract was up, I was thrilled to sign with Jan-Carol Publishing to reignite our rhyming book’s journey around the year. We updated it and renamed it.
How long did it take you to write this book?
I worked on perfecting the rhyme and cadence for many months. I think including revisions, it probably took me about a year to be completely comfortable with the text. Something not always taken into consideration is that with picture books, especially those with very little text, every single word is so important, and much time is spent contemplating the smallest nuances.
What does the title mean?
The title of our book is self-explanatory. After MUCH deliberation, we decided it should be simple, clear, and exact about what a parent and child will find inside. With the addition of illustrator Ann Pilicer’s unique artwork, I’m so grateful for its standing out in the category of kids’ books about seasons and weather.
What did you learn when writing the book?
I’ll take your question in another direction. On my recent author visits to schools and library events, children have delighted me with recollections of their favorite seasonal activities, and by far, preschoolers and young elementary aged students love summertime the best. That’s something fun I learned from the book readers themselves!
What surprised you the most?
I’m happily surprised that Seasons is popular in the “Children’s Weather” category because I set out writing about seasonal changes and to inspire children to interact with winter, spring, summer, and fall. I hadn’t taken into account that weather is a factor as well, and with the present emphasis on teaching our youngest students about our planet and environmental shifts, weather is a popular subject, and an angle to our book.
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
Well, I admit -yes! Even in the genres I write for, I have a book titled Finding Joy that involves a family’s beloved dog’s death. Although any pet loss can be tragic, Finding Joy is a children’s book, and there’s a happy ending to the story when a stray cat is adopted! The book includes several terrific resources to help families and children cope with grief.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
Oh, that’s easy! I turn to that whimsical spirit within my heart, and she takes me where I need to go.
About the Author
Raven Howell has written over twenty traditionally published books for children. She has won several awards such as Creative Child Magazine’s Best Children’s Book of the Year, Mom’s Choice Award, The Moonbeam, The Pinnacle, BookFest Award, NYC Big Book Award, Little Peeps, and Excellence in Children’s Literature.
Raven is creative & publishing advisor for Red Clover Reader, poetry director for the children’s anthology, Monster Magnificent, and writes “The Book Bug” column for Story Monsters Ink magazine. She is the director of arts & crafts for the Kids Corner. Her poems are found in children’s magazines such as Ladybug, Spider, Highlights for Children, Humpty Dumpty, The School Magazine, and Hello Magazine. She is a collaborating author for Reading is Fundamental SoCal. Raven writes preschool children’s story books for ReadingGate.
Contact Links
Purchase Links
1 comments:
Thanks for the wonderful interview! I had fun! Sending warmest wishes....
Post a Comment