Squirrel Needs a Break + a chat with author Kristen Remenar

If you haven’t yet seen Kristen Remember and Matt Faulkner’s new picture book, SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK (Charlesbridge), I hope you’ll do so soon. The topic here is something you don’t see every day, which is one reason I think it really stands out. The cover gives a clue.

Squirrel loves being a dad, but this year, he’s been cooped up with his rambunctious kits for six extra weeks (since his pal Groundhog saw his shadow), and that’s clearly taken a toll. His friends can see that a little self-care is in order, and they step up to make that happen. Their plan? A tag team, of sorts: One of them will babysit the kits while another does something special to help Squirrel relax. Switch off. Repeat.

I have to talk about this terrific art. You’ll want to take your time with these delicious spreads to find the many touches of humor and whimsy. Look at the tree above, for instance, and Squirrel’s coffee cup. Throughout, Remenar keeps the dialogue snappy and realistic, allowing Faulkner to unleash the playfulness.

Well, of course the babysitting doesn’t go as smoothly as imagined. (One of my favorite lines: “Syrup happened.”) And as the story moves forward, readers begin to see subtle signs that Squirrel is missing his kits. There’s a very sweet “it takes a village” message here that doesn’t hit you over the head, which I always appreciate.

Author Kris was kind enough to agree to an interview.

Jill: Welcome, Kris! Can you remember what sparked this story?

Kris: SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK is the second book in a series. The first is GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA, published in 2015. My birthday is on Groundhog Day and I grew up wishing there were a way I could convince Groundhog not to see his shadow so we could have an early spring. (I grew up in Michigan. Shadow or no shadow, we have long winters!) Years of Groundhog Day wishes made me wonder if other animals would have conversations with Groundhog, trying to sway him to make the call the way they wanted it to go. And what would Groundhog do if he were a pleaser like me, saying yes to all his friends, only to find on the big day that he couldn’t please everyone?

My editor really liked GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA and we met for brunch on January 10th, 2016 in Boston at the American Library Association conference. Over coffee, she asked for a series in which each character gets a book of their own. Matt Faulkner, the illustrator and my beloved husband, had drawn Squirrel with three crazy kits in the book. Because Matt and I were both single parents before we blended our families, we both know the trials and tribulations that come from trying to raise kids on your own so I pitched an idea where Squirrel gets a little help from his found family. My editor loved the idea. I left brunch with so many ideas and no clue that within two hours I’d have a stroke that would completely disrupt my life.

It took me a long time to get back to reading again, much less writing, but slowly I recovered and eight years later, SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK hit the shelves!

Jill: Every writer’s dream — an editor who wants another story with the same characters! But oh, my, Kris. What an arduous challenge to then have to climb back from a debilitating stroke. I can’t even imagine…. Thank heavens you were able to recover, and even come back to writing. You are an inspiration. What a gift to have these characters awaiting your return.

Side note: Readers, you may or may not know that Kristen’s illustrator is her husband, the amazing and award-winning Matt Faulkner. So, Kris, how does it work when your husband is your story’s illustrator?

Kris: Matt and I learned early on how to give each other space and how to ask for the kind of feedback we want. I start off by writing. When an idea is new, I just need encouragement. I tell him, “I’m going to read you something and the only response I need is, ‘Wow! You put words on a page!’” Because for him to add his ideas when I’m trying to clarify mine can get me muddled. When I get to a point when I want specific input, I read my writing to Matt and he is a fantastic collaborator. When I’ve polished it as best I can, I send my work to the editor and she and I work on it. Then the art director and Matt work together. I don’t watch Matt draw. He needs his space to create. If he wants input, he’ll ask and I’ll give my opinions. I’m always pleased with the end result because he’s incredibly talented. 

Jill: I’ll say! Kris, how does your work as a children’s librarian and literacy expert influence your writing?

Kris: Years of being a children’s librarian, teacher, and literacy expert mean years of reading lots of children’s books! I think about the books that I love the most and what made me love them, things like great characters (Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren or Frances the Badger by Russell and Lillian Hoban) or a setting I wish I could escape to (the Arcanum Institute in “The Marvellers” by Dhonielle Clayton or the Hundred Acre Wood by A.A. Milne) or fun wordplay (“Bubble Trouble” by Margaret Mahy or “Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum” by Lisa Wheeler and Laura Huliska-Beith). Plots are important, of course, but it’s the characters, the setting, and the way it is told that make the story one you want to revisit.

Jill: Agreed. After visiting your website, I need to ask about Helen Wrath and how she came about.

Kris: Helen Wrath is my alter ego! I was feeling really angry a few years ago and needed a way to express it that didn’t involve prison time. A dear friend and I sat down and laughed over a bunch of silly ways to get our revenge on our foes and then we drew a bunch of good things for ourselves. The vengeful doodle prompts were funny and I showed them to some other friends, never thinking they’d be more than just a laugh. But one friend said they could be turned into a book, so I came up with a bunch of ways to get even with a pen and not the sword. I sent it off, hooked my agent, and it sold to Running Press to become DRAW WITH A VENGEANCE: GET EVEN IN INK AND LET KARMA HANDLE THE REST. To protect my reputation as a nice children’s librarian I came up with the pseudonym, Helen Wrath. (I fought hard for Helena Handbasket but my editor thought it was too on-the-nose.)

Jill: Helena Handbasket — that made me LOL. What’s next for you, Kris?

Kris: The third book in the Groundhog and Friends series, OWL’S FALL FEAST FIASCO, is being drawn by Matt as we speak and hits the shelves in the fall of 2025. I’m currently working on a picture book starring my favorite storytime buddy from my librarian days, a little hedgehog!

Jill: Sweet! We’ll be watching for these titles. Thanks for stopping by, Kris, and best of luck with all of your books!

Kris Remenar’s website: https://kristenremenar.com/about/ Matt Faulkner’s website: https://www.mattfaulkner.com/collections/131652

The WINNER of Beth Anderson’s THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BATTLE FOR SCIENCE was Jolene Gutierrez. Congratulations, Jolene!