How to Draw Chibi with Misako Rocks!
Congratulations to Misako Rocks! on the publication of the third book in her "How to Draw Kawaii Manga" series: CHIBI Big Emotions! I recently caught up with her about everything she's doing this year -- it's a whirlwind!
You have a new book coming out, How to Draw Kawaii Manga: Chibi! Tell me a bit about it. What kind of a book is it? Who is it for?
This is my third activity book in the How to Draw Kawaii Manga series from Quarto. This one is called "CHIBI: Big Emotions!"
It’s perfect for anyone who loves drawing bubbly, kawaii (cute) characters and creating manga stories with chibi characters. It also makes a great gift!
Why are chibi characters so popular right now?
“Chibi” means “small” in Japanese.
Chibi characters are adorable little characters with oversized heads and tiny bodies. In manga, artists often turn characters into "chibi" versions when their emotions go wild, helping to show excitement, surprise, or strong feelings in a fun way! They're usually funny and wildly expressive, so that's why kids (and everyone) love them!
What are some of your favorite pages or moments in the book?
My favorite pages are pages 34 and 35, where I show regular manga bodies versus chibi bodies. Readers can clearly see the differences between the two styles. I hope this helps inspire them to create their own characters.
You’ve been posting drawing videos aimed at kids on YouTube for a while now, and you’ve posted some really fun ones recently! Why do you like teaching drawing to elementary aged kids so much?
I love how curious and passionate they are! They’re eager to learn manga and even Japanese culture. I’m constantly inspired by them while teaching.
What is different about teaching drawing to kids, versus teaching it to adults?
Older students enjoy learning more advanced manga drawing techniques because they’re able to focus on details.
Younger students can get overwhelmed by those details, so I try to keep things simpler. I love how they use their imagination to create fun manga characters.
I always keep their different capabilities in mind when teaching both groups.
You have a lot of fun stuff coming up this year to promote both of your book series, the Bounce Back series with Macmillan, and the How to Draw Kawaii Manga series with Quarto. What are some of the things you’re looking forward to?
I’m incredibly grateful to do what I do. This year, I’m especially excited to be releasing THREE fun and kawaii books (How to Draw Kawaii Manga Chibi, How to Draw Kawaii Manga Pets, and the fourth volume of the Bounce Back series, Double Trouble: Lost in Japan). It still feels a bit unreal to have that many books coming out!
I’m looking forward to visiting library conferences, book festivals, and schools to talk about my book projects and connect with readers and educators. I try to keep the events calendar on my website updated, but so much is always happening, it's hard to keep up!
I’ve also started putting more focus into my YouTube—finally—and I’m excited to share even more drawing content with young artists.
Where can people connect with you and find out more about How to Draw Kawaii Manga: Chibi?
Please sign up for my newsletter on my website, www.misakorocks.com to receive a FREE coloring book!
I’m also active on YouTube and Instagram. Please come visit me there too.
You can purchase How to Draw Kawaii Manga: CHIBI at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookshop.org, and your favorite local bookstore. Thank you!
Featured Artists: Interview with Nico and Candy Robertson
Nico and Candy Robertson are a creative duo well-known Down Under for their adorably simple board book series Roobee Roo. But you might not know their work! So I'm thrilled to introduce them to you here.
Hi, Nico and Candy! You’re known for the Roobee Roo board book series in Australia and New Zealand. Could you tell me a bit about Roobee Roo? I know it’s not just books – you’ve created adorable merch, as well! When did it get started, and how is it out in the world now?
Roobee Roo has always been about curiosity, first experiences, and a little bit of magic. She’s a funny, energetic kangaroo with a magical pouch and every morning she wakes up to discover something new inside it. Whatever she finds helps shape her day, whether it’s trying something for the first time, heading out on a small adventure, or working out how she feels.
At its heart, the series captures that familiar childhood excitement of waking up and wondering what the day might hold.
The idea began in 2018 during a time when we were living apart. Nico was away renovating the house where we’d raised our daughter, and before he left, he hid little notes around the house for me to find. Each one was a tiny story about a kangaroo who loved adventures.
I began illustrating those notes and sending the drawings back to him. What started as a way to stay connected became a gentle way of processing a big family transition, and slowly, Roobee Roo took shape.
We self-published the first ten board books and sold out online. Today, there are eleven brand new Roobee Roo board books published by Hachette across Australia and New Zealand, alongside plush toys and colourful Wonder Pouches.
What we love most is seeing Roobee Roo out in the world as birthday cakes, children’s drawings, and even as a kindergarten “take-home friend” who goes on adventures with families. That still feels incredibly magical.
