Book Birthday Blog with Lisa Wheeler

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Lisa Wheeler on the release of her new book, EVEN MONSTERS GO TO SCHOOL!

Q#1: The lovable monsters are back, hooray! What can we expect from Even Monsters Go To School? Did you intend to make this a series?

When I wrote Even Monsters Need to Sleep, it was a stand-alone title. But HarperCollins gave me a two-book deal asking for a companion title. In Even Monsters Go to School, the same little lovable monster girl (who I call Roary) is starting school. Her loving dad shows and tells her all about first days. We get to revisit the same monsters--Big Foot, Nessie, Frankenstein, etc--from book #1 and see how they handle the first day of school. My goal was to alleviate any fears kids might have on their first day of school, including the one I had as a child--Where do you go to the bathroom?!

Q#2: You have so many books under your belt and I'm sorry, but I have to ask- which book is your favorite (choose a kid, right?), which one was hardest to write, and which one would you do differently?

Picking just one is extremely difficult. As you said, they're like our children. But there are some books that I had a deep passion for: Mammoths on the Move, Seadogs: An Epic Ocean Operetta and Spinster Goose: Twisted Rhymes for Naughty Children. The reason for these three are my passion for woolly mammoths, my love of musical theater and my collection of Mother Goose books.

I think the hardest to write would be the Dino-Sport series. Those books take lots of research, rhyme, dinosaur names and cramming in lots of sports lingo. To me, they are like a puzzle that is fun to solve.

If I could go back in time, I might tweak a few of my books here there. When I first started out, I felt like I had to do everything editors suggested, even when I felt strongly otherwise. There is nothing major, but when I read these passages aloud, I still tend to read them the way they were originally written.

Q#3: You have more books coming out this year, can you tell us a little bit about them? 

Thanks for asking! Sometime this summer--either July or August--Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum will be re-released with Purple House Press. I haven't been given an exact date but I am so excited that the book will get a second chance at life!

On August 6th, Dino-Halloween is coming out. It is the 12th book in the Dino-Sport series and the 2nd in the series-within-series--Dino-Holidays. This was just so much fun to write. We revisit the same dinosaurs as in the sport series, but we get to see them enjoying all the Halloween activities together. They explore everything from pumpkin carving to making costumes and even a visit to a haunted house.

Then, on Sept. 10, the 2nd book in the "People" series with Atheneum comes out. This one, People Share with People, follows People Don't Bite People very closely in theme. Molly Idle, once again, is the illustrator and those adorable preschoolers she draws are just so perfect for this series.  I've had parents tell me they are looking forward to this book because while not every child has issues with biting, they all have issues with sharing.

Q#4: The path to publication is full of highs and lows. Do you mind sharing some of yours? Any advice on handling both?

As you know, this has been a long journey that I set out on in 1995. So I had to really think about this, as there have been many of both. Once I sold my first book (after 4 years and over 225 rejections!) there was a period of time where I had good success. Much of what I wrote between 1999 and 2005 sold and I also had a string of books regularly being released. That all came to a grinding halt and it seemed like nothing I wrote would ever be acquired again. I wasn't sure if I was in a slump or if the publishing world was being more frugal with what they acquired.

Then I had a dream of dinosaurs playing hockey. I wrote Dino-Hockey (which I originally called Hockeysaurus) and my agent sold it to CarolRhoda imprint of Lerner Books. Finally a sale! Which lead to another and another from Lerner. Best dream I ever had!! 

I wish I had believed in myself more during this time. Instead of looking at it logically--teen books were selling better than picture books, the recession was looming, bookstores were closing--my first instinct was to think I lost my mojo and then to beat myself up over it.  We, as writers, need to be kinder to ourselves (and eachother!).

Q#5: What book would have been helpful for you to have as a kid? Do you ever write for that little Lisa?

I always write for my six year-old self! I have to. If something makes me laugh, chances are it will make the kids laugh. I'm not that complicated! I loved everything i read as a kid, even cereal boxes. So I can't think of a book that I might have found helpful then. I didn't know i would grow up to be a writer. it wasn't on the horizon. But I was always a reader and I loved to devour everything.

Q#6: Any plans for your book launches this year? Where can we find you?

On June 26th, I am having a book launch for Even Monsters Go to School at the Lenawee County Main Branch, 4459 W US Highway 223, Adrian, MI, US, 49221. The time 2:00. My monster puppet. Roary, will make an appearance and yes, there will be cake!

A little bit about the book: In the vein of the bestselling How Do Dinosaurs…? series, this follow-up to Even Monsters Need to Sleep is a fresh and humorous back-to-school picture book.

What’s a school day like for you? 

Bigfoot rides a yellow bus.
Frankenstein shows off his new shoes.
Troll loves playing tag at recess.
And aliens go gaga over school supplies.

Just like you, even monsters go to school! 

A little bit about the author: Lisa Wheeler is the author of several award-winning picture books, including Sixteen Cows and One Dark Night, as well as Mammoths on the Move, which received a Parents' Choice Recommended Award. She is also the author of Abrams Appleseed's Babies Can Sleep Anywhere. Lisa lives near Detroit.