Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed The Weird Sisters: A Coop, Some Goop, and a Sandwich author Mark David Smith and illustrator Kari Rust. This third instalment in The Weird Sisters Series is publishing April 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: Mark, what inspired the Weird Sisters Detective Agency series? Mark David Smith: I love the plays of Shakespeare, and my favorite play is Macbeth, and my favorite characters in Macbeth are the three witches. They don’t have names—they’re just called First, Second, and Third Wi ..read more

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed The Keeper of Stars author Jennifer Harris and illustrator Dorothy Leung, whose book is publishing April 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: Jennifer, how did you become a children’s book author? Jennifer Harris: I always knew I wanted to write fiction, and over the years plotted and started and abandoned manuscripts. The problem was I was trying to write adult novels. But they didn’t quite light up as I was writing, and I didn’t light up when I was writing them. Then I read about t ..read more

  Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed Rumie Goes Rafting author and illustrator Meghan Marentette, whose book is publishing April 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: How did you begin writing and illustrating children’s books? Meghan Marentette: After many years working as a costumer for live action TV shows, some of which were set in fantasy worlds, I found myself wanting to create worlds of my own again. As a child, I had spent my time absorbed in free play, scavenging for things I could use to make houses for ..read more

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed The Noisy Puddle author Linda Booth Sweeney and illustrator Miki Sato, whose book is publishing March 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: Linda, how did you become a children’s book author? Linda Booth Sweeney: It seems like I’ve always been writing, though it has taken me a long time to call myself a writer. During our last move, I discovered an old cardboard box from my parents’ attic. Inside, there must have been 20 diaries and journals. When I looked at the dates, I realized tha ..read more

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed Making Sense of Dog Senses: How Our Furry Friends Experience the World author Stephanie Gibeault and illustrator Raz Latif, whose book is publishing April 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: Stephanie, how did you become a children’s book author? Stephanie Gibeault: Although I won my first writing contest in Grade 3, I didn’t start writing for children until 2011. After reading loads of picture books to my niece and nephew, I decided to try writing some myself. While Kyra and Connor ..read more

    Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed Hugo’s Haunted Handbook author and illustrator Dave Whamond, whose book is publishing March 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: How did you begin writing and illustrating children’s books? Dave Whamond: I really started thinking about writing and illustrating children’s books when I had my own kids and would read to them at night. It helped me visualize it becoming a reality, and made me think about what I might do with my own book. OKB: What was the inspiration for th ..read more

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed Our Woolly Bear author and illustrator Katie Arthur, whose book is publishing March 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: How did you begin writing and illustrating children’s books? Katie Arthur: I’ve always wanted to tell stories. But it definitely took me a while to figure out how. For a long time, I thought of my writing—which I did during the day as a copywriter and at night as an aspiring (and not very good!) fiction writer—and my drawing, as entirely separate pursuits. Writing ..read more

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed The Little Regent author Yewande Daniel-Ayoade and illustrator Ken Daley, whose book is publishing March 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: Yewande, how did you become a children’s book author? Yewande Daniel-Ayoade: I started writing as a child growing up in Nigeria. When I was about eight, I wrote a collection of stories that my father got his secretary to type up and put in a binder for me. This was my first “book”. In my early twenties, I wrote a full-length novel. Even though ..read more

  Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed The Blue Bowl author and illustrator Flo Leung, whose book is publishing March 15, 2024! Owlkids Books: How did you begin writing and illustrating children’s books? Flo Leung: I entered into the world of children’s books in a slightly roundabout way – through food! I once worked in kitchens and eventually moved into food illustration, and then began developing stories that I wanted to share (all about food, of course). OKB: What was the inspiration for this book? F ..read more

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books! Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier are the author and illustrator of the Otis & Peanut series. In this interview, Naseem and Kelly discuss their new book Otis & Peanut Forever and Ever, and the joys and challenges of making books. This is their second book in the Otis & Peanut series, forthcoming April 15, 2024! Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier, in conversation: Kelly Collier: So, what are Otis and Peanut up to this sequel? Naseem Hrab: Otis & Peanut Forever and Ever is a celebration of memori ..read more