We’re also proud to be continuing our Give With Roobee program, working towards our goal of providing 100,000 meals to families in need. Right now, we’re planning on relaunching Roobee Roo with new merchandise and developing an animated series pitch, so her world can keep growing alongside the children who love her.
The current project we’re pitching to publishers is called CUDDLINGS. Tell me where the idea for it came from, and how it’s evolved.
CUDDLINGS began with something we noticed while spending time with young children. Every child has their own way of showing connection and affection. Some love hugs, others don’t. Some wave, some fist bump, some simply stand close and smile.
What really stayed with us was watching educators recognise and respect those differences instead of trying to correct them. A wave instead of a cuddle. A quiet smile instead of a handshake. That sense of choice made children feel safe, understood, and in control of their own boundaries.
We wanted to create a story that gently says it’s okay to have limits, and that not enjoying what everyone else enjoys doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It simply means that’s who you are.
The earliest versions of CUDDLINGS explored this idea through character interactions, and while the intention was there, the storytelling wasn’t quite landing. A short rhyming refrain near the end stood out, though, and with your encouragement we leaned into that. Expanding the rhyme helped shape the whole book into something rhythmic, playful, and memorable, while still carrying an important emotional message. It became a story that’s joyful to read aloud, and meaningful for both children and adults.
What do you love the most about CUDDLINGS?
There’s a lot to love about CUDDLINGS. For a start, they really are very cuddly, and we adore the name. It’s simple, sweet and says exactly what it needs to.
We also love the characters themselves. They’re inspired by cuttlefish, which are such expressive, fascinating creatures. The story is short and gentle, but it carries a big idea about kindness, belonging, and how communities can care for one another.
What matters most to us is that the community never tries to “fix” the main character. Instead, they listen, adapt, and offer support. The problem is resolved through understanding and care, not correction. That’s something we’ve wanted to explore for a long time in a children’s book.
Creatively, we loved the challenge of holding a meaningful message while still making the story genuinely enjoyable to read aloud. We wanted to create a brave main character you immediately care about, alongside a group of supporting characters who recognise the problem and become part of the solution. Visually, it was also exciting to design a character that feels instantly recognisable and to experiment with colour and texture in new ways to bring that emotional warmth to life.
You both have endless imaginations – you have other projects waiting in the wings, as well.
We’re always working on a few different ideas at once. At the moment, that includes very simple concept and milestone board books with a strong art and design focus, picture books that explore family, community and bigger ideas in gentle ways, as well as funny early readers and graphic novels centered on family dynamics. We’re also developing a handful of animation pitches.
Alongside that, we’ve been spending more time in underwater worlds, building stories that could sit naturally alongside CUDDLINGS and expand that emotional territory.
We tend to let projects grow at their own pace rather than rushing them, which means there’s almost always something quietly taking shape in the background, ready to surface when the time feels right.
What are some of your favorite reactions you’ve gotten from people who read your work? (Either messages you’ve received, or interactions with kids at schools, libraries, or festivals…?)
We’ve been incredibly lucky to receive thoughtful messages from families, teachers, and librarians over the years, and sometimes from unexpected places too. We’ve heard from speech therapists, and even from university students who had our Archie and Reddie books on their required reading lists, which was a surprise and a real honour.
One story, though, has stayed with us more than any other. A little girl who owns all the Roobee Roo books also has a fluffy Wonder Pouch. She has regular hospital visits and needs to wear a heart monitor every day, which can be a lot for such a young child.
Her mum had the idea to place the heart monitor inside Roobee’s pouch, and suddenly everything shifted. The little girl wore Roobee everywhere, even to sleep, with her monitor tucked safely inside. Roobee became a source of comfort and courage during a really challenging time.
When we heard that story, we both cried straight away. Knowing that something we created could help a child feel safer, braver, or less alone in the world is incredibly powerful, and it’s something we carry with us in everything we make.
I associate three things with you: 1) strong (and very cute) visual storytelling for young children; 2) a deep love for nature, animals, and the environment; and 3) a wonderfully tactile creativity (you don’t just make stories; you make toys, plushies, accessories, and more). Is that accurate? If so, how do you incorporate those three strands in your life and work now?
That’s a really thoughtful way of describing our work, and yes, it feels very accurate. We almost never think of ideas as just one thing. A story might begin as a book, but it could just as easily become an animation concept, a toy, a song, or something a child can actually hold and play with. That cross-pollination is part of the fun for us.
Nature sits at the centre of everything we do. It’s part of our everyday life, from spending time in the garden to valuing unstructured, imaginative play outdoors. Because of that, the worlds we create are often filled with trees, flowers, and animals. They feel lived-in rather than designed.
