Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!
Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.
Congratulations to Leslie Helakoski on the release of Fake Gnus
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
The original idea for this story came in the summer of 2019 while I was hiking on Isle Royale, the national park in Lake Superior. The island is known for its moose population and as my group hiked we listened and hoped to spot one or two.
But every time we heard something, it turned out NOT to be a moose. And I would think…Fake Moose. At home I tried writing a story about spotting a moose but it didn’t feel original and it just wasn’t singing. For the next 5 years, off and on, I worked on different versions. Finally, I let go of the missing moose and decided to play around with GNUS and NEWS and the importance of media literacy. I thought the need for this topic was only increasing. Plus, when I got to the last pages, there was a perfect spot to end the book with a missing moose!
You wrote and illustrated the book. Please describe your creative process.
The art for Fake Gnus is watercolor and pastel on Arches hot press watercolor paper. I start with a rough dummy to establish a layout and design for the book. Then I choose my favorite illustration and transfer it to the Arches paper including the text as a design element. I use Windsor Newton watercolors and Rembrandt pastels along with cut newspaper to emphasize the topic of news.
Then, I push myself to make all my subsequent illustrations just as interesting.
What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?
I hope readers will be reminded to ask kids where information comes from and to question the source. This is important even for young kids. I was a big Encyclopedia Brown fan when I was young and enjoyed making this into a mini-mystery.
What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it?
I have been posting on blogs and setting up book signings. Some of these dates below have not been finalized.
I will be at McLean and Eakin in Petoskey, MI on August 11.
Highlights Foundation on September 15-19
Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA October 31
Cavalier Books in Lafayette, LA November.
Barnes and Noble, Lafayette, LA November
Book People in Austin, TX in November
Fake Gnus is available in most bookstores or online at Bookshop (which supports independent bookstores) https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=helakoski
It is also available on Amazon.
What's next for you?
Next up…a book with Cathy Gendron called Crab Did It will be published by Charlesbridge in May of 2027. I’ve been a fan of Cathy’s work since we met years ago. We talked for years about collaborating on a project and when this came along, it was a perfect fit. Again, it is a mystery to find out who is pinching on the reef and who is not. No swimming to conclusions!
More about the book . . .
The gnu pen is empty! So where are the gnus? There are many different clues to follow, and it’s up to Scoop to decide if the evidence he hears and sees is true … or not! Someone tells Scoop they saw the gnus eating ice cream in Central Park. But this news site says they’re climbing the Empire State Building. And here’s a photo showing the gnus at a dairy farm. Can all of these sources be real gnus? Or are they fake gnus? Scoop reminds us that a fact is something that can be proven to be true. With every new source, Scoop always checks the facts!
Published by: Groundwood Books
More about the author . . .
Leslie Helakoski is the author and sometimes illustrator of 17 picture books. Her newest addition is Fake Gnus, a School Library Journal selection (Groundwood Publishing). Recent titles are When the Rain Came Down (FSG) and Gator’s Big Mouth (Pelican). Upcoming titles are Crab Did It, and Crabby Claude (Putnam).
Leslie’s award-winning books are known for their humor and word play. Woolbur (HarperCollins) was nominated for book awards in 14 states, winning honors in Florida and Michigan. It was a Book Sense Hot Pick, a Gift of Literacy book in Oregon and a Great Lakes Book Award finalist. Big Chickens (Dutton) received starred reviews in SLJ and Kirkus, won the Michigan Reads One State One Book Award, the Great Lakes Great Books award and was nominated for awards in 5 states.
Leslie served as a Regional Advisor for SCBWI Michigan and is now RA Emeritus. She runs a picture book workshop at Boyds Mills (Highlights) each summer. She divides her time between southern Louisiana and northern Michigan. See more about her books at https://www.helakoskibooks.com/.
Facebook: Leslie Helakoski
Instagram: @helakoskibooks
