Happy Thursday Critters! Today, we have our second interview of the week. I’m thrilled to feature another fantastic interview with someone as talented and knowledgable about the industry as Janet Lawler. She has spent the last twenty years writing wonderful picture books, including pop-ups, non-fiction, fiction, board books and more. Mirabel’s Missing Valentines is one of my favorites! Her newest book, KINDERGARTEN HAT, illustrated by Geraldine Rodriguez, received a fantastic starred review from Kirkus earlier this year.
So without further ado, please join me in welcoming Janet Lawler to Critter Lit today!
Where do you live?
Central Connecticut.
How many years have you been in publishing?
A little over 20 years—time flies!
How did you first get published?
In 1999 I submitted my first picture book, If Kisses Were Colors, to “Submissions Editor” at Dial Books for Young Readers. I got a call, just a few weeks later, that they wanted to publish it!
Do you write full-time?
Yes.
What inspires you to create picture books?
I see inspiration all around me, every day. For example, I recently gazed out at our backyard shed and started wondering about all the critters I’ve seen take refuge under there—rabbits, woodchucks, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks. So I scribbled notes for Critter Condo, a humorous story about diverse animals cooperating while sharing close living space. Now I just have to write it!
I am also inspired by memories of my own childhood and those of my son and daughter.
What surprised you the most working as an author?
How long it takes for each step in the process of getting a picture book published. The artist for If Kisses Were Colors had another book to illustrate before mine, and so it was four long years between contract signing and publication. (It was worth the wait for Alison Jay’s wonderful art, however. Luckily, most of my other books have not taken quite as long.)
What is your favorite thing about being an author?
As an author, I have two favorite things. The first is seeing preliminary sketches that add illustration layers to my story. I am almost always surprised and delighted! The second is actually holding a copy of the published book for the first time.
What do you find difficult working as an author?
How little control I have over the many steps and stages of acquisition and publication. It helps to accept that everything takes time. I remind myself that all I can control is my own creative process.
What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?
Exercise, enjoy nature, and travel to new places.
Anything you are habitual about when it comes to creativity?
I try to cultivate awareness and presence every day. Creativity seems to flow best when I am open to whatever the moment brings. This also seems to heighten my ability to notice details that spark ideas for stories.
Can you share a positive experience you’ve had in the Kid Lit community?
My 20-year-long membership in a critique group has been incredibly meaningful and helpful on a professional and personal level. These colleagues are always there for me, providing encouragement to become a better writer and person. They are my writing family.
Recommended reading?
For aspiring picture book writers, I recommend taking a browse through current and past Caldecott Medal winners. While this honor is awarded for the illustrations, the text is usually of equally high caliber. One of my all-time favorites is Jacqueline Briggs Martin’s nonfiction picture book, Snowflake Bentley (illustrated in stunning woodcuts by Mary Azarian), about a Vermonter with a lifelong obsession for photographing snowflakes. The first sentence of the book is so beautifully constructed and evocative:
In the days
when farmers worked with ox and sled
and cut the dark with lantern light,
there lived a boy who loved snow
more than anything else in the world.
What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
This is a hard question. I always have a current “highlight” to give me hope and satisfaction. That might be an external accolade, such the starred review KINDERGARTEN HAT received from Kirkus Reviews this spring, or having a top publisher acquire a new project. But some highlights come quietly, like fan letters or e-mails that say my stories have moved a parent to tears, or made a child an eager reader, or provided a connection.
What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started writing?
To never send out a manuscript the morning after you revise it! What seems “perfect” at night never is in the morning. I now force myself to take breaks that afford fresh looks, so I can polish a project to the point where it has the best chance of being acquired.
Can you tell us about your newest book?
KINDERGARTEN HAT was published by Little Bee Books in June of this year, and it is beautifully and colorfully illustrated by Geraldine Rodriguez.
Carlos is new to town and nervous about starting kindergarten. He brings a requested flower for his teacher’s hat on the first day, and things don’t go well on the bus ride to school. But Carlos comes up with a clever solution to his destroyed-daisy dilemma and gains courage to start his first day with a great big kindergarten smile. KINDERGARTEN HAT was inspired by a wonderful teacher who greeted my son and daughter, 9 years apart, on their first days of school. She wore a huge flowered hat so students could find her.
Interior art from KINDERGARTEN HAT written by Janet Lawler, illustrated by Geraldine Rodriguez.
What’s up next for you?
I am super excited about my upcoming nonfiction picture book WALRUS SONG that is being published by Candlewick in 2021. I just saw the fabulous final color illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering. I can’t wait to share this book with readers young and old. And in 2022, OCEANS OF LOVE (Philomel) and CELEBRATE! (Feiwel & Friends) will release.
Anything else you’d like to share with aspiring authors and illustrators?
One last bit of advice—look for silver linings on the meandering journey that is a career in children’s publishing. Almost every time I have had a moment of defeat or rejection, something good has come of that event.
And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?
There are SO many great 80’s movies that it is hard to pick one. But I loved TOOTSIE. Great casting, humor, heart, plot twists—and social commentary on sexism, decades before the MeToo movement!
Huge thank you to Janet for stopping by Critter Lit today! Congratulations on your latest book— we can’t wait to see your next projects in 2021 and 2022!
Award-winning children’s author JANET LAWLER has more than twenty-five fiction and nonfiction picture books, pop-ups, and early readers published. Her books have appeared in Scholastic Book Clubs and Children's Book of the Month Clubs and in translation editions in several languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and Hebrew. Janet is fascinated by the natural world, and she loves finding humor, heart, and hope in everyday life.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JANET LAWLER follow her on social media:
Website: https://janetlawler.com/
Blog: https://janetlawler.com/blog/
ORDER THIS BOOK To order a copy of KINDERGARTEN HAT, click here.
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