Lauren Soloy is the author and illustrator of the new children's picture book The Newest Gnome. Her many other books include The Hidden World of Gnomes. She lives in Nova Scotia.
Q: What inspired you to create The Newest Gnome, and how did you create your character Grolly Maru?
A: This is the second gnomes book I’ve created, and I think I could keep going for a very long time (working on book #3 now!) I really love these characters, and how they can engage kids with the world around them.
In a lot of ways, the characters and stories seem to write themselves, when I am out walking in nature. When we decided that book two would introduce a new character, Grolly Maru just appeared in my sketchbook, almost exactly as they are today - fluffy and adorable!
Q: How would you describe the connection between this new book and your book The Hidden World of Gnomes?
A: In the first book, I had said that a new gnome appears when there is a need for one. So, when it was time for a new character to appear, I had to think carefully about who was needed that they didn’t already have.
I thought about current events, but also history, and roles that have been vital throughout time, and landed on a poet. Poetry is so important - the right combination of words can stop us in our tracks, and connect us to the world around us in vital ways.
I wanted this book to stand on its own, for anyone who is new to the gnome world, but also to hold up to the first one so that fans of the first would love this new book just as much. A tall order!
Q: Did you work on the text first or the illustrations first--or both simultaneously?
A: Because I do both the text and the illustrations, there’s always a bit of back and forth. Especially in a book like this, where there is a story happening, but I’ve also got room to play and add different ideas in!
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?
A: Aside from any big ideas that I think the book is about, I mostly try to create a feeling of coziness - that it’s okay to love the world, because the world loves you right back. And maybe just a hint of magic, too - that feeling of “there’s more going on there than what you see on the surface of things.”
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I just handed in the illustrations for a book I wrote about Emily Dickinson, titled Dear Petal. That one is coming out in Spring of 2027.
And I’m excited to have the first book that I’ve written but not illustrated, coming out this year. I wanted to see what it was like to have another illustrator take on one of my texts. So far, it’s been an amazing process!
I’m also currently working on the third book in the gnomes series!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: You can knit your own gnome, if you like! My amazing editor, Samantha Swenson, has created a knitting pattern to follow, if you would like to have your own little gnome at home. Here is a link: https://tundrabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/The-Hidden-World-of-Gnomes-Gnome-Knitting-Pattern.pdf
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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