A chat with author Jyoti Gopal + a GIVEAWAY x 2!

Hello, picture book people! This past spring, I was lucky enough to meet author Jyoti Gopal at a Highlights retreat, and when I learned she had TWO new books releasing this summer, Over in the Mangroves (illustrated by Dikshaa Pawaskar – Orchard Books) and The Power of Your Name (releasing TODAY, illustrated by Olivia Sua – Union Square Kids), I knew I wanted to chat with her about that right HERE, so you all could listen in.

Great covers, right?! Over in the Mangroves is a fun new twist on Over in the Meadow, and The Power of Your Name is a sensitive, lyrical ABC book with a tone that’s affirming and celebratory and uplifting. Both are gorgeously illustrated in entirely different ways, as you’ll see in the spreads to follow.

Kirkus calls Over in the Mangroves “A fun spin …” and “…Sweetly informative.”

The Power of Your Name, Booklist says, is: “A joyful, energizing book to share when exploring the unique qualities we each bring to the table.”

Okay, time to chat with my new friend.

Jill: Hello, Jyoti! Welcome to Picture Book Builders. So glad you’re here, and with TWO new titles. Fun summer! What sparked these ideas, and how did you decide to present them using these structures? 

Jyoti: Hello Jill! Thank you so much for having me. It’s a thrill to have two titles out this summer but it’s rather overwhelming too. That’s double the marketing and hustling to get the word out about them which, as anyone in kidlit publishing knows, always feels like an uphill battle!  

I’m grateful for opportunities like these to shine a light on them 

With The Power of Your Name, I knew what the heart of the book was – celebrating names, their meanings and how they can be intertwined with our sense of self – and I knew it would use the ABC structure as soon as I conceived of the idea for the book.

With Over in the Mangroves, that was so not the case! I wanted to share both the beauty and the importance of mangroves, specifically the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest that straddles India and Bangladesh. But given the piles of information I had, and the many nuggets and tidbits I had gathered, it took me a while to figure out what to focus on for the story and the structure that would get me there.

Jill: If you can recall, what gave you the most trouble while creating the text for each of these books? Was there ever a point at which you considered giving up?

Jyoti: Well, I’ve certainly had my share of manuscripts that were gnarly and made me want to quit on them – I have a couple right now that I am struggling with! 

These two were not those manuscripts. There was never a point that I considered giving up on either of them, both were too important to me. 

They both did have very different journeys to completion, though.  

The Power of Your Name would not be what it is without Esther Cajahuaringa, who acquired it when she was at Union Square. (She is with Knopf now). The version Esther received from my agent had the spark and the voice which drew her to it, but she had notes for me. And when we met on Zoom and talked through her notes, I knew immediately that I had to dig deeper. I also knew exactly how I would do it. I got off the call with her and almost immediately got to work – the energy and excitement that flowed was a writing high! 

With Over in the Mangroves, the hardest part, as I mentioned before, was pinning down the structure. It helped that I had other projects to work on so I could jump back and forth between them. That helped to give me some distance so I could revisit with fresh eyes. And the finished book is very, very close to what Katie Heit at Scholastic acquired.

Jill: Let’s talk about one of my favorite picture book elements:  Backmatter! (The longer I write, the more I want to add backmatter to absolutely every project!) When you added backmatter to these books, what were you hoping to accomplish with each? 

Jyoti: Jill, I love back matter too! Picture books have such limited real estate, and you don’t want to clutter up your story with a lot of information that’s not necessary to the heart of the story. Which means there’s a lot of cool stuff that gets left out of the main text.  Back matter is the perfect place for sharing it. 

For Over in the Mangroves, I wanted to get into the details of why mangroves are so important and the many jobs they have in keeping our planet healthy. I also wanted to offer more details about each of the animals featured. Some of the animals in the story can be found in other mangroves around the world, and some are unique to the Sundarbans. I hope the back matter will inspire readers to visit mangroves and learn about ways they can be mangrove helpers.

The Power of Your Name has very different kind of back matter. It has an author’s note that shares why I wrote this book, and I offer suggestions to readers on how they can honor people’s names. It has two name poems that I created, one for me and one for Olivia. Originally, I had written the poem for my back flap bio (and offered to write one for Olivia too) but my editor, Emily Duffy, decided she wanted them as part of the back matter. She had us hand write our names to include in the text of the poems, which I thought was such a lovely touch. Olivia’s handwriting is absolutely gorgeous. Mine not so much.  🙂  I hope our poems inspire the creation of name poems in classrooms and homes and I hope the book can encourage conversations around name stories.

Jill: Oh, it definitely will! Plus, kids will immediately want to learn more about their own names! The art in both of these books complements your tone beautifully. Dikshaa Pawaskar’s work in Mangroves gives us lush sweeps of nature scenes and adorable animals. Olivia Sua’s cut paper creations of kids kids kids in a variety of settings are happy and colorful and oh, so appealing. Did you get to have a say in finding illustrators for either book? 

Jyoti: Aren’t they just brilliant? Both Dikshaa and Olivia brought their unique talents to the books. And yes, I did have a say. Every publishing house I have worked with has been very generous in asking me for my thoughts on the final illustrator list and asking for feedback. Dikshaa’s magical use of light in her illustrations felt like the right fit for a story about mangroves and her adorable animals are perfect because the book is for younger readers. Olivia Sua’s use of cut paper and acrylic paint (and crayons too I believe) add texture and depth and her color palette for The Power of Your Name is “chef’s kiss”! 

Jill: What’s next for you, Jyoti?

Jyoti: I’m straddling a bunch of things! 

I’m currently revising and finalizing two manuscripts that have been acquired (but not announced). Hopefully, I’ll get to share that news soon. 

I’m working on a poetry collection – something brand new that I’ve never attempted before. I have not yet decided if this project is a worthwhile one, whether it matters or not, or if it’s just something that I’ll relegate to the side and chalk up to writing practice. TBD.

I decided to start a podcast, because you know, we really don’t have enough of those 🙂 

Jill: Ooh, a podcast. What’s yours about? I’ll add it to my rotation.

Jyoti: It’s called In the Picture and it’s about the lesser-known aspects of picture book making – I’m interviewing illustrators, art directors, book designers – the creatives who are all part of putting together the final book product that arrives on shelves. I’ve released the first three episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and I’m lining up interviews for the next three, that I’ll release whenever they’re done, I don’t have a set release schedule.

Jill: You certainly have a LOT going on, Jyoti! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Readers, if you want to follow Jyoti on socials, find her here:

X:  @JyotiGopal

IG:  jyotirgopal

Podcast:  In the Picture

Bio: Jyoti Rajan Gopal is an award-winning author, mom and Kindergarten teacher. Growing up, she lived in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, India and China. She now lives in New York. As the author of numerous picture books, Jyoti tells stories that speak to her heart, that reflect her multiple identities, that she wishes her daughters had growing up, that she wishes her students had now. She is represented by Wendi Gu of HG Literary.

Find out more about her and her books at jyotirajangopal.com

Annnnd, you know how we love a GIVEAWAY! For a chance one of Jyoti’s new books , simply leave a comment below. U.S. mailing addresses only, please. Good luck!

The WINNER of last month’s giveaway of my own It’s Corn Picking Time! is Mark Ceilley. Congrats, Mark!