Katherine Davis-Gibbon is the author of the new children's picture book Words. She also has written the picture book My Old Friend, Then. She is the founder of Riverlet Press.
Q: What inspired you to write Words?
A: I’ve always felt an affinity for words, but my relationship with them deepened profoundly in the early months of the pandemic. I was stuck at home with two bored kids, an 8-year-old I suddenly needed to homeschool and a 3-year-old who missed her friends.
Amid the stress and isolation, I found myself craving the company of words and turning to them for attunement. Whenever I was reading to my kids, or if we were singing songs together, every word fully landed—which is not the case in normal life, when we’re distracted and so many simply wash over us.
The more attuned I became to words, the more I was able to access their power. I felt this wonderful sense of partnership, like words were coaching me through that time and reassuring me that I wasn’t alone.
I wanted to share this message with kids. It’s easy for children to take words for granted, but they truly are an invaluable resource that we can lean on in so many ways.
They’re very good at solving problems and guiding us closer to our dreams. They naturally help us reach out to others or comfort ourselves when we are alone.
I wrote this book to encourage children to fearlessly engage with language, because the more willing we are to let words in, the more access we gain to their gifts. And the more value that we place on language, the more likely we are to use it with care.
Q: What do you think Anne Berry’s illustrations add to the book?
A: My intention with this book was to literally bring words to life, by creating a cast of word-characters that would straddle the line between text and illustration. It was essential to find the right illustrator, who was up for the challenge and open to collaborating closely with me on developing these imaginative characters.
When I saw Anne’s portfolio, I was immediately drawn to it. Her work radiates wit, charm, and tenderness, which were qualities I wanted these word-characters to have. I wanted them to be funny, relatable, and endearing to children, so that befriending them would feel organic.
When I reached out to Anne, we instantly clicked and dove right into the creative process. We wanted the phonetic decoding of each word-character to feel like a game or puzzle, instead of a chore, so we employed humor, novelty, bright colors, and fun prints, which we hoped would be irresistible to kids and engage them in the act of reading.
It was also very important to us to present as diverse a cast of characters as possible, with the hope that all children might see themselves in the book—in the child-characters, the word-characters, or better yet both!
We wanted each word-character to have its own personality and its own special charm, so we rehashed them many times over, adding tons of quirky details to make them idiosyncratic, like people.
It took us almost two years to complete all the spreads, because we poured so much of ourselves into the art, but I think and hope that we achieved our goals.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?
A: I hope it sparks a love of language and supports their capacity to connect. For little ones especially, words can be daunting. Adults and older siblings always seem to have the upper hand when it comes to accessing vocabulary and making an argument.
I’d love for even the youngest children to believe that words belong to them, too, because the more of themselves they invest in language, the more that words will support them.
Q: What first interested you in writing children’s picture books?
A: I’ve always written, but I never delved into children’s work until I had kids of my own. Reading to children, which I’ve been doing for 14 years now, has been a master class on the depth, breadth, and quality of work that exists in this genre.
Since little ones, in particular, love being read to—and because they get attached to wonderful books—I’ve had the opportunity to reread the best of the best picture books, realistically, probably thousands of times.
I admire them as much as I do novels, because it takes great skill to distill a message or narrative into 32 pages, using very few words.
Then, pairing text with illustrations to create a vibrant visual narrative that is magical, yet still cohesive, takes more than just talent; it takes patience, diligence, and determination, too. It’s a unique challenge that I find fun to take on.
Another fun challenge is finding ways to innovate in a genre that is so saturated. With my work, I look to fill gaps in the market—to write the books I was wishing to find when my children were younger.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: My next children’s book is about resilience and the hidden gifts of not always getting what we want.
With that said, writing Words and having the opportunity to discuss it with people has raised all sorts of interesting questions around how the child of today interfaces with language. From the scourge of bullying to the post-pandemic slump to the influence of technology in our lives, experts agree that kids are struggling.
I’m fired up about these issues, so I have briefly pressed pause on my next children’s book to investigate them in a series of articles. I have already begun posting content at my website, www.riverletpress.com, under the resources tab, with more to come in the weeks ahead.
I love hearing from readers and caregivers, so if you’d like to connect, feel free to reach out to me via the contact page.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Earlier, I discussed the pandemic. Interestingly, what I’m gleaning from parents, pediatricians, teachers, and therapists is that the lag we’re seeing in kids’ social development had already taken root prior to 2020.
Other influences, such as the role that technology plays in young people’s lives, have driven them away from interacting with others: texting, gaming, shopping online—even little things, like using self-check-out lanes, instead of chatting with a cashier.
In isolation, none of this sounds significant, but add it together and introduce it to kids from the start of their lives, and one can appreciate the impact that all of it, collectively, has on them.
Another influence I think we could pay more attention to is how divided public opinion has become in this country and how frequently adults weaponize words. There’s so much noise and hostility in the air that it’s daunting for kids to find their own voice—let alone trust it.
I think we, as caregivers, have an opportunity to address this with very young children. By introducing language in a warmer, more positive, more nurturing way, I hope that kids will consider it sacred, and in due course treat it with care.
In addition to explicitly teaching children about kind, effective communication, there is also room for us, as caregivers, to self-reflect—to look at what we model for kids and how their behavior mirrors our own.
Thanks for hosting me! I enjoyed answering these thoughtful questions.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with Riverlet Press. Enter this giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Words, signed by Katherine Davis-Gibbon. The grand prize winner will also take home a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble. Don’t miss out on your chance to win!
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