That’s also why our characters tend to be makers and explorers. They’re collecting things, helping animals, building, and imagining. We’re never consciously trying to “add” nature or tactility into a story. It simply emerges from how we live, how we play, and how we think about childhood.
You have a beautiful home and garden. What aspects of your home are most important to you? What does your workspace/studio look like?
We live in a house that’s gradually been taken over by books, plants, and small treasures we’ve collected over the years. Books are everywhere, mostly children’s picture books alongside art, design, and comics, and they’re mixed in with toys, artworks, and natural finds like shells and pinecones.
The garden is the heart of our home. We’ve been collecting and sharing plants for decades, and many of them have followed us from house to house. It’s a place of calm, creativity, and connection, and it feeds directly into the worlds we create.
Our workspace spills across the house, but we do have a light-filled studio that looks out over the forest, and a downstairs art space that’s very much a work in progress. It’s messy, bright, and forgiving, which makes it perfect for making things.
You’ve also mentioned to me that the area where you live is special because of how much support there is for the arts. Could you tell me a bit more about that?
We live in Ballarat, a regional city in Australia that was named a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts in 2019, which feels very fitting. There’s a strong culture of making here, with skills passed from one generation to the next through traditional crafts, storytelling, and hands-on creative work. It’s about keeping knowledge alive while also making space for new ideas and new voices.
There’s always something happening, from the photo biennale and regional gallery to living history spaces and places like the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, where you can watch endangered skills being practised in real time. That mix of history, making, and creativity is deeply inspiring and feeds directly into how we think about storytelling.
Although both of you live in Australia now, neither of you is originally from there, right? Where did you grow up, and how did you end up meeting each other and starting to work together? Did you get married first, and then start your creative collaborations, or vice versa?
That’s right. Candy grew up in Hong Kong, and Nico is from New Zealand. We met in high school art class, in Sydney, Australia, in the year 2000, which felt like the distant future at the time. Nico used to annoy Candy by drawing candy canes on her artworks, which somehow turned into the beginning of a lifelong creative partnership.
We’ve been making things together for more than 25 years now. What really bonded us was a shared love of children’s books and imaginative worlds. While many people in their early twenties were going to clubs and pubs and trying to feel grown-up, we were happily doing the opposite, creating our own characters, stories, and universes together. Candy was introduced to the wonderful world of children’s books through Nico reading them out loud to her.
In the mid-2000s, we started a designer toy company called Noferin, which took us to the US regularly for gallery exhibitions and conventions. Collaboration has always been at the heart of our relationship. Making things together is how we connect, how we think, and how we build our lives. We actually got married shortly after we made our baby, which feels very on-brand for us.
Where can people connect with you and find out more about your work?
You can find us at nicocandy.com, and we are also on Instagram @nicoandcandy, which is where we tend to share more behind the scenes of our work.
Want to find out more?
Email me if you'd like to hear more about Nico and Candy's available projects!
- Learn more about the Roobee Roo series here.
- Connect with Nico and Candy on their website.
- Connect with Nico and Candy on their Instagram.
"What's Beneath the Surface" -- Interview with Joe Latham about Haru: Fall
Joe Latham's gorgeous middle grade fantasy graphic novel Haru: Fall, the final volume in his Haru trilogy, just came out from Andrews McMeel last month. I love talking to Joe about his creative process because he thinks deeply about his story's themes (and he's a process nerd like many other comics creators!). I hope you enjoy our conversation below.
The final book in your HARU trilogy is publishing on Oct 28th. First, could you sum up what HARU is about, and the type of readers who've been responding to it? And how does it feel to have the whole story completed now?
I like to think of HARU as having a few different layers you could read into it. On the surface it is a fantasy adventure story about a small blue bird who cannot fly, but must overcome tremendous adversity to save their home and their loved ones from a terrible destructive force which has awakened and threatens their way of life. Then beneath that, it's also about growing up, the lengths you would go for those you love, and exploring your self-identity through the process of grief and loss.
The allegorical is what binds me to the story, and the adventure is hopefully what invites people to join the journey.
Could you share some of your favorite moments from the final HARU book? Both story moments you really love, and artwork that you're especially proud of?
The first chapter of the new book is an homage to The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri and Gustave Doré. I really love the feeling of cold isolation in a strange and barren landscape. I wanted it to feel dream-like, but not a comforting dream, more an unnerving waking dream. I like how that turned out.
I'm also proud of the conversation between Haru and Mom towards the end. I'll avoid spoilers, but there's a spread that I consider the emotional climax. It contains words I've said, and heard, and it's a very real moment, except it's told with a cartoon bird and a ghost. These moments inform who we go on to be, and I'm pleased with the space that was left in the story from this point on to show such a moment's impact.
