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| Photo by Maribel Farina |
Lisa Johnston Hancock is the author and illustrator of the new children's picture book Santiago and Great Bear. She lives in the Los Angeles area.
Q: What inspired you to create Santiago and Great Bear?
A: I’m fascinated by the Greek and Roman myths behind the constellations in our night sky. I love the idea that each grouping of stars has a story as to how they ended up there.
I’ve been a fine artist and art teacher for a long time and when I started seriously thinking about writing and illustrating my own stories, I knew that I needed to do a lot of research.
My kids were 3 and younger when I began taking them to our local library each week to pick up new picture books. All of the books that we were finding on constellations and stars were nonfiction. I knew that I wanted to write an educational fictional picture book, with my own version of what the constellations were doing up there.
I first had an idea of a girl who drew in her sketchbook. The creatures that she drew came to life and caused trouble and she had to figure out how to stop them. I liked the story but I felt like it was missing the SEL (social emotional learning) themes that I wanted to include.
I worked on this story and the illustrations for several years. I even attended the Highlights Foundation Writer’s Retreat in Pennsylvania. A year later, we moved to Long Beach, California, for my husband’s job, and six weeks after that, Covid happened.
I felt isolated and longed for new friends, especially since we were in a brand new place with no sense of community (yet). Once the restrictions were lifted, I decided that we all needed to find new interests, in order to make some friends.
Camping sounded like a good idea. My kids joined Cub Scouts and we went tent camping about once a month. I saw the Ursa Major constellation for the first time, in its entirety, at the Joshua Tree National Park. This park would later become the inspiration for the imagery in Santiago and Great Bear.
I started to develop a story about a boy who moves from the city to the countryside with his mom, and is longing for a friend, so he makes a wish on a star. I signed with my agent shortly after, and she gave me wonderful edits that made the story even stronger.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between the two, and what do you think the book says about friendship?
A: It’s an unusual relationship in that Santiago is a boy, and Great Bear is, well, a big bear full of stars. Santiago and Great Bear form an instant bond and Santiago immediately wants to help. He cares about Great Bear and Santiago shows persistence in that he spends a long time (through several phases of the moon) working on ways to get Great Bear back home.
Through this journey, Santiago learns a lot about the phases of the moon, constellations and why you can see some stars at night and not others, all from Great Bear.
Great Bear helps him to get over his loneliness and form new interests that give him the courage to make a friend closer to home. I think it shows that friendships can come in all forms, even where you least expect it.
Q: Did you work on the text first or the illustrations first--or both simultaneously?
A: I worked on the text first. I did not study creative writing in school, but I’ve taken several writing classes online and attended in-person workshops. I was encouraged to begin the manuscript before working on illustrations and I find that this process works best for me.
I will go through many edits of the text before I start working on thumbnails for the dummy. Sometimes I will draw out the characters because it helps me work through the text when I can visualize what the characters look like.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?
A: I hope that kids will get out and explore our beautiful natural world. Notice the things around you and try new things. A big move is not easy, but be open to new opportunities in every change.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on two different stories. I’m re-working a dummy about bird sounds and how we can confuse them with everyday sounds in our community. It’s a humorous, silly book about imaginative play. It went on submission and I got some good feedback that I think will make the story stronger.
I’m also working on another picture book dummy about mindful meditation through the form of a nature walk.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I’m in the process of scheduling various book events to promote and share Santiago and Great Bear. I’ll have lots of book swag to share! The event schedule can be found via my website at www.lisajohnstonhancock.com. You can also find me on social media @lisajohnstonhancock on Instagram and The Curious Illustrator on Substack.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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