Shannon Hale is the author and LeUyen Pham is the illustrator of the new children's board book Parts of Us, the latest in their Kitty-Corn series. Hale lives in Utah, and Pham is based in Los Angeles.
Q: What inspired you to create your new Kitty-Corn book, Parts of Us?
SH: I’ve absolutely adored making the Kitty-Corn picture books with Uyen. It was her idea to add board books to our canon, and I was overjoyed, because I am such a sincere fan of board books. I find them fascinating and challenging. And having a cast of animals all with different kinds of bodies made a body parts theme interesting (hoofs and talons and fuzzy kitten toes, etc.).
LP: Once we decided to do board books, the difficulty was in choosing what topics to cover. There are so many! We started out with a list of things we’d like to do, and Parts of Us seemed to be one that came together the quickest. And then once the Octopus was designed, we just went all in. Because seriously, who DOESN’T love octopi?
Q: You’ve collaborated on previous projects--what do you think the other brings to your books, and to this book in particular?
SH: These books are complete collaborations between the two of us. Uyen does all the art work of course, but we come up with the ideas together and throw the creative ball back and forth throughout the process.
LP: I don’t like to break things down in that way. I see us as two kids in the back of the school room, giggling and drawing and writing stories when we should be doing something else. We’re just having fun together. And what the other person brings? Themselves! We are at our best when it’s just the two of us having fun!
Q: Why did you decide to include an octopus in this new book?
SH: We wanted an animal that didn’t have any of the same body parts as our unicorn, kitty, parakeet, and gecko. An octopus was perfect! Also Uyen and I get nerdy-excited about octopi. They’re just such cool creatures. Once I saw her drawing of the adorable bespectacled octopus, it was clear.
LP: And again, who DOESN’T love octopi?
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?
SH: I love to create stories and then let them go into the world without defining or restricting what anyone takes out of them. We carefully craft, like folding a paper into an origami boat, and then set it on the water to sail away on its own.
LP: I want them singing the words (because they MUST be sung, it’s like Shannon put in an invisible soundtrack that I made the characters dance to). I want them pointing out their own funny body parts. And I want them going to the AQUARIUM and looking for an octopus!
Q: What are you working on now?
SH: We have a new Kitty-Corn picture book coming out this year, Holly Jolly Kitty-Corn. Time to get our Christmas on!
LP: Yup! And hopefully more board books too!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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