You're doing so many interesting things to promote the book, especially in the UK. What sort of promo items have you created? And what are some of the events you'll be doing?
Promo is so tricky, as it really never feels enough. I've done 4 different bookplate prints for different independent bookshops. I'm doing 20 custom sketch cards and a signing event at Gosh! Comics in London.
I'll be doing a window painting at Small City Books Bristol. I'm going to be doing a window painting and live draw-along event at Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath. I'm trying to schedule another signing at Excelsior in Bristol too.
I've made a custom illustrated poster to promote the series for Page 45 Comics in Nottingham. I've shared that poster with the publisher too in case they want to share it with their friends.
I also made a handwritten letter and custom print for my publisher to give to book buyers in the US, and a video to say thank you. I'm going to record a video Draw-Along style event, also for the publisher to share with anyone.
Lastly, I'm going to be exhibiting at Thought Bubble, which is the biggest event of its kind in the UK, to launch the third book.
Oh, and I also designed and built a single page website, https://harucomic.com/, to promote the series. I think that's everything, for the time being anyway.
Now that HARU is wrapped up, what else do you have on your horizon? What other projects are you excited about?
This is the scary question. After finishing work on the third HARU, my brain struggled to focus, and I darted between a few too many possible ideas. I think the very next thing from me will be a self-published second chapter of The Eternal Mountain.
Beyond that, I'm trying to find headspace to focus attention on 2 or 3 possible projects, all of which I would be incredibly excited to dive into fully. I'm just not sure which one is going to be the front-runner at this moment, or how much I can say about them without putting the candle out. Needless to say, they are adventurous with big emotions.
I'm sure they are!
Enjoy these additional spreads from the final volume of Haru....
If you're drawn to Joe's work, please keep him in mind -- he is available for freelance illustration work.
Connect with Joe on his website.
Connect with Joe on his Substack.
"Delicious and Illicit": An Interview With Artist Sarah Cathcart Anderson
Sarah Cathcart Anderson is a writer and illustrator drawn to the "delicious and illicit" -- I love the swings between whimsy and eerieness in her work. Learn more about her in the interview below (and check out her beautiful art!)
What books did you especially love as a kid? Why do you think you loved them so much?
I learned to read very early, and there were so many books that I loved. Alexander and the Magic Mouse was one favorite. The illustrations and characters were so vivid for me, and I loved the idea of reading sea stories and drinking tea with talking animals during a raging storm (I still do).
When I was in kindergarten there was a book in my classroom that I’ve never been able to find again, but I was riveted by it. I think it was called Misery Is… and on every page was a kid having an embarrassing moment - like “Misery is…when your overall strap falls in the toilet and you have to go back to class.” It gave me this feeling of dread that was somehow really delicious and felt illicit. I’m still drawn to that vibe.
I could go on and on about my favorite books: D’Aulaires Mythology was a big one, and all the kid lit classics. I also loved a book called The Way to Start a Day about different ways people all over the world throughout history have welcomed the morning. It was really magical and very 70s in spirit.
When did you make the decision to break into children's books, and what's helped you so far on this journey?
When Covid arrived my son was in kindergarten and just barely beginning to read. I knew he was never going to connect to learning over Zoom so I decided to homeschool him during that time instead. I didn’t know anything about teaching early reading, and I was a bit terrified, but I’m so glad I made that choice because it turned out to be such a gift for both of us.
Helping him learn and discover joy in reading was incredible, and as a writer and artist it really sharpened my focus on my love of children’s literature and how important it is to give kids books that are worthy of their attention.
Before getting into the children's book field, you had a very different professional background! What did you used to do, and how does that show up in your creative work now?
I did! I was a theater major at Stanford, and after a brief stint as a struggling actor after college, I joined the advertising program at Art Center College of Design. After that I had a career as a writer and then creative director in advertising, and was the chief creative officer of an ad agency in Los Angeles for quite some time.
I led teams of writers and art directors and worked with big and small brands across all media (including Microsoft, Walmart, HBO, the Gates Foundation, Google and many more). All along, my art and illustration work was something I did mostly for myself, though sometimes also in the context of my ad work. My advertising career really took the mystery out of creative ideation and the work it takes to hammer out a concept on deadline.
It taught me to dive full force into my idea, fall in love with it, and then be able to hold it loosely and let it go. Working collaboratively and responding to feedback can seem intense when you first start out, but once it’s your rhythm and you understand how to show up in that process in a constructive way it makes it fun for everyone and gets you to better work in the end.
Who or what inspires you?
Definitely my kid. He is so magical and wild and brilliant and insightful and he inspires me every day. I’m also really drawn to the unknown - sometimes it feels like we’ve lost a sense of mystery in the world, like everything is known and mapped and understood. Wherever there’s still mystery, there’s still the possibility of magic, and I’m always pulled toward that idea.
