Book Birthday Blog with Pam Ostrander

 

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

 

Congratulations to Pam Ostrander on the release of Then There Were Six

 

 

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

The idea for the book came from real life experience with some pretty incredible people in my life. She opened her heart and home to so many people.

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

I would like people to take away a good feeling about the celebration of family. Growing up in a large family I always knew my siblings had my back. Even if we disagreed about things, we were united in our identity as a family. We love each other fiercely and would defend each other at every turn.  Today, more than ever families are formed in many non-traditional ways, adoption is but one example. ALL families deserve to be celebrated!

This is the second book you and Seth Pennington, the illustrator, have collaborated on. Please describe the creative process working together.

First of all, collaborating with Seth is amazing. When I first came to him with the idea for A Mask for Molly during the pandemic, he was only 14 years old and beginning the 9th grade! He was all for it, even though his specialty at the time was animation. He certainly rose to the challenge.
 
Now, this incredibly talented young man is 16, drives, is much taller than me and plays Varsity Tennis. He is no longer a newbie at this game. He and I think so much alike when it comes to our vision for the story. My story boards are always a red-hot mess, and he comes up with brilliance 100% of the time. Having him as a student in 3rd grade and seeing him win local art contests inspired me to try to mentor him along by providing him some unique experiences that would expand his portfolio and experience as an artist.  When I asked him what he thought about it, he responded:
 
“Throughout the time I’ve worked with Mrs. Ostrander I’ve noticed more and more that I’m basically just working with a clone of myself. She’s super funny, creative, clever and has somehow perfectly kept her child-like mind intact. (I’m still trying to figure out what her secret is.) I’ve studied it more and more during our work together, and it’s safe to say I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

 

 

What was the most difficult part of writing the book?

The most difficult thing about writing any book, is the business end of it for me, all the work that must be done to make it all come together and get noticed.

What's next for you?

I would like to spend time encouraging youth to dream big!  If they are always drawing, maybe they can be an illustrator or if they are always writing stories, they may be the next best selling author. I want to let kids know that this is absolutely possible. I am also looking forward to reading this book to children everywhere. The nature of my last book, A Mask for Molly, reading to an audience took place on Zoom, which is not nearly as rewarding or fun!

A little bit about the book . . .

A mantee family, the Ittys are a groovy, ocean family with two lovely offspring, Clare Itty and Hugh-Man Itty. Although the kids disagree a lot, they do team up together to do something heroic! They have their hearts set on adopting a young seahorse, but must get approval from the ever salty Oct-O-Judge. You'll cheer them on as they end up getting more than they bargained for. The reader will resonate with the lovable characters and be rewarded with an ending as happy as . . . a Peace-sign with butterfly wings.

Publisher: Self-Published, Publishing Xpress

A little bit about the author . . .

Pam Ostrander has been an elementary educator for over thirty years. She has spent the past fifteen years working for Williamston Community Schools in Michigan. The publication of Then There Were Six comes on the heels of her debut, A Mask For Molly in December 2020. Pam enjoys hiking, gardening, photography and hanging out with her family and black lab, Zeus!

Find Pam and her books on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064006776961