Q&A with Maggie Edkins Willis

 

 

Photo by Kimberly Powers

 

Maggie Edkins Willis is the author and illustrator of the new children's picture book Dinky the Tinysaur. Her other books include Little Ghost Makes a Friend. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

 

Q: What inspired you to create Dinky the Tinysaur, and how did you come up with the ideas for Dinky and the twins?

 

A: Dinky is inspired by my 3-year-old son, Campbell, who was going through a big dinosaur phase and was having me draw dinosaurs for him regularly. I started drawing a T-Rex with big triangle teeth who just looked so sweet, and decided to explore that as a character.

 

We also have a dog who we have been training over the last few years, and so when I started writing this book, it came out as a pet story.

 

Dinky herself is named for the Dinky train, the small shuttle train on Princeton University's campus, which ran through the woods behind our house at the time. It was the perfect name for her and an homage to our home at the same time!

 

Q: In our previous Q&A, you said, “In most of the projects I work on, I’ll largely start with the text, but I will go back and forth between concept art and writing so that I'm developing the visuals and story simultaneously.” Was that the case with this book too?

 

A: This book started with the character, for sure. From there I developed the manuscript, and then I worked on some concept art. Some of the text was punched up as I sketched and rendered the art after that, especially the dialogue.

 

There is a spread where they are picking out a dino at the dino adoption fair, for example, and those lines were tweaked for max humor and cuteness as I worked.

 

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: With this story, I knew where it would end up. I wanted the twins (our main characters) to love and accept Dinky for exactly who she was, even if she didn't meet their Tinysaur expectations. I worked backwards from there.

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?

 

A: I hope that kids take away a message of accepting others in their lives for who they are rather than who they want them to be.

 

On a more immediate level, I'd love for this book to help kids understand the responsibility of caring for and loving a pet. The idea of getting a sweet, little puppy or kitten is one thing, but actually embracing the responsibility of managing and cohabitating with your pet's particular quirks and characteristics is ever-changing.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I just finished the art for two more books in my Little Ghost series, Little Ghost’s Summerween and Little Ghost’s Valentines, both of which will come out next year. I can't wait for readers to enjoy more adventures with that sweet character.

 

I'm now starting on the final art for Wondermoms and Wonderdads, two delightfully bouncy rhyming picture books about the awesomeness of parents through the eyes of their children. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I really love hearing from readers and seeing pictures of kids enjoying my books (which I would never share without permission, of course!), so please keep sending them!

 

I know there are a lot of dino lovers out there, and I sincerely hope that Dinky the Tinysaur finds her way into their hands!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Maggie Edkins Willis.