What type of projects would you really love to work on? What would be a dream assignment for you?
Anything darkly funny and a bit magical or mysterious! I’d also love to work on picture book or graphic novel adaptations of classic texts, myths, or plays.
You're not just an artist; you're an author-illustrator. What original stories are you working on now?
I’ve got a lot cooking, but close to the front burner I’m working on a story about a boy whose hair is the object of too much attention, another about an accident-prone poodle who’s really really trying to do it right, and I'm also developing a company of delightfully dreadful Improper Beasts (who have completely taken over my sketchbook). On a very slow simmer (too much stovetop metaphor?) are a couple of graphic novel ideas, including a biography that brings together ancient magic and modern science.
Connect with Sarah on her website.
Connect with Sarah on her Substack.
Interview with Briana Lawrence, author of The Essential Manga Guide
Today is publication day for Briana Lawrence's The Essential Manga Guide, a "must-have guide" on the history and legacy of manga. It's an entertaining and personal look at the impact of fifty outstanding manga titles and their creators, as well as great recommendations of what to read next.
I recently interviewed Briana about the process of writing the book. It was such a fun conversation!
My first question is, how did Running Press come to tap you to write this book? How did they know you were an expert, and what made them reach out to you?
[Briana] They were working on the Essential Anime Guide with two writers, Patrick Mattias and Samuel Sattin, and I was writing for The Mary Sue at the time. I wrote daily, and whenever I could write about anime, I would. I don’t know which article gained their attention, but I wrote quite a few about anime. My guess is it was an article about Kiki’s Delivery Service and burnout. I got an email from one of the writers of the book, asking if I wanted to write some essays about anime. I said yes, as that was basically my everyday job. I wrote two essays and assumed that would be it. But then Brittany [the editor] messaged me and asked if I wanted to write a whole book about manga.
Manga gives you more options than anime, so I was excited. I asked if they would provide a list, but they said I could pick whatever books I wanted to talk about. It was perfect.
Having a book called "The Essential Guide to Manga" is sort of like making "The Essential Guide to Books." A pretty tall order! Manga is such a huge category with so many genres and titles. How did you narrow it down? What was your process to pick which titles you'd focus on?
My brain immediately started setting some limits. There are some creators I love who have multiple works, so I had to pick one from each. You need something from Akira Toriyama, something from CLAMP, and other well-known creators like that. I wanted to include popular titles like Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto, but I also realized I needed to pick by genre. You should have something horror-related, slice of life, comedy, etc. For example, if someone wants a psychological thriller, I’d recommend Death Note, not Dragon Ball. This helped narrow it down.
I also didn’t include manga I hadn’t read, like Attack on Titan, because I didn’t have time to read it. It had to be something I was familiar with. I also wanted to include short series and some hidden gems. I asked my wife for help, too. CLAMP has so many works, and I had to pick one. I chose Inuyasha for Rumiko Takahashi because it meant the most to me. I reminded myself that I couldn’t cover everything; it’s impossible. I wanted to show people that manga is worth exploring and can cater to any preference.
Did you feel like it was easy to write, or were there any sections that bogged you down?
It was hard because I had to write 50 consecutive essays. For some manga, I could think of five different things to say about them, but I had to narrow it down to one main point. I remember one of the editorial notes for Dragon Ball was that it was the longest essay... because I had so much to say. That was my first manga and anime that I became familiar with as a kid, so it's not surprising I had a lot to say.
For each essay, I wanted to explain why people like it, or why it meant something to me. Sometimes it was easy, like with Demon Slayer, which is about a protective brother. I had an older brother who was very protective of me before he passed away.
Other times, it was hard, like writing about Chainsaw Man, where there are ten different angles I could approach, but I only had so many words. It was also hard to go back to manga I read as a child and see it with adult eyes. For example, I appreciate Sailor Moon more now as an adult because I understand her struggles better.
What are your predictions about the future of manga?
I think it's just going to grow more from here. I hope people won't be so surprised that others are into it. Some people still don’t get it, but it’s just another form of entertainment. I hope people realize it’s a worthy form of entertainment. It’s both extremely popular and niche, which is weird. There are pop culture sites that cover everything except anime and manga. Or sites that talk about the big names but not the hidden gems.
There’s so much queer content in manga now. People say there’s no queer content in mainstream media, but it’s all over manga.
I hope we reach a point where people recognize its value. I think we will, because fans of anime and manga are now creating their own content. Shows like "My Adventures with Superman" are inspired by shojo anime. Steven Universe's creator loves Revolutionary Girl Utena. Our generation is telling stories heavily influenced by manga and anime. Coming from the 90s generation, we had no idea it would blow up like this. We were just watching cartoons, but now, we see its massive impact. I feel like there’s no choice but for it to grow and be as great as I've always known it to be.
Connect with Briana on her website.
Learn more about The Essential Guide to Manga.
Learn Manga With Misako
I recently caught up with Misako Rocks! to chat about her newest release, How to Draw Kawaii Manga Characters, which came out from Quarto Kids in April 2024.
Misako has been teaching kids to draw manga and anime for at least ten years. During the pandemic, she started Learn Manga with Misako, her online school to teach manga drawing to elementary school students.
I was curious to find out why she's just as passionate about teaching kids as she is about writing and drawing her own stories. As it turns out, she had a lot of interesting things to say about that!
From the perspective of your students, why do you think they're interested in learning how to draw manga with you?
[MISAKO] They already had an interest in drawing manga, but also, the thing is, they like drawing manga with me. I have realized that it’s like we are creating “Misako time” together. It's kind of like art therapy.
That's a really interesting point.
The kids need some kind of place where they can feel safe, they can laugh at stupid stuff, they can release frustration and of course create fun art. I think it really helps them to feel positive and even make mistakes. I just make them draw, I don't let them think so much, and that kind of helps them break away from their perfectionist habits. So yeah, I think that's why.
Wow, that's really cool to hear. But is it possible for you to capture that experience that the kids have with you in real time in your books? How do you do that?
So yeah, the books are just paper, not a direct interactive experience with me. But if they want to listen to my story, they can just scan the QR codes in the books and go to YouTube. When I'm teaching, I'm talking a lot. So in a way, yeah, they feel like they can take my lesson live with me.
I love that.
I feel like I can be their “aunt from another family.” So they can feel relaxed and just talk to me about everything. Sometimes when I ask just one question, like, “What did you do after you finished lunch at school today?” twenty of them start talking right away.
You must be doing something right, because so many parents complain that when they say to their kids, “How was your day at school?,” the kids say, “Fine.” And nothing else. [laughing]
Maybe part of what makes you a popular teacher is that you just listen to them without judgment.
Yes. Yes, without judgment. Sometimes I have extra sessions, besides lessons, and I ask them more questions to help me with writing the Bounce Back books. For instance, I might say to them, “Hey, if you have a fight with your friend, how do you make up with each other afterwards?” That kind of stuff.
And they tell me really detailed stories. Maybe ten kids are there, trying to help me understand their lives. But the good thing is that I feel like they end up helping each other as much as me.
They help each other feel better about themselves by sharing their experiences. It’s so great to see this happening because they all live in completely different states, some of them live in different countries like Canada. But they are trying to give advice to each other. It’s such a good feeling. So that’s why I want to keep doing this.
Yay! I hope you keep teaching kids, too.
Check Out Misako's New Book!
How to Draw Kawaii Manga Characters by Misako Rocks is available now! The next book, How to Draw Manga Fashion, releases in June 2024.
You can find Misako at www.misakorocks.com and learnmangawithmisako.com. Connect with her on social media at www.instagram.com/misakorocks and
www.twitter.com/misakorocks.
MY DAY WITH MOM by Rae Crawford
Rae Crawford's early reader My Day With Mom just came out from Holiday House this month! It's a real-life tribute to her mom.
(Handy reminder: Mother's Day is on May 12, 2024!)
Rae had this to say about the book:
"I conceived of My Day with Mom as a love letter to the days I would spend with my mom taking all the steps to prepare a meal for dinner. This was often an exercise in patience as we prepped all day: grocery shopping, farmers markets, and cooking.
But the story would highlight the success and relief when you get to enjoy that meal with the ones you love.
In fact, many scenes are pulled directly from things in my real life: people, places and memories. These experiences have fueled my artistic voice and shaped my life."
"You may think this book is more or less a sequel to My Day with Dad, but that's not exactly true. When I was pitching My Day with Dad, I started to notice the parallels between both the 'mom' story and the 'dad' story and thought they would make nice companion pieces, much like my parents in real life."
The My Day with series is for kids and parents alike to encourage bonding in your everyday lives. Take time to go to that park, visit the art fair, or listen to some jazz. These are the things we carry with us."
"I've been lucky to inherit my humor, my artistic skill, and my love of the humanities from my mother who is an incredible writer herself. I hope some of that love I have for her shines through in this book.
And even if not, I hope it encourages you to go out and have a day with your mom!"
Thanks, Rae! Will do. :)
Connect with Rae on her website.
Connect with Rae on her Patreon.
HARU by Joe Latham
Joe Latham's gorgeous middle grade fantasy graphic novel Haru just came out from Andrews McMeel a few months ago:
In their review of Haru, Publishers Weekly said:
"Latham sets this dazzling work in a Tolkeinesque world, employing clever pen and ink drawings awash in luminous colors to deliver a cliffhanger ending that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next installment."
Below are some spreads that show what PW was talking about.
On his Substack, Joe explained why he creates comics like Haru:
"I started making comics out of my own impatience, many years ago. I did them for me, I shared them online and friends seemed to like them, so I did more, and realized it was a way to have a voice that felt like wearing a comfy jumper to me. It helped me to express and explore feelings and thoughts I couldn’t find the words for any other way. It’s always been for me, yet it’s connected me to people in ways I never expected."
Below are some process images that show how Joe builds his illustrations from pencils through inks, colors, and final art. He's an incredible artist (and available for freelance illustration work!).
Joe has several upcoming events to celebrate the release of Haru:
- 6:45 pm UK time on April 11th, Book Launch at Small City Bookshop, Bristol
- April 13th, Signing and Sketching at Gosh Comics, London
- 3:30 pm EST on April 17th, How to Build Your Visual Storytelling Process workshop for Kids Comics Unite
Connect with Joe on his website.
Connect with Joe on his Substack.
Next Stop by Debbie Fong
Debbie Fong's new book, Next Stop, is now available!!
If you're looking for the next heart-tugging, hilarious, slow burn middle grade graphic novel to read, this is it.
It's racked up multiple starred reviews:
- "Remarkable." – The Horn Book
- "Poignant" and "profound." – Kirkus Reviews
- "Weird and wonderful." – The Bulletin of Children's Books
- "Gut-wrenching" – Kirsten Gudsnuk
- "Heart wrenching." – Kayla Miller
- "Nuanced and deeply felt.” – Andrea Wang
This book is REALLY GOOD!!!!
Debbie sent me a few spreads of sample art so you can see her rough process from thumbnails, to pencils, to inks, to colors. She's a self-taught artist with a minimalist style influenced by indie comics.
And here's character sketches of the laconic main character, Pia:
And some lovely interior spreads to give you a sense of the story's deadpan humor and surrealist style:
Her book launch at Books of Wonder on Tuesday night was packed!
The wonderful Wendy Xu interviewed her. Wendy asked Debbie where her style comes from, and Debbie replied:
I'm a big fan of stories with a dreamlike quality. Where you're not quite sure what's real, and what's not. And I also really love stories that cross genres.
Then Wendy asked her to describe her creative process. Debbie said:
I script a lot at first. I know some graphic novelists will combine thumbs and scripting at the same time. That's not what I do. The story lives in my head at first, then I write it as a script. And then I toil away trying to make the pictures happen the way I see it in my head. I draw everything with ClipStudio on my iPad. With the iPad, I can keep working even when I travel.
Wendy concluded by asking her what her favorite part of the process is. Debbie answered:
That's easy. My favorite part is the color. I can sit and color the pages just like coloring a coloring book. It's very relaxing!
- Connect with Debbie at her website.
- Connect with her on Instagram.
- Visit her online shop.
- Buy the book.
Interview With Author Linda Booth Sweeney
You’re a children’s book writer with a focus on systems thinking and nature. Could you tell us a little bit about where this comes from? Why are you so passionate about these themes?
I reference systems thinking a lot so here’s a quick explanation: Systems thinking is an approach to learning, decision making and design that involves understanding the relationships and interconnections between different elements of a system.
Kids who understand living systems, look to understand how different parts of a system work together to create a whole. They are more likely to think and act in informed ways and less likely to jump to blame a single cause for the challenges they encounter.
By encouraging children to trace how the interconnections in systems create the results we see (in, for instance, their family, a pond, or a community), we help them learn empathy and problem-solving skills.
Here’s an example of a diagram I created to try to “map the system” of a vernal pool when I was working on my new picture book, Noisy Puddle:
As a kid, I used to spend hours in the fields near our house, just lying in the tall grass and watching clouds drift by. Since TV time was restricted to Sundays, nature became my entertainment hub.
In my twenties, I worked for Outward Bound and then went back for a doctorate at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. That's where I got to know Peter Senge, Joanna Macy, Fritjof Capra and learned about the work of Buckminster Fuller. All of these thinkers opened my eyes to the idea that everything around us, from nature to organizations like Outward Bound, is part of this big, living system.
It was a like a whole new world opened up for me.
The systems view helped me to look at interconnections instead of parts. I started seeing patterns everywhere. I could see that the way mint plants multiply in my garden was driven by the same pattern (or feedback loop) at play with the spread of a virus -- or even rumors.
As I learned more, I wanted to share these ideas with the teens I was working with (through Outward Bound), but I learned from the eye rolls I got at first that I couldn’t use jargon. I had to find simpler ways to talk about stuff like systems and feedback loops in ways they could actually understand and use it in their everyday lives.
That's when I had the idea to use games to teach systems thinking. We were already using experiential learning at Outward Bound, so why not?
That's how The Systems Thinking Playbook came about—30 games to help build up those systems thinking muscles.
And then I started to have children, and I realized stories were another way to make systems thinking accessible to everyone.
When a Butterfly Sneezes uses picture books and Connected Wisdom uses folktales from around the world to make systems thinking accessible to people of all ages.
For years I’ve led two parallel lives: teaching and writing about systems thinking... and reading and soaking in children’s stories and picture books. Now my journey has led me to the intersection of both children's books and systems thinking.
Whether I’m writing a simple concept book like Apart, Together, or a nature science book like The Noisy Puddle, I let the systems thinker guide what I write.
I was especially excited to see Betsy Bird's review of my picture book biography on Daniel Chester French. She so astutely noted, "...Sweeney is dedicated to introducing kids to the fact that the world is complex.”
That pretty much sums it up!
On March 12th you’re launching your book, NOISY PUDDLE – congrats!!! Tell us about the book. Where did the idea come from? What’s your favorite thing about it?
I love to walk in the woods to clear my head. The first few stanzas of this poem came on one of those walks in my hometown of Concord, Massachusetts.
Halfway down the well-worn path to Fairyland Pond, I saw one lone goose and then, about 20 feet away, one lone crow.
Both were standing silently next to a small row of bright, yellow daffodils. It was a serene and peaceful scene.
Suddenly, I heard a cacophony of quacking sounds from what looked like a small swamp, which I later discovered was a vernal pool. It was so loud I realized I couldn’t hear myself think!
I laughed, and wondered aloud, “What happened to the forest’s hush? Why is everything in a rush?”
From those few lines, this book was born.
Who do you see as the audience for NOISY PUDDLE? How do you hope people will react to it?
I’m reading and loving The Creative Act - A Way of Being, a book by music producer Rick Rubin. Rubin produced LL Cool J, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cult, The Strokes, Tom Petty, Metallica, Johnny Cash, and The Chicks, among many others and that's why the book is so intriguing!
In the short chapter on "Nature as Teacher," Rubin writes: “When we take notice of the cycles of the planet and choose to live in accordance with the seasons, something remarkable happens. We become connected.”
That is what I think is the promise of The Noisy Puddle: it celebrates the cyclical, magical, noisy world of nature’s pop-up spring pools, which are a tangle of interconnections.
It's an invitation for children, parents, grandparents, and teachers, to tune in to nature’s natural cycles. And feel connected.
My hope is that children will be curious about the world of vernal pools and fall in love with the unusual cast of characters that show up in them, like fairy shrimp, whirly gigs and quacking wood frogs!
I want them to discover that, even when they don’t see them, these important ecosystems are there year round. As they grow older, my hope is that these same children will share the magic of these pop-up pools with their children.
Most people have never heard of vernal pools, so these pop-up spring ecosystems, which are often invisible at other times of year, face increasing threats from urban development and agriculture.
As they grow, I’d love for these same children to protect vernal pools, because they know vernal pools help protect our communities from floods, filter our water and help create health in surrounding ecosystems.
NOISY PUDDLE is an obvious choice for storytimes about springtime, or wetland habitats, or the four seasons. What are some non-obvious aspects of the book you’d like teachers and parents to share with kids?
Non-obvious? Well, to me the biggest one is WONDER and AWE. Who would have thought there was so much life teaming in what looks like a simple puddle?!
I know you’ve already started doing school visits with the book. What activities do you do with the kids?
I’m planning to have a lot of fun with the launch of this book! We’ve got a vernal pool March madness bracket in the works, vernal pool bingo, visits with Fred the turtle at Drumlin Farm (an Audubon Center in Lincoln, MA), a Noisy Puddle class play for grades K-2 (a huge parachute movement game that mimics pond life, created with nature educator Melissa Roberts), and a wonderful series of dance/movement activities created by environmental educator Layla Sastry.
Wow! That's a lot.
Are you already working on a new project now, or do you have a dream project in the future? If so, what is it?
I’m dreaming of a graphic novel series with a systems thinking twist that is so funny and action-packed that kids will devour it and learn something at the same time.
Okay, I’m working on that dream right now so maybe I can't call it a "dream" anymore. Stay tuned!
Where can people connect with you and find out more about NOISY PUDDLE?
I’d love for people to connect with me on Instagram or my website.